As Tomato Prices Skyrocket, a Bride in Pakistan Wears Them as Jewellery

A wedding day is one most of us want to remember and cherish long after the honeymoon hangover. So it’s only expected that most brides go out of their way to deck themselves up in clothes and jewellery that make a statement. But one bride in Pakistan has not only raised the bar, but smashed it out of the park. After tomato prices in several parts of Pakistan have been hiked to up to Rs 400 ($5.5) per kg, this bride decided to send out the most savage of messages by replacing all her wedding jewellery with tomatoes.

Many brides have gone all-out for their big day, some even designing dresses shaped like tampons or made entirely out of cake. But in a video that has now gone viral, the bride in question can be seen sporting earrings, a necklace, bangles and even a maang tika made entirely out of the antioxidant-rich red fruit even as she dons sparkly gold bridal threads. When asked why she decided to pull off such an outrageous wedding lewk, she told Daily Pakistan, "Sone ke bhaav bahut mehenge ho rahe hain. Tamatar aur chilgoze bhi bahut mehenge ho rahe hain, issliye maine apni shaadi pe sone ki jagah pe tamatar pehne hain (Gold prices are on the rise. Tomatoes and pine nuts have also become very expensive, that is why I chose to wear tomatoes instead of gold on my wedding.”) She also opened up about how many guests gifted her pine nuts because they have now been promoted to that level with all things precious and pricey.

While this is a pretty bizarre new addition to one’s wedding trousseau, it also sends out a powerful message and is one of the best ways to raise awareness about rising prices of even basic food items. But also, if this isn’t #BrideChilla goals, we don’t know what is.

There's just one potential spoiler: the video may or may not be real. After the video found itself all over social media, many viewers noticed that something seemed low key off about this wedding since there were no other guests shot and the bride wasn't even wearing henna. This doubt is further fuelled by the fact that the reporter featuring in the video, Yasir Shami, is otherwise known for making satirical videos. But even as people are calling this genius stunt a "spoof" or "staged", we can't help but wonder whether this will inspire Indian brides to experiment with onions as accessories for their wedding day.

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