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The idea of getting cold feet before your wedding may feel like something that only happens in movies. But that’s not the truth. Brides get cold feet more often than they’ll admit, whether it’s because their nerves are messing with their heart or their heart is trying to scream at them to say, “What the heck are you about to do?”

So if you are wondering if your relationship is ready for marriage, here are five red flags to check for that’ll leave you with a bad case of cold feet on your wedding day.

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1. There’s zero trust

If you are finding yourself double checking your partner’s every move, making sure they are telling the truth about who, what, where, why, and when, then maybe it’s time to run for the hills. You may not realize it now, but you are in a relationship that’s causing you a ton of stress and anxiety. Imagine on your wedding day wondering whether or not yourhusband or wife-to-be is telling the truth about something? You’ll drive yourself crazy.

2. The future isn’t planned

You may be dating someone who makes life seem a bit more fun, but when things start to get real, it’s worth questioning whether or not that person will stick around. If neither of you have chatted about future plans together (kids, place to live, etc.) then rushing toward the aisle with them may give you a last-minute panic attack when you realize an unplanned future freaks you out.

3. Someone can’t quit their ex

Can’t seem to quit stalking your ex’s social media profiles? You may be clinging on to old love and find yourself as a runaway bride on your wedding day.

4. You were never truly committed

Maybe your relationship feels like it’s heading toward something serious but deep down inside of you, you don’t want it to be anything serious. If you’re just moving through the motions and relationship milestones, it’s likely you’ll find yourself with cold feet before the wedding, finally admitting this is not what you want.

5. Nobody is eager to plan the wedding

Sure, you’re engaged, but now what? If no one has made a decision on when and where to have the wedding for a year or two after the engagement, it may be a giant sign that neither of you are eager for the next step of marriage.

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Going to the chapel … or maybe not. It turns out that more people are getting married at fast-food restaurants.

While it’s not necessarily out of the ordinary, as people have gotten married at fast food places before, there are now chains encouraging the practice and luring couples in with wedding packages. Given that the average wedding can run upwards of $35,329, give or take, getting hitched at the local McDonald’s may be the more economically sound option.

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Many of those young 20- and 30-somethings planning to get married may already be saddled with debt from their college days. For example, we reported that tuition at NYU today costs students $66,000 per year, whereas it cost baby boomers $1,800. On top of this, around 75 million millennials entered adulthood during the 2008 recession. Because of these two options, millennials are putting off buying homes and living with their parents post-collegiate days. As such, it’s no wonder that millennials may not be able to afford a lavish weddings and may be considering a less expensive route.

Among the fast-food chains that offer wedding-related services, Taco Bell on the Las Vegas strip costs just $600 to tie the knot, while pizza giant Domino’s Pizza is offering up a wedding registry for post-nuptial snacks. And while White Castle holds contests across the country to win the chance to get married at one of its locations, McDonald’s Hong Kong location has a full wedding program.

So whether couples want to have a fourth meal at Taco Bell or they’re loving it at McDonald’s, it seems there’s a fast-food destination wedding venue for all tastes.

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Adya Photography and Hari Adya are pleased to announce that Easy Weddings Australia has ranked the Perth wedding photography professional at the 5-Star level. The service, image quality and speed of delivery are all factors which contribute to the exceptional ranking by EWA. Over the years of experience, the photography team has shown that they are dedicated and passionate people who work together to ensure the customers are happy with the once-in-a-lifetime results.

In a recent interview, Hari Adya explained, “We operate out of Perth, where we have gained a reputation as the leading professional wedding photographer. We offer affordable Perth wedding photographer services which do not require our clients to lower their expectations. We deliver wedding photographs within four to five weeks following the wedding date. I personally edit all photographs to ensure the highest quality. We feel that wedding photography is an art which requires communication with the clients to ensure great satisfaction.”

