Marriage
Marriage as an occasion is always treated with care. In the past, many different families characterized by similar social and financial levels and creed would create ties to one another through marriage. The family was responsible for choosing the partner, rather than the bride or the groom doing so. The family usually spends a lot of money on it. Social changes have had a great effect on the way of choosing a spouse.

Nowadays, relationships between men and women are to some extent more flexible. Young men now meet girls at family social occasions, work, clubs and other places. As a result, a Kuwaiti girl can become engaged to a man from outside the family, and the Kuwaiti men who study abroad may marry a foreigner. Higher education and job opportunities have led to delaying the regular age of marriage till twenty-three or twenty-four.        

After choosing a partner and getting family approval, formal traditions, which are a mixture of the old and the new, play a vital role. In the past, a young man used to propose to a girl by asking for her hand in marriage from her father or one of family elders if her father was dead. Then, they would discuss financial matters such as the dowry. Finally, they would celebrate the engagement by holding an engagement party in the girl’s house. The period between the engagement and marriage is not set. While it may be long or short, it usually lasts for one month. Wedding parties are given in large public halls or in hotels. There is another party for just men to congratulate the groom and a separate party for women to sing and celebrate.