Weddings may look like a celebration of love, but behind the glitz and glamour lies a web of emotions, expectations, and cultural pressures, and no one sees this more clearly than a wedding planner.

In this episode, I sit down with Zoya Altaf, a seasoned wedding planner from Pakistan now based in Dubai, to unpack what really goes on behind the scenes of Desi weddings. From navigating outrageous budgets to managing family drama and power struggles, Zoya shares raw, real insights that only someone in her role can see.

We talk about:

• Why people still get married because of societal pressure
• The most over-the-top weddings she’s planned
• How families often spend beyond their means, and why that needs to change
• The unspoken expectations placed on brides and their families
• Social media aesthetics, Mahira Khan’s wedding, and real-time posting etiquette
• Shia-Sunni wedding complexities, mother-in-law dynamics, and more
• Whether rich people are actually happier, and what a wedding really reveals about a society

Whether you're getting married, have been to a Desi wedding, or are just curious about the business and emotion behind the big day, this conversation is packed with insights and laughter.

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