Famous Pakistani wedding photographer Irfan Ahson, who shot Atif Aslam’s and Junaid Safdar’s weddings, among other high-profile weddings, has recently shared some surprising facts that he has observed in the wedding business. In his social media channels, Irfan has been sharing behind-the-scenes moments and unveiling some of the common practices that usually go unseen.
One of those trends is the lavish act of showering money at weddings — something that has become more popular among the wealthy and celebrities. While it seems like a bountiful expression of wealth or celebration, Irfan unveiled that the truth is far from what it looks like.
It was a video posted by Irfan, where he had shared a story about a grand wedding where qawwals were especially told not to pick the money littered on the ground. Rather, the artists were informed that the money would be picked up by the family and distributed afterward. But when it was all over, even though packets of cash were accumulated, the artistes were never paid. It was all for display, with no intention to remunerate the performers.
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He also brought to light another disturbing episode with singer Malkoo, who reportedly was handed counterfeit currency as floor money in a performance. The singer used the counterfeit notes at a petrol station without knowledge of their counterfeit nature and was apprehended by police when the notes were detected as fake.
Additionally, Irfan’s crew revealed that even when dollars are tossed at weddings, they are usually just $1 bills — a strategy that sustains the facade of excess without heavy financial cost.
These findings provide insight into the performative nature of luxury weddings, in which appearances can take precedence over reality, and entertainers are sometimes made invisible and underpaid.
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