The Great Kashmiri Wedding Race

The growing obsession with extravagant ceremonies is reshaping traditions and bankrupting families across the valley.

- Rameez Rasool Mir

The wedding scene in Kashmir these days feels almost unreal, like a show designed more for display than for celebration.

Crystal chandeliers hang from the ceilings, flower arrangements line the walls, and guests pose for professional photographers as if attending a film premiere.

The bride changes outfits several times. The groom arrives in a convoy of cars. The meal stretches into a long parade of wazwan courses.

What was once a simple religious union has become a theatre of extravagance.

In Islam, marriage is meant to be a contract built on sincerity and simplicity. The Prophet (peace be upon him) urged his followers to marry for faith, not for display. But Kashmiri weddings have drifted far from this principle.

The modern celebration has become an exhibition of wealth, and many families now spend years recovering from the costs of a single day.