Officiants dial in from abroad
RANA FAYAD and Wassim Abou Zeid had a traditional wedding. She wore a white dress; he wore a tuxedo. They recited their vows outdoors in front of the mountains that rise up behind Beirut, the Lebanese capital. Friends and family gathered beside them. So far, so normal. Except that their officiant joined by video call from the American state of Utah. 「Can you both see and hear me?」 boomed the voice of Christopher Scuderi, a non-denominational clergyman, from a tablet.
Ms Fayad and Mr Abou Zeid are of different religions, so they wanted a secular wedding. In Lebanon that is hard to arrange. The country has no civil marriage. Residents must marry under the laws of their religious sect (18 are officially recognised). This poses spiritual as well as practical problems. One half of the couple may have to convert. Religious laws and the courts that uphold them make divorce difficult and discriminate against women when it comes to the custody of children and the division of money and property.
But Lebanon does recognise civil marriages performed elsewhere. Those who can afford it fly to nearby Cyprus, then register their marriage back home. Should a couple who marry abroad divorce, Lebanese courts follow the laws—usually more egalitarian—under which the marriage took place. Travel companies offer packages to Cyprus that cover flights, hotels and marriage fees. Ms Fayad and Mr Abou Zeid were set to go down this route, until her visa failed to come through in time. Lebanon’s dire economy means that fewer would-be married couples can afford the expense.
So the couple turned to Zoom. Three years ago Utah changed its rules to allow the entire marriage process—from licence application to ceremony—to be conducted online. Only the officiant needs to be present in that state.
Khalil Rizkallah and Nada Nehme, who met online, may have become the first couple in Lebanon to marry under Utah’s law when they tied the knot in November 2021. They were going to fly to somewhere such as Paris for a secular wedding but decided to be wed via Zoom instead, so that their family could celebrate with them at a fancy restaurant in Lebanon. Mr Scuderi officiated from a big screen. Mr Rizkallah, who sells cloud services, and Ms Nehme, a chemist, now run a business on the side helping others marry in the same way.
Mr Scuderi has now officiated at two dozen Lebanese weddings. His starting rate of $75 pays for a three-minute ceremony; he throws in a closing 「Mabrouk!」 (Arabic for congratulations). The Fayad-Abou Zeid ceremony lasted a bit longer. Their tablet overheated in the middle of it. After the couple reconnected, Mr Scuderi hastily pronounced them married: 「Many blessings to you both for a long and very happy life together.」 The screen froze again, this time because of the 3G connection. 「And it looks like we』ve lost them again.」
This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline "Long-distance marriages" (Sep 8th 2022)
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2015年2月8日
2022年9月12日
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