Tagaga at your summer wedding? Be prepared to shell out big bucks

For some, summer is not just about the scorching sun. It’s a season of love and weddings. It’s also a time when female wedding singers are busy and demand anywhere between SR 14,000 to SR 350,000!
Saudi weddings are a knockout. Yes, there’s partying, there’s music, disco lights and a dance floor! Saudi women and girls ensure they have their own share of fun during these celebrations.
Traditional Saudi wedding singers, famously known as ‘Tagaga,’ are as important to the wedding as are the wedding rings. These Tagaga singers are the usual entertainers at weddings and ladies’ gatherings.
Amani Shaykhoon, a local wedding coordinator, revealed in a recent television program that the charges for hiring a female band to perform at a wedding range from SR 14,000 up to SR 100, 000 for a night depending on the reputation of the band and the location of the celebration.
Shaykhoon said that the highest payment a female wedding singer got this summer was SR 350,000. “We don’t exploit seasons. We do the job according to the client’s requests and budget,” she said.
She said a wedding singer would be paid double the amount next summer if she becomes famous and in demand. “If she got SR 35,000 this year, for example, she would get SR 60,000 or SR 70,000 next summer.”
Today many Saudi brides long for a modern wedding, where they can have modern singers or DJ’s to perform on their big days. But to satisfy the elderly guests and keep the traditions alive, many choose to hire the best Tagaga band in town.
“The issue of hiring a Tagaga for my wedding is still hot in my home since last month,” says Hayah Al-Ghamdi, a Saudi graduate who is planning to get married by the end of the year.
Al-Ghamdi says that her taste in music is in contrast with the traditional Hijazi music that all members in her family enjoyed at their weddings. “I was brought up in the United States and my ideas and wishes for my dream wedding are completely displeasing to my parents and relatives.”
She said that following a great deal of convincing, she finally agreed to hire a Tagaga as an entertainer in her wedding, since majority of her guests are elderly ones who prefer the vibes of tradition.
Maria, a lead singer from a band of three, said that summer weddings are usually the time she gets her highest payment compared to weddings in other seasons and times of the year.
“We have been hired to sing at a wedding next week for which we have demanded SR 70,000. We will sing until dawn,” sais Maria. She said that since Ramadan is approaching, there won’t be any weddings or gatherings that require their services for a while, but are looking forward to Eid-ul-Fitr and after to start their work.
Maria says that their usual charges during other times of the year are much less than that in summer. “Our ranges start from 20,000 to SR 50,000 depending on how big the wedding is.”
She says that it is a tiring and exhausting job but at the end of the day, it is totally worth it.