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The professional wedding photographers operate under the premise that artistic photographs also express emotions in a vivid manner. The photographer must work with the clients in order to build a strong relationship which promotes comfort in the course of the photographic sessions. Using a camera can be done by anyone, but capturing the emotional component of the activities requires additional multiple skills. There is both commitment to the craft and a knack for dealing with people.

When couples hire a wedding photographer, they must take time to determine whether the level of communication is adequate to properly reach positive results. Unlike many of their peers, Adya Photography considers the human side and does not stop with just the technical aspects of the images.

Another factor that makes the results from Adya special is the attention to detail. The professionals never apply general edits to pictures. Hari Adya personally goes through each photograph and adjust the parameters to bring out the best possible outcome.

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Concern about fitting into their gown drives many brides to crash diet in an effort to lose weight.

In addition, brides-to-be and grooms-to-be want to look their best on their wedding day, and many express concern about their weight in the weeks and months leading up to the wedding. Losing weight is a goal for many engaged couples, but it’s important that couples who want to shed a few extra pounds don’t sacrifice safety for the sake of slimming down.

According to a Cornell University study of 273 women with a wedding day approaching, 70 percent wanted to lose more than 20 pounds before the wedding. However, reality indicates that a weight loss of 5 to 10 pounds is more attainable – more so if the weight loss regimen is spread out over several weeks.

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The term “brideorexia” has entered the vernacular, and it is associated with brides who are taking extreme measures to lose weight. Taking laxatives, engaging in fluid-only diets and even using tobacco or drugs as appetite suppressants are just some of the measures brides have taken to shed weight before their wedding day.

There is no magic formula to shed pounds, but there are certain ways to jump-start and maintain the process of healthy weight loss that can help you look slimmer and healthy for the big day.

* Eat. Although initial calorie curbing can help shed weight, eventually your body may adapt to your new eating habits or go into “survival mode,” which means conserving fat reserves. Researchers at Penn State University found that fasting signals to the body that it is being starved, triggering a lower metabolic rate. Brides-to-be should never cut out food entirely. Eating anything less than 1,200 calories a day will encourage the body to try to conserve energy by lowering its metabolism. Severe calorie restriction is not an effective way to lose weight.

* Step up your exercise regimen. Reducing food intake alone will not help you lose weight quickly. For that you must burn more calories than you consume. Adding more cardiovascular activity to your routine can help burn calories more efficiently. According to a clinical study from researchers at Italy’s University of Padua published in the 2011 International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, eating a light meal before exercising helps you burn more fat and keeps your body burning fat even 24 hours after the exercise.

* Reduce sodium intake. Sodium doesn’t necessarily lead to weight gain, but it can make it appear so. Sodium contributes to water retention, which may make you appear heavier or bloated. Cut back on foods that are high in sodium, especially as the wedding nears, to reduce water retention.

* Identify sources of empty calories. Fruit juices, soda and other beverages are often the culprits in cases of unnecessary calorie consumption. Choose your beverages wisely and limit them to water, tea and unsweetened drinks. If you want to drink fruit juice, consider diluting it. In addition, most alcoholic beverages have 100 calories or more. While it may be tempting to celebrate with wine, champagne and mixed drinks during your engagement period, your waistline may ultimately pay the price for such indulgences.

* Hire a good photographer. It is said that a camera adds 10 pounds, a reason many couples panic about their wedding day. A photo is a two-dimensional image of a 3-D object. The photo reduces depth perception and flattens an image, which may make some items look like they have more bulk. A professional photographer will know how to manipulate lighting and camera angles for more flattering shots.

* Eat smaller portions. Often its not a matter of what you are eating but how much. Most portion sizes served in restaurants or even at home are double or triple the amount you should be eating. When in doubt, cut portions in half.

* Fill up on fiber or protein. Instead of resorting to pills to suppress an appetite, eat foods that will fill you up naturally. High-fiber foods will bulk up in the stomach and keep you feeling satiated longer. The same can be said for lean proteins, which take longer to digest, thus fending off hunger pangs.

