Arab wedding customs

Although Christian weddings in the Arab World bear similarities to Western weddings, Muslim weddings in the Arab countries are influenced by Muslim traditions. Muslim weddings start with a Shaikh and Al-Kitab (book) for the bride and groom. It is a western misconception that the groom may not see his bride until the wedding day; indeed, a wedding is not Islamically valid unless both bride and groom are willing, and the groom is often encouraged to visit her before the wedding (as advised in many hadeeths of the prophet Muhammad). However, these visits must be chaperoned to ensure purity of action between the two. Men and women in wedding ceremonies and receptions are segregated, with areas for men and for women.

An old tradition, now rarely observed, involves the women at the ceremony symbolically mourning the loss of the bride by doing the "wedding wail". The bride's dress is an ornate Caftan, and the bride's hands and feet are decorated in intricate lace-like patterns painted using a henna dye. Women guests do not show their hair, shoulders or legs; and all guests at a Mosque remove their shoes on entering. Guests may give gifts to the bride and groom. In many Arab countries including Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and the Palestinian territories, the practice of carrying the bride and groom on chairs and dancing in a circle around them (dabke) is still carried out. The bride and groom hold separate corners of a handkerchief. Arabs may have Western-like weddings, but still preserve most Arab customs and traditions.[citation needed]
Arabic Weddings, called Farah (ar: فرح ) have changed greatly in the past 100 years, where more preception of Islam, and more understanding of what is Haram and Halal, usually the Arabic Wedding were very much similar to modernday bedouin weddings, and rural weddings, they were unique from region to another, Weddings in Lower Egypt were quite different to ones in Cairo, and in Cairo then Upper Egypt, and so on, even though the Christian Arabs have very similar weddings to the Western Weddings, the Muslim Weddings are greatly influenced by Islam, the Muslim Marriage Process usually starts with the Fixed Meetings, and ends with the "Dokhla", or the entrance, it is usually misconceived in the west that Arab weddings and Muslim weddings forbid the groom from seeing his bride until the wedding day, on the contrary, in fact it will not be considered as an Islamic wedding unless the Bride and Groom agree on the marriage, while the groom is welcomed in the bride's house, but with Parental existence, to maintain the Purity between both sides.