It’s not unexpected that brides-to-be are constantly fielding questions, hearing opinions and making decisions about their wedding ceremonies. With six months to go for my own nuptials – a rather short time when it comes to desi wedding planning – it seems it’s all anyone wants to talk to me about. Despite being mentally prepared, I was taken aback by the nature of some of these conversations, specifically the ones that are hyper-focused on the social media savviness of the ceremony.
What’s your wedding hashtag going to be, asked one well-meaning friend. Have you sorted your WhatsApp invitation, inquired another, while a third wanted to know if I was going with the event planner that everyone had been obsessing about on Instagram.
Not big on social media, I passed off these and other questions as trends that are just not for me. It was only when I realised that most people around me expected me to follow these fads and reacted rather oddly when I said I didn’t want a hashtag, or that I wanted to celebrate differently from the norm, that I realised the kind of pressure that’s been built around having the perfect wedding – and, more importantly, showing it off to the world.
What does a social media-savvy wedding look like?
From invitations that take the form of a YouTube video to decor that’s doing the rounds on the feeds of influencers, these ceremonies are an attempt to attract and impress as many people as possible.
I miss out on clients when I tell them that I won't be consistently posting their videos, taken from a phone camera on our Instagram feed as a live telecast
Fatima Arif,
photographer
Wedding hashtags, now a popular concept where the couple’s names are melded to create a carefully curated hashtag, allow followers from anywhere to keep up with the proceedings. Weeks after the wedding, pictures and videos are posted by everyone involved, from the photographer to the dress designer and make-up artist, so the social media hype continues long after the event itself is over.
The most well-liked or popular coverage is often reposted on lifestyle portals and fashion round-up lists, affording the bride and groom a level of celebrity status. Fatima Arif, founder of Fatima Arif Photography, says she’s seen many couples using their accounts and the response to their wedding as a way of turning to blogging or fast-tracking their way to becoming an influencer.
Couples feeling the heat
This is not to say that such weddings are for everyone. Nida Sheikh, a bride-to-be who is in the midst of planning her wedding next year, believes social media weddings are curated primarily to garner more likes and attract more followers.
“I would advise couples not to be taken aback by the pressure. It’s only a small part of society that indulges in extravagant weddings and those are the ones that are covered on social media. There are many simple and intimate events that take place, but get no online coverage because the content is not deemed appealing to a wider audience.”
While Sheikh may be right in saying many weddings fly under the radar, the perceptions created on social media are quite different, making couples think that everyone else is doing it and they need to as well. The desire to ape what we see online can end up making a wedding less about individuality and more about being part of a competition.
For those who want to see these events being carried out on such grand scales but can’t afford to do the same, the experience of planning a wedding can get quite painful
Zoreed Raza,
founder, La Celebrators event planning company
Neha Raheel, an educational consultant who got married three and a half years ago, says that the constant sharing on social media has accelerated an already-consumerist culture and that much of social media marketing is often targeted at brides or women attending weddings. Through a collaboration of photographers, event planners, caterers and others, the couple and their family members end up putting on a show akin to a Bollywood production.
“There’s this pressure of going to a wedding and then not being able to repeat clothes, because you posted about them. Weight loss ads and crash diets are also directed towards brides. The pressure of uploading stories and the warped body image expectations that social media creates plays a huge role in adding to this,” says Raheel.
Arif says her own choices to use social media sparingly have lost her potential business. “I miss out on clients when I tell them that I won't be consistently posting their videos taken from a phone camera on our Instagram feed as a live telecast,” says the photographer.
Arif says that the pressure of promoting a ceremony on social media can often take a toll on a couple’s experience of their big day. “They spend more time worrying about how to be the next big thing instead of enjoying the process,” says Arif. However, she adds that this doesn’t apply to all her clients; there are many who prefer their images not be shared online, including brides who wear the abaya or niqab and do not want to be seen on public portals.
On the brand bandwagon
Another outcome of highly publicised weddings is the birth of overwhelming options when it comes to clothes and accessories.
Raheel says that there were several moments during the course of her wedding planning when she was left overwhelmed about what to buy and what to wear. She recalls a conversation about her decision to wear flower jewellery at her henna function, with someone asking her which designer her jewellery would be from.
“I didn’t even realise that flower jewellery was associated with brand names. I assumed I would get mine from a local flower vendor. The idea that even something as simple accessories made from fresh flowers were branded was a shocking revelation of how obsessed with big names everyone has become.”
People are experimenting, they do not want typical weddings any more
Sahar Sheikh,
wedding planner
Zoreed Raza, founder of event planning company La Celebrators, says her 22 years of experience in the wedding planning business have taught her there’s a lot more to a good event than only being the most expensive or copying the latest trends. Raza says that while she implemented more original ideas earlier in her career, now she mostly gets clients who bring her pictures of social media references that they want copied, as is.
She cautions that following trends is not necessarily an easy task, be it due to economic pressure or social expectations. “For those who want to see these events being carried out on such grand scales but can’t afford to do the same, the experience of planning a wedding can get quite painful.”
Sonya Barlow, founder of global social enterprise LMF Network, agrees. “Personally, I find social media and wedding planning using platforms like Pinterest and Instagram quite toxic. Many ideas are difficult to implement, and there are a lot of expectations, either from yourself, friends, family or people around you, so you want to make sure you are seen in a certain way,” she says.
Riding the wave
Equally, there are some planners who excel at meeting a couple’s social media expectations without allowing the pressure to get to them. Sahar Sheikh, founder of Purple Parrot Events, says she’s enjoying the ride in an industry she feels is still quite new and has been made evermore accessible by social media.