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It goes without saying that your wedding day is all about celebrating the love between you and your partner. However, in order to fully enjoy yourself and make the most out of this once in a lifetime opportunity, you’ll want to feel like a million dollars. Non-lace wedding dresses might be your go-to style if you see yourself as more of a contemporary bride.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with lace wedding dresses — in fact, you’ve probably seen numerous bridal gowns that feature lace, whether worn by someone you know or spotted on a celebrity. IMO, the most memorable lacy wedding dress of the past few years is Kate Middleton’s lacy wedding gown. As a born and bred British gal, I was glued to the screen on the day of The Royal Wedding, admittedly because I couldn’t tear my peepers away from Kate’s beautiful bridal attire.

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Although lacy wedding dresses are obviously fit for royalty, they’re certainly not everyone’s cup of tea. When used in a wedding dress, lace has connotations of femininity, modesty, and queenliness and while all these things are all wonderful, they may be the exact opposite of the attributes you want to portray.

So if you wish to be true to your personal style, but lace doesn’t fit in with your aesthetic, here are some gorgeous non-lace wedding dresses for contemporary brides.

1. The Classic Gown

A simply stunning gown with a train will help to put all the focus on you during your big day.

2. The Strapless Wonder

A girly strapless gown is a great choice for anyone who wants to feel like a princess for the day.

3. The Embellished Maxi

Bring a little glitz and glam to your celebrations with an embellished maxi dress.

4. The Classy Sheath Dress

You don’t need any bells and whistles with this sassy, yet classy, sheath dress — available in sizes XS to 4X.

5. The Grecian Gown

6. The Wrap Dress

Gals celebrating a casual affair will love stepping out in this subtly sophisticated wrap dress.

7. The Plunge Dress

If you want to show a little skin on your wedding day, go for it! This sumptuous dress will help you out.

8. The Back Cowl Gown

Reminiscent of old Hollywood screen sirens, this fancy frock will have you feeling like Audrey Hepburn in no time.

9. The Dramatic Mermaid Dress

Everyone wants their wedding dress to be memorable, so make a super statement with an organza ruffled mermaid dress like this one.

10. The Short But Sweet Style

Mesh is a fabulous choice for those who like the feminine vibe that lace lends, but fancy a different fabric instead.

11. The Minimalist Dress

Brides who love the minimalist aesthetic will need this elegant dress to fit their theme.

Don’t feel pressured to forsake your personal style on your wedding day — you don’t want to look back at the photos and cringe. Ditch the lace if it’s not your bag and opt for something else, there are tons of other wedding worthy fabrics out there!

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*Custom guest entertainment nearly tripled between 2009 and 2015 from 11 to 36 percent including cyber rolling stations, wine and liquor tasting and live dance performers, according to a study by XO Group publisher of The Knot, The Nest and The Bump.

However, modern twists and personalized services don’t mean couples can’t embrace traditional wedding traditions. There are plenty of ways to put modern twists on long-standing, favorite traditions and still have the wedding of your dreams. Here are six ways to get started.

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Go Architectural

Round, traditional floral bouquets can bring a soft and personal touch to a wedding, but can embrace a whole new architectural style. For example, FTD offers classic wedding bouquets that feature long, sweeping forms and pops of dramatic color like pairing white and black flowers. Additionally, small bouquets and buds tied to the end of the pews with white ribbon can give your venue a dazzling, traditional touch.

Be Bold

Get bold with your patterns and colors this wedding season. According to Brides.com, more couples are opting for personalized calligraphy wedding invitations paired over a fun and funky print with bold colors.

You can apply this same concept to just about anything on your wedding day. For example, a vintage black and white dress with a large skirt and tailored bodice can give your wedding dress a modern twist. Meanwhile, using red napkin rings, colorful cake toppers and brightly colored sashes on your bridesmaid dresses can breath more color into a traditionally white day.

