Tips on Attending Muslim Wedding

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Sharing My Experienced on
Emirati Arab Muslim Wedding


 Hi, beautiful people welcome back to my blog it's me again Joanna! In this blog article, I will share my experience of attending an Arab Muslim wedding event. I will also give some tips and little advice in case in the future you will encounter this kind of event about Arab Muslim wedding ceremonies then keep reading.




If you are invited by an Arab Muslim friend on his/her wedding day and you don't know what to do, then this blog will give you an idea about the Arab Muslim wedding event; from what to wear and how to behave as a guest. It is good to have a better understanding when attending an Arab Muslim wedding event.

Nowadays, as we are in the modern world their culture was already mixed with the modern style, but still, there is a glimpse of the traditional culture.  For the lady's venue, as you arrive at the place the reception will ask you if you have the pass for the wedding sometimes they also ask if you have a camera. The staff will ask it because it’s not allowed inside some events like this are not so strict provided you know your limitation on taking photos. They will collect that pass to allow you to go inside the wedding venue. Some wedding event does not have an access pass, but, I think, the purpose of these access pass is to know how many people will attend if the venue is in the hotel or to make sure that attendees are their friends and relatives only. 
At first, I am struggling; I don't even know how to imagine what it looks like. By understanding cultural differences you will avoid awkwardness and you will not be surprised by what will happen on the event day, what you have to do is just enjoy your experience. Most of the visitors are the bride and groom's families, relatives and close friends. People will easily notice you as they know that you are not one of them.

 The typical Filipino Catholic/Christian wedding ceremony is very different from the Arab Islam wedding ceremony. The Muslim wedding separates its reception for men and women either they decide to have their wedding in the same area or location.

In their tradition and culture, they don't mix men and women in a wedding venue male and female must be separated. For example, if you are invited by the groom and you are a lady you have to attend a women's venue.  Make sure to check the invitation, there are two places written on it, check the location if it is the right place for you don't be confused or else you will attend the wrong reception/venue.

 As you were proceeding towards the entrance of the venue, you will notice that there is a perfume stand where you can try different scents that you want to apply on your skin or spray on your clothes, a lady staff standby on the perfume stand could assist you if you want.  When you reached the entrance door the family of the bride and groom will welcome all guests to give respect and introduce them to the family of the bride and groom after that when you are inside the venue all of the guests removed their head covers and black gowns called "ABAYA", they can remove it as from what I mentioned above all guest are women and small girls from their family, relatives and friends, however, when they have a man guest that will go inside the venue the staff of the event will notify all guest and they will start to wear the abaya or cover themselves again.

Now let me talk about the dresses you could wear at the wedding event. Any decent long dress can do, you can also wear mid-dress with colourful design and sequences. The wedding party would look like a dress fashion show you can see a lot of beautiful dresses worn by guests, honestly, you could compare it to a Hollywood Star Awarding night they are all stunning. Avoid wearing pants, trousers, shirts or anything that will make you look casual. Make yourself the same standard as all guests in are simple yet classy style.

Approach the people at the table if you could seat in the vacant chair with them. Remember to sit with the group of people who you think make you comfortable to stay as it will be your seat when they serve the meals. While the event is ongoing the staff will offer you snacks food, hot or cold drinks (coffee, tea, juice or soda) and sweets wait until they come to your table then get all kinds of food they offer, try everything because most of it is special and you can’t have it on the ordinary days. There are also foods on the table you can have even if the meal is not yet served, however, don’t make yourself full as there are more foods to come.

I notice that when the ladies dance they create a round shape and they dance following the round direction. While each person waves a small piece of colourful cloth side by side, while the people seating tapping on their mouths with their hands while releasing or making an aboriginal sound this is their traditional way to celebrate. From what I observed this is their way to show that they are having a good time at the event and cheering people on the stage, showing that they are happy for the bride and groom. (From what I heard ladies will have the chance to be noticed by the older women by dancing on the dancefloor, it could be the chance of the older women to choose and know the family of the lady if they want their son to arrange marriage).


The bride's grand entrance is the highlight on the stage and walks towards the long else then people will have a chance to see her wearing her white gown or their traditional wedding dress. She is the star of the event and people will look at her and cherish her beautiful appearance, that’s the time ladies think and imagine their wedding too.


The only men guests who can go to the women’s venue are; of course the groom, the father of the groom and bride or even the brothers of the groom and bride. The newlywed will do the marriage contract signing.  You will also notice that the family of the groom and bride will shower a huge amount of notes (money) on the newlyweds as a sign of good wealth in their future family. They also shower money on those people who dance and some children are very happy as they will pick up the money and collect it for themselves.

 The party will continue flooded with food and drinks (none alcoholic drinks) after that, it’s your choice if you still want to stay, but for me, the highlight of the event already finished so I decided to leave. The difficult part of leaving is you could not talk to the newlyweds as they will be so busy even their family too, busy to reached them, what I did is I sent a message and give my wishes to them.

From what I heard the Arab wedding celebration will last for three days, however, the first day is the exciting one. Gifts are not expected on the day, but if you are mostly close to the bride or groom, feel free to send something before or after the ceremony. Most weddings are preceded by a similar gathering at the bride’s house the day before the main reception, which is the perfect opportunity to hand over your offerings. As with most cultures, gifts of food, clothing, ornaments or domestic items are all considered appropriate.).

All and all it was an unforgettable amazing experience I am very thankful and I feel lucky and happy to witness this kind of event in my life. 



The first wedding event that I attended.







In the photo above, I am wearing a nude skin type colour long dress and a small sling pouch bag matching my dress colour. This dress was not very expensive, but, look simple yet classy.







 These are samples of simple long dresses for the wedding event. 




The next photos are to the next level as it is already my second time attending a wedding event.




I am wearing a beautiful elegant royal blue long-fitted dress with a slit on the right side, the pouch bag is the one I used at the previous event, but this time I didn't use the sling. Black shoes are matching in any colour of the dress so I used the three inches pencil hill shoes with the shoe cord/lace tied on my ankle. this photo was taken outside the reception.





If you have these kinds of dresses they are perfect for the event! (the two beautiful young ladies are my younger sisters)






You can see this type of dress at the wedding, by the way, this is my sister during her JS Prom at her school.

 If ever I forgot to include some information or you have also an idea and suggestions to share please feel free to leave a comment I'll be happy to know your story too.


Thank you for reading my blog, beautiful people! I hope you enjoyed 😉





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