In simpler times, a marriage proposal was carefree, spontaneous and romantic. These days, it’s meticulously studied and planned and can lead to many sleepless nights and innumerable panic attacks. Romance is a medieval term in our times and spontaneity is just a word we sometimes find hard to pronounce. Of all the spontaneous gestures we might make, a proposal carries the highest price and is most definitely the most high-risk investment any man can make.
So what does it take for a man in the Middle East to propose? For one the engagement and wedding rings that come along with it can easily set you back 30,000 USD but that figure can easily go up depending on the diamond count, the cut of the stone(s) and so on. Then there’s the chabka jewellery gift for the bride, normally given on the day of the wedding. This is normally some kind of necklace and earring set, and it better be worthy of the status of the family giving it. Nevertheless, whatever you spend, the jewellery in general is but a small piece in a very thick and large pie.
A decent wedding in any Arab society won’t even see a single layer of cake for less than 50,000 USD and that’s not including a five-course meal or that great band you always dreamed of. For the best bands or groups add on another 10,000 USD and for champagne and seafood pour in another 10,000 USD. Now keep in mind that no dapper Arab man can propose without securing a home for his beautiful bride and that family she's had planned since her fourth birthday, gone is the bachelor pad/studio; now say hello suburbia - that’s if you are lucky! A house can easily set a groom-to-be back between 350,000 and 500,000 USD, factor in furniture, appliances and insurance and that’s easily another 40,000 USD on top of your proposal. The most gratifying expenditure to calculate in is the honeymoon but your time in the sun could easily be the best or worst 20,000 USD you ever spend. So if we were to treat this as another dinner out on the town, your bill would read as follows:
Jewellery 50,000USD
Wedding 50,000 USD
Wedding Performer 10,000 USD
Wedding F&B 10,000 USD
Honeymoon 20,000 USD
Marital Home 350,000 USD
Furniture 40,000 USD
TOTAL 530,000 USD