Surround Yourself in Love

At the end of the day, weddings are about surrounding yourself with the people you love from family and friends to your chosen partner. Honor the loved ones in your life by mixing up the traditional wedding party roles. Men can stand-up for the bride among bridesmaids, and women can join the groomsmen. Choose complimentary outfits and colors and choose from friends, cousins and extended family to create the perfect wedding party.

Curate Old-fashioned Cocktails

Open bars and wine tables are the norm at weddings, but you can personalize the experience by curating your own list of old-fashioned cocktails. Tie ribbons and fabric that match your wedding colors around mason jars, or opt for traditional cocktail glasses. Choose from your favorite old-fashioned drinks from Black & Blue Bourbon Lemonade and Pimm’s Cups to delight your guests.

Get Creative with Your Sweet Tooth

The wedding cake tradition is a long-standing favorite where couples cut the cake together and serve their eager guests a sweet treat. But wedding cakes don’t need to be tiered, white wonders of frosting and fondant. Instead, try individual wedding cakes topped with fresh fruit and personalized with your guests’ names. Beyond the cake, more couples are opting for their favorite treats like frosted donuts and wedding day pies with whipped toppings.

Serve a Snack

If you’re prepared to celebrate late into the midnight hours, remember to recharge your guests and offer a savory snack. Opt for something fun that’s always a crowd favorite like slider hamburgers or bacon and egg sandwiches. Pair with colorful sodas and your curated cocktail list for one last refill before the party makes their journey to their hotel rooms or shuttles.

The real secret behind throwing a successful, modern wedding is focusing on personalization and making the celebration about loved ones. There is no right or wrong in choosing the perfect flowers or snacks, as long as it’s representative of your unique style.

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A Sheffield couple is celebrating after scooping the top prize in a competition to give them the wedding of their dreams.

After a tense finale, Hallam FM’s Win Your Wedding competition was won this week by Luke Scanlon and Emma Rhodes from Sheffield, who raised a record breaking £19,713.67 to take the title and win the wedding of their dreams.

The annual campaign, sponsored by The Crown Hotel in Bawtry, who have provided the wedding venue and reception at the Doncaster hotel, is part of a £30,000 package which includes a honeymoon and dance tuition.

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Six couples from across South Yorkshire were also in the running with family fun day events, supermarket bag packs, FIFA tournaments, raffles, sweepstakes and bungee jumps were just some of the activities the couples arranged which contributed towards the final total of £58,166.49.

Allan Ogle, charity manager for Hallam FM’s Cash for Kids, said: “We are completely blown away by how much the couples all raised this year. That’s absolutely phenomenal fundraising in such a short space of time, they are all heroes to Cash for Kids. Thank you so much to every person and business that supported them all to make this happen.

“This incredible amount of money will enhance the lives of thousands of children across South Yorkshire.”

Anybody inspired by their efforts can now sign up to 500 Faces, Cash for Kids next fundraising campaign, which is recruiting 500 people across South Yorkshire to raise £100 in 2017 which will generate £50,000 to support sick and disadvantaged children across South Yorkshire.

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Just because they’re celebrities doesn’t mean their weddings have to come with all the bells and whistles.

In fact, plenty of Hollywood’s biggest couples have taken the low-key route when it came time to say “I Do.”

As Gossip Girls star Penn Badgley surprised fans by subtly marrying Domino Kirke in a Brooklyn courthouse on a Monday no less, the new Mr. and Mrs. added themselves to a growing list of famous pairs who escaped the wedding spectacle typically expected of Hollywood’s rich and famous.

From quiet civil ceremonies to Las Vegas elopements, these fellow stars vowed until death do they part in similar no-frills fashion.

When Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard promised themselves to each other in 2013, they did so in “a quiet room in the Beverly Hills courthouse.”

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The entire ordeal cost the couple $142.

“it was still one of the best days of my life,” Bell said on CBS This Morning.

Jessica Alba and Cash Warren have celebrated more than eight years of marriage and two children together—and it all began in a courtroom.

In fact, the mogul and her film producer husband exchanged vows in the same courthouse as their peers, Bell and Shepard.

