Matt and Ashley

I capped off a week in Los Angeles by celebrating the wedding of my best friend from college Matt to his stunning wife Ashley. From Paradise Cove Beach Cafe to El Matador Beach, the wedding party settled at Saddlerock Ranch in Malibu where Matt and Ashley exchanged touching vows under an old willow tree. Nothing quite compares to being able to share such milestones with an old friend, especially when it involves his union to such a special woman as Ashley.

Bringing the topic of matrimony back to Dubai, BBC News published in 1999 an article examining the state of Emirati weddings. Click here for details on government involvement in mass weddings and the declining level of spending among some couples.