Anyone know anything about Pakistani weddings?

[Auntieaunt]

We've been invited to three events but we're only able to go to two: Baraat and Walima - my friend is a fairly conservative Muslim if that makes a difference.

What should we expect? What should we wear? What gift should we give? They start at 7 but what time should we arrive?

I'm really excited but doing this completely blindfolded. I've done some googling but there's not much info for the complete newbie.

Are they Pashtun or Punjabi? Because I think that makes a big difference.

In Pashtun weddings the men & women are in separate rooms.

My Pashtun FB friends from northern Pakistan don't even share photos of the bride or of the couple together.
You see photos of the groom & videos of the men dancing & that's it.

Obviously the wedding you're attending is in the uk, it would be interesting to know if things are as strict here.

It's difficult to generalise tbh, my DH is Pashtun (but Afghani not Pakistani) and they do not separate men and woman at weddings here (not UK but another Western European country), but the Pashtun women don't dance, only the men and kids.
I have a Pakistani friend and men and woman were separated at her wedding. The bride and groom will arrive quite late, around 1-2 hours after the start (they usually do the Islamic wedding ceremony in private and come to the celebration after that). There may be music there may not. There will be lots of food, buffet style. The bride and groom will sit up on a stage and guests will go up and congratulate them, have photos taken.
Dress wise, I would go for long length, covered shoulders, in my experience a bit of bling and evening dress style is better.
Gifts are usually cash.
Do you have the chance to ask the bride or a friend/sister of hers for some pointers beforehand?

We host them and it varies a bit depending on how religious they are. Often the men are in a separate room or there's a dividing screen, but not always. Women cover their knees and elbows generally and sometimes cover their hair, again depends. Rarely is there music. But never assume, one young lady in full niqab cane to book and she was having karaoke, another had a dj (female) from a local nightclub! Food will be plentiful but buffet style

I think the best thing is to ask your friend all these questions as it can vary as other people have said.

Some Pashtuns separate, a lot don’t! Just like every other culture, individuals are different so find out from your friend.
Usually, gifts are cash. Wear what you feel comfortable in taking into account that most women will have clothes that cover legs and sometimes, arms. No one will bat an eyelid if you wear a dress and your legs aren’t covered.
Usually, in my experience, everything runs late and you can expect lots of food. I’d arrive after 7.20.