Seven months after the ceremony and the birth of their first daughter, Honor, they celebrated their marriage with an official reception at their home.

Keira Knightley and her hubby, James Brighton, also went the frill-free route when they wed in 2013, only this time it was in a town hall in the chic south of France.

At the time, E! News spoke to Mayor Aimé Navello, who married the actress and her beau. “Their two witnesses (for the marriage ceremony) were Keira’s parents,” Navello said. “The other people were all brothers, sisters and family. There were no other celebrities as part of the town hall ceremony.”

The wedding was so simple that there weren’t even flowers in the room. Despite the bare ritual, the newlyweds seemed to love every minute of their special day.

“It was really lovely. They were really happy. You could see it. They were laughing and sharing this moment with family,” Navello added. They were really simple, nice people…They seemed very happy and in love.”

While some may claim a wedding in Vegas can only end in disaster, it proved to have quite the lasting power for daytime television star Kelly Ripa and her actor husband, Mark Consuelos, who have been married for 20 years.

They headed to the Chapel of the Bells in Sin City and became husband and wife in a ceremony that cost them less than $140.

“We didn’t have cake because he was so cheap,” Ripa recalled on her show years later.

As for her white dress, “it was $199 on final clearance sale,” she told her audience.

As for blockbuster star Matt Damon, he met his wife of 11 years, Luciana Barroso, while she was bartending and he was in town working on a movie. After two years of dating, the couple tied the knot in a private ceremony in New York City before Damon had to head back to filming.

10 years later, the husband and wife celebrated their anniversary with a star-studded vow renewal ceremony in St. Lucia.

While they redid their nuptials, stars like Stanley Tucci and Chris Hemsworth watched from the audience. As for the price tag, the actor reportedly rented out the entire Sugar Beach Resort on the island.

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Weddings are one of, if not the, best days in people’s lives. It’s no surprise that as a result immense amounts of planning, precision and detail go into them.

The options with weddings are endless. There are so many different styles and designs out there that it can become overwhelming, yet at the end of the day a wedding is expected to be perfect. Dresses, cakes, flowers and jewelry are all some of those hard-to-decide aspects of a wedding, but luckily in Clark County there are people who are ingrained in the wedding game — people who know what works well. Below is a collection of their thoughts.

Dresses

A bride’s dress is arguably the highlight of a wedding. It’s something she’s been thinking about and imagining for years, meaning she might already have a pretty good idea of what it’s going to look like. But what about how it feels?

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According to Brenda Smith of Tutus en Tournant, a custom bridal wear producer in Clark County, a lot of brides in the area aim for comfort as more of a premium.

“As far as requests for custom bridal dresses, some of my brides have asked for Bohemian styles — more casual for outdoor venues,” she said. The idea makes perfectly good sense when you consider how many couples take advantage of the Pacific Northwest’s beautiful scenery and have outdoor weddings.

Having more or less comfort though, doesn’t affect the next key factor of a wedding dress — the color. White is usually the base color of the dress, but that is just the start.

“Some (brides) want a little color mixed in their gowns/dresses. Lots of lace,” said Smith. “Not bright colors, just a hint of like a blush or mixtures of different shades of ivories. Most dresses that I work on are not white-white, they are usually a diamond white or a soft white, or soft ivories.”

The use of other colors on a dress in addition to the plain white are important to consider.

“I’ve heard brides say many times that pure white does not work well with their complexions,” Smith said.

Something that seems to be hot right now is getting creative with the veil. Smith said recently she made a veil for a bride from the bride’s grandmother’s old wedding dress. She also put together a birdcage-style veil with the incorporation of some flowers the bride was using as decor for the ceremony to match.

Flowers

The types of flowers that are used in a wedding generally depends on what the overall theme of the wedding is. In a lot of cases, certain flowers can be made to work with pretty much anything. According to Wendi Reynolds, owner of Clark County Floral, roses are one of those flowers.

“Most of my brides like to use roses due to the fact they see it as romantic flower,” said Reynolds. “You really can’t go wrong with roses because of so many themes you can use them in.”

