Recent COVID surge turns away wedding goers

AMMAN — The increasing numbers of COVID-19 cases in Jordan have affected people’s willingness to celebrate their big day at wedding halls and venues, according to sector representatives.

“Currently, each wedding can have up to 200 guests who have to be fully vaccinated,” Hala Raihan, a manager of a wedding venue based in Amman, told The Jordan Times on Thursday.

Children are not allowed to attend weddings, Raihan added. She noted that lately a significant number of couples have postponed their weddings because one or more members of their family have tested positive.

“The extremely cold weather, the increasing COVID-19 cases and the turbulent economic situation, have all impacted the industry,” she said.

Malek Safwan, the owner of a wedding hall in Tabarbour said over the phone: “I cannot say that there are no weddings, but things could be better.”

In the current situation, many couples have a family dinner at a restaurant and this is their wedding. They do not want lots of guests and only close friends and family are invited, according to Safwan.

“The cases are increasing and this makes couples feel nervous,” he further added.

Aseel Ibrahim, a 24-year-old Jordanian who got married two weeks ago, told The Jordan Times that she celebrated her wedding in a very well-known wedding hall in her neighbourhood, however, she said that there are barely any weddings happening in the hall.

“I only invited 85 guests. For me, the costs are less, but for sure wedding business owners are negatively impacted,” Ibrahim noted.