Eid Al-Fitr was only the start of numerous wedding bells, as more couples proceed with their wedding plans despite tough economic conditions, Al-Ahram Weekly explores some of the obstacles to marriage De-constructing the dream Amira El-Naqeeb finds that the average young couple's love nest dream is blown away by the expenses it entails The story begins with falling in love, imagining a future together, and planning a lifetime in each other's arms. But for many young couples the story is rudely interrupted, as they hit a wall trying to find and furbish the ideal love nest. Apartment prices have soared to the extent that they become practically unaffordable to many. And if love has the biggest sway for tying the knot, when it comes to building a home, it's money that takes centre stage. "I could imagine my whole house inside my head. Faced with reality, my dream became blurry," said bride-to-be Ghada Abdel-Salam. She added that, faced with the small size of the apartment, and the expense of painting, finishing, detailing and doing the basic utilities including water, plumbing and electricity, there was barely any room for any more. Abdel-Salam and her fiancé didn't think they had the money to hire an interior designer. Looking back, she now calls this "our biggest mistake. People think we're saving by not hiring a decorator, whereas in fact, we have made mistakes because we didn't have an expert with us, and ended up spending more on the long run." For instance, Abdel-Salam said, they had to repaint the walls because the colour they initially tried for didn't turn out as they thought it would. They bought very expensive ceramics because they didn't know there were cheaper ones on offer. As such they ended up not having enough money to buy a heater. "My biggest problem is that my fiancé and I bickered all the time because we didn't have a professional, decisive opinion to settle our arguments," she sighed with frustration. Most often, a combination of background and personal taste will dictate how financial agreements are to be handled. Mohamed Mekki, an IT specialist, said that, in a spirit of good taste, he has to shoulder many expenses, including a dowry, a wedding ring, and the wedding celebration -- as well as the apartment. He went on to explain that he faced an uphill struggle getting the apartment right. "I had set my budget, but raw materials, like iron, were hard to come by and growing more expensive by the day. Personally, I always wanted a large reception, with a nice view, and an American kitchen," Mekki said as his eyes glossed over. He was unlucky, however, as his 70-square-metre apartment simply isn't big enough to house his dream. Worse still, like many other men waiting to be married, he alone supervised all the workers whom he hired. "I can't afford to hire an interior designer, and I can't trust contractors, as many steal from the raw materials," Mekki said. Interior designer Hadi Abaza said that unfortunately in Egypt there is a misconception that only very wealthy people can afford to hire decorators. He explained that any successful interior decoration project must count on three elements. The project must be architecturally atheistic, functional and cost effective. "You can only combine the three with the help of a professional," he said. To illustrate, Abaza recalled how he once had a client who was determined to cover the entirety of his kitchen walls with ceramics. "I explained to him that it was unnecessary since the upper and lower cabinet units would cover up the walls, and that it was enough to cover up the gap in between," he said. "After I convinced him of my point of view, we ended up using seven metres of ceramics instead of 30." Abdel-Salam is unflinching in her support of Abaza's opinion. She explained that when a friend of hers hired an interior designer to finish up the details of her house, she ended up paying less than what she would have spent had she bought the materials herself, because her decorator managed to get her discounts. "Fabrics, ceramics, wood, and paint all became cheaper. And, of course, he had wonderful taste," she said. Furniture gallery salesperson Heba Mustafa argued that finding the right materials and avoiding frauds isn't an easy task. Because she was constrained by budget in the preparation of her own apartment, she decided to buy her materials from Damietta governorate, which is famous for its production of relatively cheaper furniture. She said that, however good her intentions were, she became prey to furniture brokers, who led her to multiple shops where the wood on sale was of poor quality and priced extremely high. "My father was an expert, so he saved my fiancé and me from being ripped off," she told the Weekly. And if you think three is a crowd, then in the process of building the love nest, there are definitely more than the two lovebirds taking part. Mustafa said she and her new husband liked the ultra-modern style they picked to furnish their home, but that her parents were not convinced. Since they were paying for it, a compromise had to be reached. "If they pay, then they have a say," said Mustafa with a smirk. Yet for others like Mekki, who is financially independent, it was different. "I call the shots," he said proudly.