Reynolds believe roses go great with weddings themed “a little out doors,” such as a garden theme or a country theme.

But once a type of flower(s) is picked out, the floral planning side of things for a wedding isn’t over yet. Careful consideration goes toward the volume of flowers that will be used. The amount can greatly vary.

“That (the number of flowers) depends on how big the wedding is, it could be 75 flowers up to like thousands,” said Reynolds. “I have a bride for this month of February that has ordered over 300 stems of just roses, that’s not including the greens.”

Too often Reynolds said brides lose their flowers right before the big day.

“They don’t realize they need a cooler to keep them cool when the weather gets hotter in the summer. We have had many brides come in and said they lost flowers due to heat,” she said.

Another mistake Reynolds said she sees brides do with flowers is trying to do it alone.

“I think the biggest mistake is the bride taking on a task of doing her own wedding flowers. There is so much more to do than to spend time doing their own wedding flowers the night before the wedding,” said Reynolds, adding many brides have said after their wedding they didn’t think it would be so difficult without any help.

Reynolds said one use of flowers that’s popular is to decorate the stage arches or aisle arches with them.

“Most of our brides love the flowers on the arches,” she said.

Reynolds also noted that at Clark County Floral they will often add floral to chandeliers in weddings.

Cakes

Cakes are a special part of every wedding because they’re one of the only things that’s part of the event that brings a whole other sense to the party — the sense of taste.

That is perhaps the perfect explanation for why the wedding cake scene seems to be changing perhaps more than anything else regarding weddings.

Traditional cakes with all kinds of fondant on them aren’t as big today as they’ve traditionally been. According to Desirey Gibson, the cake designer for Battle Ground Bakery, customers seem to favor with “naked cakes” lately — cakes that don’t have much icing on them.

“People don’t seem to like fondant anymore I think because it just doesn’t taste as good,” said Gibson. “It’s always been used more for decor than taste, and I think people are just valuing that higher these days.”

A lot of wedding parties aren’t even using cakes for dessert. Many people now, Gibson said, will order a smaller-sized cake (one to three tiers high instead of four or more) just for the bride and groom and then feature a secondary desert around it. Cupcakes and ice cream are prime examples.

With that new trend, decorating hasn’t gone away. Some people love getting cakes for their weddings and theming them. Right now the hot theme seems to be to make it look natural.

“Flowers, trees, anything that looks outdoorsy,” Gibson said of the more popular natural trends. Most decorations today are edible she said. Rarely anymore do people still want something on the cake that is just there for show, such as a plastic bride and groom on the top.

Jewelry

At the end of every special wedding day everything becomes just a memory, stored away in people’s minds and reminisced on through pictures. One thing that will last is wedding jewelry.

Jewelry might be small, but it’s expensive for a reason. It’s elegant, and that’s why the tiniest of tiny details matter so much.

Right now, halo designs for bridal rings are the fad, but another, perhaps more interesting shift in the industry is that brides aren’t doing two piece ring sets as much anymore (engagement ring, then added wedding band after). Instead, more and more brides are doing away with that tradition.

A bridal ring style that’s been pretty steady for several years now is white-gold coloring. In the past yellow-gold coloring was the popular way to go.

Randall Brown of Celebration Jewelers in Battle Ground said the rise of alternative metals for men’s wedding rings is significant. Black and grey rings from titanium, cobalt, and ceramic steel have become as popular as gold rings.

Wedding jewelry isn’t just limited to rings. According to Brown, pearl necklaces are popular for brides, and pendants (any color) are often given to bridesmaids to wear.

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Memorizing the Quran has always been appreciated among the Palestinian Muslim community. The Hamas-affiliated Al-Tayseer Society for Marriage and Development in partnership with the Riyad Charity Society on Feb. 4 announced the launch of Ridwan (Satisfaction), a program to provide free weddings in Gaza for individuals who memorize the Islamic holy book. The project is being funded by the Palestinian Charity Committee, affiliated with the International Islamic Charity Organization in Kuwait, a prominent organization that collects donations to help the poor in the Arab and Muslim worlds.