The event planner may have been in the business for only five years, but was quick to use her social media-savvy nature and understanding of modern communication to understand that platforms can be a very effective tool when used in the right way.
That said, Sheikh does feel that an overload of information and outside influences have left us at risk of losing touch with traditions such as the doodh pilai (drinking milk) and joota chupai (hiding shoes) ceremonies. But as an event planner, she sees this coming together of old and new as a challenge, one that she revels in resolving.
“Everything about weddings has changed. People are experimenting, they do not want typical weddings any more,” she says. “In the end, couples should remember their wedding is the time they are the centre of importance. You need to be happy on your wedding day, not worry about it, so make your decisions accordingly. If you are enjoying it, everything does come together.”
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Company%20Profile
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Meydan racecard:
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 (PA) Group 1 | US$75,000 (Dirt) | 2,200 metres
7.05pm: UAE 1000 Guineas (TB) Listed | $250,000 (D) | 1,600m
7.40pm: Meydan Classic Trial (TB) Conditions | $100,000 (Turf) | 1,400m
8.15pm: Al Shindagha Sprint (TB) Group 3 | $200,000 (D) | 1,200m
8.50pm: Handicap (TB) | $175,000 (D) | 1,600m
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) | $175,000 (T) | 2,000m
10pm: Handicap (TB) | $135,000 (T) | 1,600m
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key findings
- Over a period of seven years, a team of scientists analysed dietary data from 50,000 North American adults.
- Eating one or two meals a day was associated with a relative decrease in BMI, compared with three meals. Snacks count as a meal. Likewise, participants who ate more than three meals a day experienced an increase in BMI: the more meals a day, the greater the increase.
- People who ate breakfast experienced a relative decrease in their BMI compared with “breakfast-skippers”.
- Those who turned the eating day on its head to make breakfast the biggest meal of the day, did even better.
- But scrapping dinner altogether gave the best results. The study found that the BMI of subjects who had a long overnight fast (of 18 hours or more) decreased when compared even with those who had a medium overnight fast, of between 12 and 17 hours.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
MATCH INFO
Real Madrid 2 (Benzema 13', Kroos 28')
Barcelona 1 (Mingueza 60')
Red card: Casemiro (Real Madrid)
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Expert input
If you had all the money in the world, what’s the one sneaker you would buy or create?
“There are a few shoes that have ‘grail’ status for me. But the one I have always wanted is the Nike x Patta x Parra Air Max 1 - Cherrywood. To get a pair in my size brand new is would cost me between Dh8,000 and Dh 10,000.” Jack Brett
“If I had all the money, I would approach Nike and ask them to do my own Air Force 1, that’s one of my dreams.” Yaseen Benchouche
“There’s nothing out there yet that I’d pay an insane amount for, but I’d love to create my own shoe with Tinker Hatfield and Jordan.” Joshua Cox
“I think I’d buy a defunct footwear brand; I’d like the challenge of reinterpreting a brand’s history and changing options.” Kris Balerite
“I’d stir up a creative collaboration with designers Martin Margiela of the mixed patchwork sneakers, and Yohji Yamamoto.” Hussain Moloobhoy
“If I had all the money in the world, I’d live somewhere where I’d never have to wear shoes again.” Raj Malhotra
Teaching your child to save
Pre-school (three - five years)
You can’t yet talk about investing or borrowing, but introduce a “classic” money bank and start putting gifts and allowances away. When the child wants a specific toy, have them save for it and help them track their progress.
Early childhood (six - eight years)
Replace the money bank with three jars labelled ‘saving’, ‘spending’ and ‘sharing’. Have the child divide their allowance into the three jars each week and explain their choices in splitting their pocket money. A guide could be 25 per cent saving, 50 per cent spending, 25 per cent for charity and gift-giving.
Middle childhood (nine - 11 years)
Open a bank savings account and help your child establish a budget and set a savings goal. Introduce the notion of ‘paying yourself first’ by putting away savings as soon as your allowance is paid.
Young teens (12 - 14 years)
Change your child’s allowance from weekly to monthly and help them pinpoint long-range goals such as a trip, so they can start longer-term saving and find new ways to increase their saving.
Teenage (15 - 18 years)
Discuss mutual expectations about university costs and identify what they can help fund and set goals. Don’t pay for everything, so they can experience the pride of contributing.
Young adulthood (19 - 22 years)
Discuss post-graduation plans and future life goals, quantify expenses such as first apartment, work wardrobe, holidays and help them continue to save towards these goals.
* JP Morgan Private Bank
Overall head-to-head
Federer 6-1 Cilic
Head-to-head at Wimbledon
Federer 1-0 Cilic
Grand Slams titles
Federer 18-1 Cilic
Best Wimbledon performance
Federer: Winner (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012)
Cilic: Final (2017*)
RESULT
Valencia 3
Kevin Gameiro 21', 51'
Ferran Torres 67'
Atlanta 4
Josip Llicic 3' (P), 43' (P), 71', 82'
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
Sri Lanka's T20I squad
Thisara Perera (captain), Dilshan Munaweera, Danushka Gunathilaka, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Ashan Priyanjan, Mahela Udawatte, Dasun Shanaka, Sachith Pathirana, Vikum Sanjaya, Lahiru Gamage, Seekkuge Prasanna, Vishwa Fernando, Isuru Udana, Jeffrey Vandersay and Chathuranga de Silva.
SWEET%20TOOTH
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Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Ticket prices
General admission Dh295 (under-three free)
Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free
Buy tickets at: wbworldabudhabi.com/en/tickets
