With temperatures climbing, wedding invitations seem to have mercifully dwindled to a stop for those who dread the sweat of suits, heels, and layers of makeup. And not a day too soon, given how the ongoing war has impacted this wedding-obsessed country.

Amid surging fuel rates and inflation, pricing volatility has reached new highs. Several venues have rai­sed rates by up to Rs500 per head, while others are refusing to commit to winter pricing altogether, citing uncertainty around oil and input costs, says Izzah Zaman, co-founder of wedding-tech startup Shadiyana.

Alongside this, the government’s austerity measures have led to stricter regulatory enforcement: a 10pm wedding cutoff, police intervention in cases of violations, and crackdowns on the one-dish policy, resulting in venue closures across Islamabad.

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