The Wedding Economy: Planners, Production, and Plates
Lavish weddings also spotlight an industry that has professionalized fast. Event planners now operate like production houses: concept design, lighting plots, guest-flow logistics, security coordination, digital invitations, live feeds, and post-event content. This ecosystem absorbs capital and turns it into wages.
Catering is a clean example. A single-dish station from Wasabi — starting around PKR 4,000 per head — is not decadence by default. It is a premium product priced transparently, employing chefs, servers, procurement teams, and suppliers. Guests choosing it are exercising preference; hosts offering it are contracting services. Moral judgment belongs to law and governance, not menus.
Planners increasingly mix restraint with flair: one signature dish instead of sprawling buffets; curated palettes over maximalism; sustainable florals; localized sourcing; timed programming to reduce waste. Luxury does not have to mean vulgarity. It can mean precision.
Optics vs. Outcomes
The fiscal reality circulating online tells a sobering story: tax collection has risen, debt has risen faster. That paradox is structural. It is not solved by shaming weddings. It is solved by tax base broadening, energy pricing reform, export competitiveness, and debt rules that bind governments. Holding policymakers to those outcomes matters far more than counting bangles.
The moral argument often invoked against public figures should be applied consistently. Condemn hypocrisy, corruption, indifference to hunger, and abuse of authority. Do not outsource outrage to tailors. Pakistan can walk and chew gum: celebrate lawful success, build world-class creative industries, and still demand clean governance and social protection.
