Coping with life during a pandemic is hard and none of us were prepared for it. Being at home for the past month and not knowing what the future has in store for us has really side-tracked most of our plans. Now, imagine those who were supposed to get married at this time. Yup.
But some couples didn’t let the coronavirus pandemic rain on their wedding party. Instead, they went for the new cool- a virtual wedding.
Instead of having a grand wedding with hundreds of guests at a wildlife resort, Sushen Dang and Keerti Narang decided to get married over a Zoom call. The plan earlier was a glamourous function, sangeet performances, cocktail parties on an auspicious date but the lockdown got in the way. But they still went through with it.
Suhesh logged in from his parents’ home in Mumbai, wearing a traditional turban fashioned out of his mother’s red scarf. Narang, a makeup professional, was hundreds of miles away in Bareilly, wearing her mother’s wedding lehenga. The priest, based in yet another city, Raipur, chanted hymns in front of the ritual fire and even asked the bride’s father to lead a digital kanyadaan. A hundred guests logged on from their homes to bless the couple and ceremony concluded as they danced to the latest Bollywood hits.
Talking about this, Suhesh said, “Not even in our wildest dreams did we imagine our wedding would turn out this unique.”
Both the families had been looking forward to the elaborate wedding that they had planned. The groom was to enter on a quad bike with his baraat. Of course, the virtual wedding came with its glitches like unmuted microphones that picked up side conversations and pets strolled on screen as people danced but in the end, it was so special.
“It’s the great Indian Lockdown wedding. We are helping them make the best out of the situation in these times of adversity”, said Anupam Mittal, founder and chief executive officer of online matchmaker Shaadi.com.
The team has been trying to help couples get married digitally and still have the shaadi fun even though they’re under lockdown. However, Mittal believes that the extravagance of Indian weddings won’t disappear.
“In India, weddings are social statements. A marriage is between the families, not just the couple”, he added.
We’re sending the best wishes to Suhesh and Keerti, we hope your life stays as colourful and as full of love and blessings as your wedding day.