You're super rich, just engaged and your wedding must be an event to surpass all others. How about a ceremony in the shadow of the pyramids, adorned with 50 albino peacocks?

Perhaps you are peckish and hunger for cupcakes from your favourite London patisserie - why not have a dozen flown into town?

Although it sounds fanciful, these are real requests made by private members in a world where, if you have enough money, almost anything is possible.

Catering to the whims of the wealthy is big business, and luxury concierge and private members clubs are thriving in the UAE.

Traditionally, membership is by invitation only, but most will screen new applicants.

Once in the club, you can outsource anything. Basic services include travel arrangements, finding a nanny, a gardener, or feeding your cat while you are away.

Pascale Aoun is the operations manager of Quintessentially in Abu Dhabi, the world's best-known private members club.

"We had to arrange for the luggage of a client to be unpacked and ready in his hotel closet on arrival at 12 destinations worldwide on one trip," she says.

But it doesn't stop there - private members clubs will source one-off watches or jewellery, antiques, flowers, perfumes or gifts.

They open the door into a world of A-list parties, VIP access to sporting events, haute-couture fashion shows and red-carpet premieres alongside private jets, yachts and fast cars.

It's all about having something that no one else has, being ahead of the game, being first. Being best.

"Any dream. Any adventure, we can help. It can be any kind of request. We do anything as long as it is legal," says Ms Aoun.


The only other boundary is the limit of your imagination.

"One member, in London I think, wanted to know exactly how many words there are in the dictionary," she adds with a smile.

Quintessentially is the Goliath in the luxury lifestyle-management field. Unrivalled in its global reach, the private members club opened in Dubai in 2005 and in Abu Dhabi three years later.

Endorsed by celebrities including Jemima Khan, the human-rights activist, and Tom Chaplin of the rock band Keane, Quintessentially likes to keep membership numbers confidential.

Ms Aoun says the UAE market is quite different to the rest of the world.

"The standards of luxury here are very high. Anyone can have dinner at a five-star hotel, so people are looking for something more.

"Our members are very interested in art; we provide an art consultant to attend exhibitions, assist in choosing paintings or drawings for a house.

"In this part of the world, people are very [much] into electronics. We brought the new iPhone 3G to a member within 48 hours of it being launched. We were one of the first to bring the iPad to Abu Dhabi. You have to stay on top of technology developments."

For some, however, being part of a global private members club is something of a contradiction - they are looking for something much more exclusive.

Karim Chbib left Switzerland for Dubai in 2007 with a suitcase and US$1,000 (Dh3,670) in his pocket.

He was following in the footsteps of his grandfather, who had built a career as a concierge for a number of Emirati families, the al Thani family in Qatar and as an adviser to King Khalid bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia.

In 2009, Mr Chbib decided to go it alone and set up UniK Concierge, a luxury lifestyle-management service.

With just 13 members, UniK is a very exclusive club.

"We are boutique, so we are very close to our clientele," Mr Chbib says. "I know each and every one of my clients personally.

"Whether it is in Dubai or New York with a drink or dinner, I have direct contact with them every week.

"Our clients are international high-net-worth individuals who like to live interesting lives, but don't have the time to take care of the details themselves because of work commitments." Mr Chbib says his job is to make people feel important, to give them something their friend or neighbour doesn't have. He is about to launch a range of high-net-worth products aimed at doing exactly that.