Residents of the twin-cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad have started hosting wedding ceremonies at their homes as holding wedding receptions and ceremonies at marriage halls and marques has become very expensive.
Arranging marriage events especially ‘barat’ and ‘walima’ at marriage halls, marques or alike marriage venues has been trending in the twin-cities for more than a decade, said a stage decorator, who was in this business for about 25 years. However, he said, price hike and inflation have made this trend gradually fade away and now people prefer arranging wedding events at their homes.
“I got married 10 years ago, and all the events of my wedding including ‘mehndi’, ‘barat’, and ‘walima’ were hosted at our home. We had erected Shamiana in our street and rooftop to seat the guests for lunch and dinner whereas the arrangements for observing marriage traditions and customs were made inside the house. Marriages of all my siblings were held in the same fashion,” a resident of Allama Iqbal Colony, Umair Javed, 35.
Another citizen said at a wedding ceremony in Bhara kahu that it’s the marriage ceremony of his 24-year-old son.
“Marriage venues such as wedding halls, marques, and hotels have gone beyond the reach of middle-class families. That’s why I decided to hosted the ceremony at my home.”
Manager at the Decent Lodge Islamabad said that one can cut their expenses by more than half by hosting wedding at their home. Marriage halls are getting more expensive with every passing day and it seems that within the next few years, only a handful of people will afford to book such venues for holding marriage receptions, he added.
During the era of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, the government had imposed one-dish policy at marriage halls across Punjab and people were booking marriage venues without giving the booking cost a second thought, he said, adding that this policy had made marriage halls affordable for all.
He urged the government to reinstate the one-dish police for not only controlling the waste of leftover and excess food but also to facilitate people who want to arrange weddings at marriage halls.
