A Lockdown Wedding in COVID-19 Times – Arnab & Pratibha

“We had planned the perfect wedding, until it all fell apart due to COVID-19!” 

Arnab & Pratibha did not have the easiest love story. “The likelihood of our love making it was like an alliance between Mamta Banerjee and Yogi Adityanath—very unlikely,” says Arnab, as he looks back at how their journey began. This Bengali boy found this better half while looking for profiles on Shaadi.com. “As soon as I came across Pratibha’s profile and spoke to her, I knew she was the one for me. She was straight-forward, attractive and we had an instant connection.” 

However, Pratibha’s family, based out of UP, were against the idea of this cross-cultural match. The couple even considered eloping if they couldn’t convince their families, but then decided against it. “After endless months of wait, her family finally agreed to let us get married in February. We got engaged on 22^nd February and planned our wedding for June 14^th.  Little did we know that our carefully laid out plans were about to be derailed by a microscopic virus a.k.a. COVID-19!” 

So, here’s Arnab & Pratibha on having their wedding in COVID-19 times!

The planning was in full swing…

The couple wanted a big fat Indian wedding and had planned it with every last detail in mind. They had guests flying in from across the country, a bachelors night to remember for the groom and a slew of pre-wedding functions. That is until the national COVID-19 lockdown bought it all to a grinding halt. 

Technology to the rescue!

After all the work it had taken to bring the families on board, no one was keen to postpone the wedding. However, to make it happen in the current COVID-19 situation was no easy task. “I got in touch with Wedding Wishlist, as they help couples organise virtual weddings. Talking to their team and understanding how it worked gave me the confidence to believe we could pull this off,” says Arnab.

The couple started by creating a website with all the details about their wedding. They shared their story, functions, pictures and more, so guests could feel connected to the celebration. Since most guests were attending virtually, the couple also chose to do a gift registry. “I found that there was charity option in the gift registry, and immediately chose to add that to my registry, as at times like these, nothing feels better than being able to give back.”

Wedding Wishlist also organised live stream for the couple, so their guests from across the world could be a part of their celebration. “We had an e-card designed from Wedding Wishlist with all the details and everyone loved the end-to-end experience,” says Arnab.

Why Virtual Weddings are the future… 

“I think the virtual wedding is a really efficient way of helping couples tie the knot during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, I feel this concept is something that will outlive these difficult times. For one, none of us knows when things will go back to the way they were and couples can’t postpone their weddings indefinitely. This platform allows couples to get married, have guests view celebrations through live stream, get gifts they want and not waste, and can also add a charity to support a cause,” says Arnab.

He also feels the value of this will be manifold even when things resume to normal.  “Indians, particularly the middle class, should forget the idea of spending their entire life saving on the wedding of their child. This money can be used so wisely. It can be given to the couple to start their new life or shared with those less fortunate. Virtual weddings are giving a chance to the Indian middle class to break those societal norms,” he concludes. 

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