Expats in Qatar often complain about how hard it is to make a connection with members of the local community.

But Doha News editor Tory Scott’s latest Telegraph piece is a refreshing example of what happens when someone reaches across the aisle, so to speak.

During a trip to a salon with a her mother, Scott and her mother meet a young Qatari woman who promptly invites them to her wedding – a no children, no camera, no phone affair.

Highlights of the night included the guests’ attire: 

They looked unworldly, really. This wasn’t the “natural beauty” we Brits aspire to at weddings. This was pure glamour. I felt under-dressed.

Dancing and entertainment:

 As the (women danced), they threw cash into the air with wild abandon. The money, it turns out, is the band’s payment. Several family members are equipped with wads of cash (related to the band’s agreed fee) and whenever they find the music particularly pleasing, they throw more money in the air.”

And the bride’s entrance:

She was wearing a traditional white dress and veil which wouldn’t look out of place at any British wedding. Her make-up made her look like a completely different women to the one we’d met. Lit like a movie star and filmed by a camera on a giant crane, her image was projected on a huge screen behind us. For that night only, she really was the star of the show.

After the night was done, Scott was reminded it wasn’t all a dream when she got this phone call the next day:

“Hello,” an unfamiliar female voice said. “It’s me, the bride. Thanks so much for coming. I was so pleased to see you.”

“Expat bubbles deserve to be burst,” Scott says.

Do you agree? Thoughts?

Credit: Photo by David Precious