ABHA, 28 July 2006 — In Saudi Arabia and across the world it is the norm for brides to lash out on a lavish wedding dress to be worn for a few hours and then stored and cherished for the rest of their lives. In light of the dire financial situation of many Saudis, however, the trend of renting wedding dresses to save money is a growing fashion, according to Al-Watan newspaper.
Speaking about the new fad, Lama Ahmad says that renting wedding dresses has become something common with many shops providing a rental service for prospective brides.
“It’s a profitable business; dress rental shops have created a niche market to serve people with limited incomes. Unlike the old days, women are not ashamed to lose face-value by renting a wedding dress,” said Lama.
One prospective bride who is going to be renting a dress to walk down the aisle with is Halema Asiri. “I decided to rent a wedding dress because I am convinced that the money I would save from buying an expensive wedding dress could be spent on something better. People used to frown if they found out you were renting a dress but now society has embraced the whole idea. They don’t feel ashamed anymore,” she said.
Halema says some wedding dresses can cost tens of thousands of riyals. She asks, “What is the fate of these dresses after the wedding? They end up staying in a dusty closet as a souvenir for years on end.”
Halema believes that Saudi women nowadays are more economically and financially aware that even when they want to look good they budget. “Why would I pay more than SR15,000 for a dress that I am only going to wear for three hours?” she asks.
Amal Al-Qahtani agrees that renting is the best thing a prospective bride could do. She says, “Women need to ask themselves whether they are going to benefit from a dress they buy. It isn’t worth spending a lot of money just to show off.”
However, Amal says there is a slight problem with renting. “Because wedding dresses are rented by lots of different people, a bride might wear a dress that could have been worn in another wedding a week ago and seen by guests previously. You might see a guest or two snigger at this.”
Nader Al-Reeni, a dress rental shop owner, says that more than 60 percent of the customers that visit his shop end up renting a wedding dress. Al-Reeni agrees that a growing number of Saudi women believe that there is no need to spend a lot of money just for a three-hour wedding.
Speaking about the dresses that are rented out, shop owner, Hussein Maaroof, says, “We use strong fabrics so the dresses can be used more than once. Once the dresses are returned, we clean and iron them and put them back on display. They look unused and absolutely brand new.”
Maaroof says rental prices are reasonable. A dress can cost between SR1,000 and SR3,000 a night.
“Sometimes it’s difficult to convince a choosy bride to rent a dress. Some girls want a special and unique dress that’s never been made or seen. It’s a once in a lifetime event so I don’t really blame them if they start nitpicking.”
