Weddings amid Covid-19 pandemic a risky affair?

Wedding photographers reveal that many marriages, organised in corona times, have guests more than the allowed number, as per government guidelines.

Almost every other day there’s some wedding happening, and quite often there are news reports of guests having turned corona positive after being part of a marriage party. Recent news reports include the one where a boy, who was the groom, died after his wedding that left around 100 guests Covid-19 positive in Bihar. In Rajasthan’s Bhilwara, 250 guests attended a wedding and the groom’s grandfather died due to the virus. The reasons to have a wedding in corona times are aplenty, but the question that such incidents raise is: Is it safe to get married during the pandemic?

Wedding photographers say that people become casual at weddings and ignore necessary precautions. (Photo: Shutterstock)

“The thing that disappoints me is the casualness about the gathering that’s invited to attend a wedding. There are a few who have had intimate weddings, but otherwise most have at least 100-150 guests, even after all the government guidelines.” – Anand Kumar, wedding photographer

The issue is pertinent and debatable, and photographers and guests who have attended weddings amid the ongoing pandemic reveal that though there’s a cap of 50 guests on weddings, by the government, not all are following the guidelines. Anand Kumar, a Bengaluru-based wedding photographer says, “I’ve been getting a lot of queries about how much will I charge for a wedding, how many team members will attend the wedding and many others. But the thing that disappoints me is the casualness about the gathering that’s invited to attend a wedding. There are a few who have had intimate weddings, but otherwise most have at least 100-150 guests, even after all the government guidelines. Some of these weddings that I covered as a photographer, no one was wearing a mask or following social distancing! People become casual once they get into party mode, and there’s no one to keep a check on them. In fact, I said no to a lot of my clients because they had huge guest lists... I even tried my best to explain them about the repercussions of their actions, but you know how touchy the subject of wedding is in our country.”

Some photographers say they are given a non accurate count of guests at the time of booking, so that they can’t back out later or complaint against flouting of rules, which are set to battle the pandemic. “I was told that around 50 people would be at this wedding that was to happen in Delhi. But, it turned out that more than 120 guests were there and some had specially travelled from Mumbai to attend,” says a photographer on condition of anonymity. He adds that he had no idea about what was in store until he reached the wedding venue. The lensman adds, “When I got to know the actual situation, I felt so scared... No one was wearing a mask and everyone seemed to have forgotten about social distancing; it was all about enjoying food and dance. I feel there should be a body constituted to keep a check on the number of guests at weddings happening now.”

“The moment my neighbours got to know that we have attended a wedding, they stopped talking to us. And they informed everyone in my residential society about it, and then no one came to my house, not even the milkman.”
– Mamta Goel, a Gurugram resident

“It’s important at times to attend the wedding... achcha nahi lagta agar card aane ke baad na jao, sab baatein banate hain phir,” says Mamta Goel, a Gurugram resident who recently attended her close friend’s wedding among a hundred odd guests from different parts of the country. Goel adds, “In these times if you get invited, it feels special. So I went happily, and followed all precautions. Even the wedding venue was well sanitised. But jab ready hoke gaye aur wapas aye, to padosiyon ko mithai dene to jana hi pada... the moment my neighbours got to know that we have attended a wedding, they stopped talking to us. And they informed everyone in my residential society about it, and then no one came to my house, not even the milkman. I had no option left but to isolate myself for a few days so that I could prove that I didn’t get corona from the wedding!”

Author tweets @ruchikagarg271

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