The spread of poverty and high unemployment, which according to figures issued by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics stood at 41.2% in the first quarter of 2016, have made wedding ceremonies and dowries expensive propositions for young people.

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Riyad Shahin, chairman of the Riyad Charity Society, said during the press conference announcing the program that it targets unmarried “huffaz” — people who have memorized the Quran — 26 and older. The aim, he said, is “to encourage youth to read the book of Allah and strengthen ties and social solidarity.”

Hasan al-Juju, head of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Courts, said at a Jan. 29 press conference in Gaza City that the marriage rate in Gaza dropped by 8% from 2015 to 2016. He attributed the decrease to poverty and unemployment.

A number of young men told Al-Monitor that they disapprove of the memorization requirement to obtain a free wedding. Mahmoud al-Batrawi, an unemployed university graduate, dreams of getting married, but he is unable to find a spouse because he lacks the financial means. He has not memorized the Quran and therefore cannot benefit from a free wedding courtesy of Tayseer, the most prominent organization helping young people with the financial burdens of marriage.

“Some have been blessed with the ability to memorize the book of Allah, and so they have,” Batrawi said. “Today, those who lack this ability will be denied the chance to benefit from this project. This is why I believe this is an unreasonable condition, and I hope it will be reconsidered because memorizing the Quran means memorizing around 78,000 words, i.e., about 6,000 Quranic verses. No ordinary human being is capable of doing so; only those with an extraordinary talent for memorizing can do it.”

Ibrahim al-Ejel, who works in a blacksmith shop in the Shujaiyah neighborhood, east of Gaza City, makes $150 a month. He told Al-Monitor that he has been saving for eight years so he can get married, and he got engaged two years ago. He has not yet, however, been able to save enough for a wedding, which on average costs around $10,000.

“I realized that a young man living in Gaza cannot get married without help,” Ejel said. “This is why I had high hopes for a charity to help me out in overcoming this [financial] difficulty and finally achieving stability in my life. I was extremely frustrated when I found out that Tayseer’s project was only for huffaz.”

He added, “Young people from all social classes in Gaza need help getting married. This is why all discrimination in terms of social and religious standards should end now.”

Tayseer director Wael al-Khalili stressed that the free wedding program for huffaz is only part of a series of social projects to youths. He told Al-Monitor, “ We chose huffaz as worthy of receiving such help because they represent a special and unique segment in our society.” Khalili said that his organization also helps youths in general through the Tayseer Marriage Fund, which was established in 2010. The organization provides a loan from the fund to cover the wedding, and the newlyweds repay it in regular installments.

“The huffaz are the young people with the highest morals in our society,” Khalili asserted. “They deserve to be treated differently, and so they do not have to pay back the money they get for their weddings.”

As for the huffaz who stand to benefit from the project, Khalili said, “We do not have a specific number for the time being, but the funding is enough for dozens of huffaz. Each one will be granted an amount to cover the costs of the entire wedding.”

Mouin Rajab, an economics professor at Al-Azhar University in Gaza, noted that Palestinians from all social classes are living under difficult economic conditions, which is why thousands of unemployed graduates are in need of assistance to deal with life’s troubles.

“Although honoring the huffaz is appreciated by Palestinian society, Palestinian youths — college graduates in particular — are unemployed, have no income and are unable to pay for a wedding,” said Rajab. “This is why they should all be receiving help without exception.”

He added, “Even the ones working need assistance to cover the costs of weddings, because they can barely earn a decent living in light of the low wages in Gaza and the difficulty in saving.”

Palestinian youths in Gaza are mired in economic problems that render them unable to live normal lives. Social, partisan and government organizations are able to provide some help for those hoping to marry, but many are stuck between the hammer and the anvil when it comes to financing weddings and dowries and meeting social and religious standards.

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