The big fat wedding is a term which is used for a typical desi shaadi; where millions and millions are spent! The money is spent over dresses, food, decoration and all the lavish things that ever exist! It is a VERY COMMON practice to spent your lifetime of savings in just one week. Throughout this one week; there would be 5 to 6 unnecessary events for the wedding. Pre-pre-pre wedding events and then post-post-post wedding event. It’s just like a grand week of the party; where the guests spend an unimaginable amount of money on dressing up well for someone else’s wedding!

Well, challenging these norms and culture sometimes requires HUGE courage! Seems like this couple had all the guts to do it. We all have heard of people opting for simpler marriage by eliminating all the unnecessary events but we bet you wouldn’t have heard of THIS SIMPLE wedding!

Their post-nikkah photo went viral, and we got in touch with dulha mian and asked him how he managed to do it?

Yes, this photo is right after they got married! This is EXACTLY how they were dressed when they said “Qabool hai”

Their post broke the internet!

We talked to the couple and Subhan Aslam, very generously, told us about all that they went through as a couple before they got married…

We asked them a few questions as to how they met and convinced their parents and how their friends reacted upon hearing of not inviting them!

Here’s how they met! Read along, this is super KA-YOOT!!

Well, through a Facebook group; The Sage Street Pakistan. Having similar work fields, we started working together on freelance projects. What made us best friends in a short time period was being vocal and fearless about questioning and challenging what’s wrong in society. We used to discuss things which were non-conforming for many people. It was rare for both of us to find someone with whom our thoughts matched to this level.

Making the BIG decision!

Out of so many, any kinds of people we two understood that we are the practical ones, who don’t only say things but do it too! My wife Saadia is an amazingly talented woman with a very rational approach towards life but a failed first marriage in young age was always talked about instead of her qualities. I wasn’t the one saying “Haey Bechari, Qismat ki Maari” but instead decided to marry my best friend; a strong, independent, working single mother. Because the perfect compatibility I have with her matters more than judgmental views, stereotypes, and taboos of society.

Convincing the Families – Wasn’t EASY!

Our decision of marriage was a surprise for our parents and before they could question, revealing HOW we want to get married caused more shocks. Everyone had the same question; WHY you want such a simple marriage? And we both had one answer; Why Not?? The process of convincing parents for not having even a single function wasn’t an easy one. They were confused, angry at points, frustrated, afraid and hesitant. We even heard “How it’s NOT done this way” But we finally convinced them. Its been 7 months to marriage now and they appreciate and love our choice of a non-flashy wedding.

Friends and family members’ reaction! Yikes!

Most of them were very happy, many were shocked, few still don’t talk about it. But if we had ever cared about “Log kia kahein gay” we wouldn’t have made it this far.

Message to everyone: Do not complicate easy things – make life simpler and happier. Choice and say of two people, who want to live together, matters the most in decisions of marriage. Do not enforce rules of society on your children or next generation.  Accept the change and be part of it, that’s the only way we can fix bigger problems.

So, all in all, having a simple wedding is neither that easy nor that difficult! If you are anytime planning to do it. Maybe mark their experience as a guide. Cheers. 🙂