Anoushey Ashraf’s comprehensive guide on travelling to Zanzibar
Where to stay, what to do, whether it's worth it — she has it all covered!
When Anoushey Ashraf looks back at her wedding reception gown, she doesn’t talk about luxury labels, couture fittings or eye-watering bills. Instead, she talks about scrolling online in Istanbul, stumbling upon a small designer, and the quiet magic of something that simply felt right.
In a recent Instagram carousel, the RJ and host shared the intimate journey behind her reception outfit. A bridal outfit doesn’t need to cost a fortune to be meaningful or beautiful, she said.
“I found my reception outfit in the most unexpected way,” Ashraf wrote, recounting how the search began casually, almost accidentally, while browsing wedding wear in Istanbul. What she found was “a small gem of a designer,” someone working with “heart and quiet craftsmanship”, far removed from the noise and pressure that often surround wedding shopping, especially in South Asia.
The process, Ashraf revealed, was as personal as the outfit itself. From trying it on to tweaking the fit, every step unfolded alongside her sisters and niece — a support system she credits for turning decisions into memories filled with laughter and encouragement. The gown was stitched to her size, adjusted to her needs, and carefully personalised, transforming it from something beautiful into something unmistakably hers.
For her Persian reception, Ashraf chose white, a subtle yet deliberate nod to her family’s roots and heritage. “When someone takes the time to personalise, adjust, and truly care… it shows in every detail,” she wrote. “Every stitch, every tweak, made it uniquely mine.”
What resonated most with her, however, was what the gown came to represent beyond fabric and form. It held intention, meaning, and joy, values she believes are often overshadowed in the desi wedding industry’s fixation on price tags and prestige.
“Your wedding outfit doesn’t need to cost a fortune to be meaningful or beautiful,” she stressed, urging brides to trust small designers who show up with patience, personalisation, and immense hard work. Supporting them, she added, is a a statement about what real luxury looks like.
To Ashraf, luxury isn’t excess. It’s care, intention, family, and “a touch of serendipity.”
In her caption, she summed it up with warmth and humour, “My reception outfit found me before I even knew I was looking! One shop, a little Turkish magic, and a lot of laughs with my sisters and niece. Sometimes, that’s all the luxury you really need.”
Ashraf tied the knot in a dreamy wedding in Turkey last year.