Postponing the future: War and inflation redraw marriage terms in Iran

Many young Iranians are scaling back or postponing weddings as war, sanctions and steep inflation push basic household costs higher. Couples who had set dates and begun buying household items halted plans after prices rose and a conflict involving US and Israeli strikes on February 28 forced some families to flee and later return. For some, like Subhan Dashti, the jump in everyday prices made immediate marriage uneconomical despite earnings above the national average for workers. Service providers and newlyweds report tangible cost increases across the board. A bridal makeup artist in Tehran said business has fallen from several brides a day in peak season to only a few per week, and clients are downgrading packages to cheaper options. Reported prices for routine wedding services in Tehran range from about 50–70 million tomans for regular packages to 150 million tomans for VIP services. Housing and durable goods have become particularly painful for newly forming households. One couple described a 71 percent rise in the annual cost of rent for the same Tehran apartment year‑on‑year, with deposits and monthly rents climbing sharply. Newlyweds said they sold gold to cover start‑up costs; the price of 18‑carat gold rose from roughly 6.48 million tomans per gram in June 2025 to more than 23 million tomans per gram by mid‑September 2026. Economists and couples interviewed distinguish between expenses that can be trimmed—such as ceremony size or service tiers—and those that cannot be avoided, notably housing. Observers warn that the core problem is unpredictability: rapid, often one‑directional increases make planning months ahead difficult, and even a ceasefire would not automatically reverse doubled prices for appliances or rents.