Jeddah Gov. Prince Mishaal bin Majed officiated the event that was held at Jeddah International Center for Forums on Wednesday night. Nearly 1,000 brides and grooms tied the knot at the Jeddah ceremony in the presence of a large number of people including friends and relatives.

Abdul Mohsen Al-Khayyal, chairman of the Charitable Society to Support Youth to Get Married, thanked Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal for his continuous support to the organization. He also thanked businessmen and business firms who sponsored the program.

“Our society has helped 48,600 young men and women to get married during the past 10 years,” Al-Khayyal told the ceremony. Prince Mishaal distributed mementos to event sponsors. The society has organized 10 such ceremonies in the past. Madinah Gov. Prince Abdul Aziz bin Majed attended the event in the holy city that was held at Prince Muhammad Sports City. About 1,000 young men and women got married during the ceremony.

Sheikh Abdul Bari Al-Thubaity, imam and khateeb of the Prophet’s Mosque and secretary-general of Usraty Charitable Society, thanked the governor and businessmen for their support.

“This collective wedding ceremony is a good tradition as it helps a large number of youth to get married at the lowest possible cost. It’s the ideal solution for growing wedding expenditures,” he said.

Aysha Muhammad, one of the participants, said: “Collective marriage is a blessing from God. I know that my husband is unable to meet huge marriage expenses. I appreciate the efforts of all those who worked to make this program a big success,” she said.

Afaf Ezzat, director of Usraty, spoke about the difficulties being faced young men from poor families to meet their marriage requirements. “Mass marriage is the answer for these youths. We should encourage such marriages,” she said.