Al-Laith Gov. Abdulrahman Al-Harbi congratulated the grooms as they were ceremoniously given their certificates.
“The mass wedding process is a good trend as it cuts down the cost of celebrations,” the governor said and hoped that the event held for the first time in Al-Laith will continue to benefit the local youth who cannot afford their marriage celebrations.
The governor wished them well. “Let me wish you all a long and prosperous married life.”
One of the grooms, Mohammed Hameed, 26, an imam at a local mosque, said he chose to get married this way as the cost of celebrations was prohibitive.
Asked how he chose his bride, Hameed said: “My mother helped me in selecting my would-be wife. After seeing the girl, my mother told me she is the best one for me and I should get married to her. I saw the girl and gave the nod.”
Another groom, Abdul Aziz, said he was worried whether he would get married at all as he was 30 plus. “When some of my relatives realized my affordability was in question, they recommended a girl to my mother and finally it was finalized after I saw her.”
The mass wedding ceremony was sponsored by the National Prawn Company (NPC), which has a huge fish farm along the Red Sea coast. “We got excited with the thought of sponsoring the mass wedding ceremony, the first of its kind in this town,” said Ahmad Al-Balla, CEO of NPC. The company also presented cash to each groom.
A sandy and dusty area, the town is slowly and steadily shaping into a resort along the west coast of the Kingdom, said Khaled Al-Qahtani, a long time resident.
