Karachi, May 10 (AHN) The ongoing crisis in the Middle East has impacted the wedding-obsessed country, writes Fatima S Attarwala, host of All Things Money, in 'Dawn'.

The Pakistani daily quoted Izzah Zaman, co-founder of wedding-tech startup 'Shadiyana', saying that amid surging fuel rates and inflation, pricing volatility has reached new highs.

"Several venues have rai­sed rates by up to Rs 500 per head, while others are refusing to commit to winter pricing altogether, citing uncertainty around oil and input costs," Zaman added.

Attarwala writes that the Pakistan government's stern measures have led to further stricter regulatory enforcement that includes a 10 p.m. wedding cutoff, police intervention in cases of violations, and crackdowns on the one-dish policy, resulting in venue closures across Islamabad.

Describing the operational challenges, she noted that weddings in the capital, in particular, are "increasingly vulnerable to external disruptions".

She attributed security cordons near the Margalla Hills during peace talks between the US and Iran, which was mediated by Pakistan, as the reason.

She emphasised that city-wide VIP protocols lead to delay in guest arrivals without warning.

Media reports suggest that last winter's wedding season in Karachi alone was worth around Rs 33 billion, while 'Shadiyana' estimates Pakistani market at around Rs 900 million.

Attarwala mentioned in 'Dawn' that all of this is unfolding within an industry that has historically operated at enormous scale, albeit through a "fragmented and informal economy".

Historically, Pakistan's wedding economy has been disorganised. Entire neighbourhoods, such as North Nazimabad in Karachi, function as dense clusters of 60 to 70 wedding halls, meaning discovery of a venue is largely physical and inefficient.

Therefore, searching a venue often means driving from one location to another, only to find that most wedding halls are already booked.

According to the Pakistani newspaper, the average wedding ticket size on 'Shadiyana' stood at around Rs. 6,00,000 before the latest inflationary wave driven by the US-Iran conflict. Through the platform, wedding budgets have ranged from as little as Rs 20,000 to as much as Rs 4.4 million.

However, Attarwala said that the broader trend poi­nts towards contraction.

"A startup that began operations during the pandemic, then navigated the Rus­sia-Ukraine conflict, domestic inf­l­ation, a near-default economic crisis, and now ongoing geopolitical tensions, has effectively grown alo­ngside a series of economic shocks," she wrote.

Moreover, the writer highlighted that West Asia war's impact on Pakistan's wedding economy is reflected by its consumer behaviour.

"Guest lists that once averaged 400 people have now shrunk to around 150. Budgets for venues, photography, and catering are also being reduced," she wrote in 'Dawn'.

Even as the conflict between US and Iran continues and fiscal pressures tighten for ordinary people, "weddings will still take place, albeit on significantly smaller budgets".