Weddings are fun. They bring the whole family together and provide at least a week of festivities and good ol’ desi food.
While we all might agree to this, most of us know how nerve-wrecking it can be to be a bride. The most important day of your life that you’ve been planning for the better part of your life, is not easy to put together. We take you through the 10 things a Pakistani bride goes through before the big day!
- The Shaadi Diet: While everyone within a mile of you is devouring qormas and haleems, you must stick to the excruciating diet plan that allows you fruits, water and an occasional chaat.
- The Jora: It has to be the stuff dreams are made of. It has to be one of a kind. It has to look good on me. And it has to be within the budget…quite possibly, the toughest thing to achieve. (Insert helpful neighborhood ‘designer’ aunty who can make you something Elan-ish in a third of the price)
- The Mehndi: You don’t know bribing if you haven’t convinced someone to dance at your wedding. Getting everyone to get in one place, everyday, for a month to “practice” deserves an honorary mention.
- The Makeup: You want the makeup artist to do what photoshop couldn’t achieve in all these years. This is like choosing your own fairy godmother. While the decision to choose a makeup artist is straining enough, the real challenge is to get a booking on your desired dates. (December brides, we’re sorry)
- The Decor: Does no one understand how important center pieces are anymore? The decor should have an abundance of flowers and candles and one of those really cool confetti machines that will make the dances look so much more ‘filmy’. Discussing these ideas with your caterer/wedding planner will make you think you were better off dreaming about them.
- The Groom: Uh, hello? It’s your wedding too! Every bride wishes the groom would have at least a fraction of the enthusiasm she does. His lack of involvement will lead to random outbursts by the bride that may calm down with (hint) expensive gifts.
- The Video: This starts with taking quotes from every videographer in town, to wearing the director’s hat yourself. Picking the right one can be tricky since no one can get inside your head and actually get what you want. Every frame must look like a Yash Chopra movie.
- The Endless Shopping Trips: While we love to shop, wedding shopping can just about get the worst of anyone. Day or night, rain or clouds, the best place to find you would probably be somewhere in the bazaars. Haggling, carrying a dozen bags, and just wishing that someone else could take charge now!
- The Breakdowns: In between all of the above, you will have moments of complete anguish and breakdown that usually stem from finding out that things are not going exactly like you want them to. The best way to deal with this is to take a deep breath and eat some carbs.
- The Rukhsati: Between all the madness and happiness, you have your little moments where the inevitable takes over you and you burst into tears. This can happen anywhere, from sitting in the corner at dance practices to binge eating chocolates at midnight. You know you’ll miss this place, and these people, the most wherever you go.
If you can relate to any of the above mentioned (or all of the above mentioned), share and have a laugh with your friends because that’s just what desi weddings in good ol’ Pakistan are all about!
Contributed By: Mehrosh Danish Waqar
