By Majd Othman

KUWAIT: After almost two years of banning wedding parties in Kuwait due to the COVID-19 pandemic, prices of wedding halls, especially hotel ballrooms, have increased by around 15 percent. The reason for this is a result of a global rise in food prices, according to wedding hall managers at hotels.

But price hikes have not only affected food services at weddings, as hotels have increased the total cost of hosting weddings. Ahmad Khaled, a 5-star hotel wedding hall manager, told Kuwait Times the cost for reserving a wedding hall is KD 1,350 without added services, while the cheapest wedding party costs KD 3,000 including food service but without additional services such as DJ, photography and decor.

Some hotels charge by the number of guests at the wedding, while others set their prices by combining the ballroom rent and cost per person. Sameh Ali, a 4-star wedding hall manager, said prices at his hotel have increased from KD 13 to KD 17 per person. Due to these price increases, most clients have reduced the number of their guests in order to reduce the financial burden.

The average number of guests at an expat wedding is around 250 persons, so at KD 18 per person, the cost will be around KD 4,500, not to mention other wedding requirements, such as photography, which costs around KD 600, while makeup and hairstyling can easily cross KD 300.

Shereen Al-Nather, a 5-star wedding hall manager, told Kuwait Times the Kuwaiti clients have reduced their number of guests as well. While previously they were inviting around 600 people for wedding receptions attended only by women, recently the number of guests does not exceed 400, pointing out the price increase for hotel wedding halls as the reason.

Dima Al-Jallad, a 5-star hotel wedding hall manager, said the price per guest at her hotel has risen to KD 33 per person, while before the pandemic it was KD 28. Wedding hall clients believe hotels are trying to compensate for their losses due to the closures during the pandemic, stressing the price hikes are exaggerated at some hotels.

A bride, Nadeen Mahmoud, told Kuwait Times she paid KD 3,000 for a wedding hall at a 4-star hotel without any added services other than food for guests and one night free stay at the hotel, which does not have any facilities. She believes prices have not increased after the pandemic due to the discounted packages offered by hotels to attract clients.

Meanwhile, Hanan Omar said some hotels obligate their clients to take a full wedding package, which impacts the budget of the client due to the high prices. "Some of them set a minimum number of guests, which prevents us from reserving the hall," she said.