Corona times: Marriages made in heaven, being solemnised online

With couples across the globe being forced to put their D-day on hold due to the Covid-19 crisis, many are now choosing to exchange their wedding vows online. But, this isn’t sans the crucial presence of family and friends.

When Delhi’s Neet Kaur and Mumbai-based Preet Singh got engaged a year ago, they set their wedding date for April 2020. Unfortunately, the D-day fell victim to the lockdown. “We had a choice to not to go ahead with the wedding, but Preet said ‘Let’s do it’,” shares Kaur, adding, “This day wasn’t special to just us but our families, too. So, we asked a group of close family and friends to join us online; we expressed our love in their presence and sought their blessings.”

And these two aren’t the only ones to take a virtual detour to solemnise their wedding. US-based interior designer Ashley and her partner, photographer Matthew Engels, were due to get married in Houston, but the pandemic rained on their parade. Not ones to be bogged down by unforeseen circumstances, the duo eloped in their living room and had a pastor marry them via Facebook Live, in the online presence of their close ones.

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Guests who have made it to the virtual ceremonies via video/audio applications say that the experience has been unprecedented yet beautiful. Krista Walker, one of the online bridesmaids at Ashley and Matthew’s wedding, describes the experience as unlike anything she has ever witnessed. “It was definitely not what they expected, but it was beautiful to be able to be in that moment with them via Facebook and FaceTime. They had their first bite of brownies instead of a wedding cake because that’s all they had in the pantry,” says Walker, who’s supposed to get married in October, and is hopeful that the situation will normalise by then.

Karan Kalra, who made it, albeit virtually, to Neet and Preet’s wedding says that their wedding puts the value of love into perspective. “They followed through with committing themselves to one another on the date that they had picked six months in advance. The way they celebrated their love brought joy to us all,” he says, and New York-based books editor Laura Brown — who was a virtual attendee at her friend Rebecca’s wedding — adds, “I wish I could have attended but I still had chills when I saw my friend, the bride, walk down the aisle.”

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Seeing the popularity of the trend, some matrimonial sites have also started cashing in on the idea of virtual weddings. An Indian matchmaking website has even announced that it’s now providing pandits to conduct Hindu marriage ceremonies online, during the lockdown. And independent places have also stepped up to cater to the need of the hour.

Delhi-based pandit Deepak Garg, who works in a firm that arranges pandits for various ceremonies, says there is a new demand in the market. “We have been getting calls from people asking us to conduct online marriages via social media. People are postponing the rituals, but want pandits to officiate basic wedding vows.”

There’s also the question of legality when it comes to virtual marriages, but those who have gone ahead with it say they did so to celebrate the day. Neet Kaur, who is planning to have an official wedding at a gurdwara, soon after the lockdown, shares that she and her husband had to face a lot of brickbats on social media for their online wedding, but they remain undeterred. ‘’We did it because we wanted to celebrate our day, and wanted to be happy on this day every year!’’

Author tweets @bhagat_mallika

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