Wedding goes WiFi

Decked up in a flowing red lehenga exactly how she had always imagined 25yearold Keerti Narang couldnt stop dancing with 26yearold Sushen Dang who matched her every step in a mustard sherwani and maroon pagdi on their wedding day There was a pooja followed by pheras tears of joy some friendly teasing and a lot of singing and dancing The happiest day of their lives could have been like any other wedding except Narang was on one side of a Zoom call in Bareilly while Dang on the other side in Mumbai And some 100 relatives were glued to their respective TV laptop and phone screens from across the worldPriest Tripathi conducts the pooja from RaipurLike Narang and Dang couples across the world who had planned their wedding down to the last detail are taking the virtual route after the pandemic crushed their plans Pictures and videos of bedecked couples saying I do or tying the knot over video calls are abounding social media While the UAE has reportedly started an internet wedding service New York is allowing people to apply for online marriage licences In India too couples are livestreaming their weddings and now shaadicom has started a weddingfromhome initiative offering pooja services makeup tutorials and sangeet We spoke to two such couples to find out how they got on with their big fat Indian weddingCouple goalsPreet Singh and Neet Kaurs weddingTwentynineyearold merchant navy officer Preet Singh who hails from Mumbai says his ewedding with IT professional Neet Kaur from Delhi on April 4 was one of the first in the city Considering that they decided to get married after two proposals one of which included a jar of 100 reasons why Kaur loves him Singh says it wasnt surprising that their wedding too happened in a crazy way The ceremony was slated for April 4 but with the lockdown norms it wasnt possible or safe But we didnt want to wait as no one knew when this would be over If people can study do yoga and work online then why cant we get married online We wanted to just do it in the presence of our family and so we got on a Zoom call he adds100 guests tuned into Narangs wedding including this writerGetting to share their best day with their loved ones was also the most important factor for Narang and Dang who were supposed to get married at Jim Corbett National Park on April 18 After we had to call off the ceremony a friend came across shaadicoms initiative and we thought we could give it a shot shares Dang a competitive intelligence analyst adding that it was almost meant to be this way given that he and Narang had met online Narang however admits that it took a fair bit of convincing to get her parents warmed up to the idea of an ewedding They had never heard of such a thing and they had been planning my wedding forever But eventually they realised it was a good thing she addsAdhish ZaveriA major reason why shaadicom which helped organise Narang and Dangs big day came up with the online wedding concept was that Indians place a huge premium on date and muhurat says the sites marketing director Adhish Zaveri Its considered auspicious One of our core values is connecting people Since the lockdown put wedding plans on hold indefinitely we got together with ad agency Leo Burnett that helped us work out the concept and looked at the technical aspects to ensure couples can go ahead with their original planVirtual vowsSince ours was a firstofitskind wedding we designed our own ceremony says Singh who set up the Zoom call with his relatives Both of us accepted each other as life partners publicly and our relatives helped themselves to chocolates as a gesture of celebration After congratulatory speeches the short ceremony turned into a fullblown dance party shares Singh adding that they plan on having a gurudwara ceremony later Zaveri says they wanted to give couples the real deal with all the fanfare We reached out to pandits makeup artists saree drapers and dhol tasha players We created wedding invites with the video call link helped brides put on makeup and mehendi through online tutorials spoke to relatives about putting up performances and managed the Zoom callIllustrationUday MohiteBut what about rituals that require ones presence Priest Tripathi who performed Narang and Dangs wedding from his home in Raipur has a simple logic When you pray God doesnt materialise in front of you Similarly kanyadaan is possible digitally if whats in your heart is true We find out what he means when we see the couple take the pheras around the pooja thali in their respective homes amid applause from relatives Of course there were hitches but God shows the way he tells usAlthough hundred people on a Zoom call can be chaotic a technical team from both platforms guided the guests The best part was the fact that our relatives too dressed up and put up dance and music recitals for us I always dreamt of a different wedding and thats what happened says Narang whose livestreamed wedding got over 80000 views on FacebookA lockdown trendVidya SinghVidya Singh a Chennaibased wedding planner whos been in the business for 16 years terms online weddings as a BandAid for the timebeing Does she think the trend will pick up Those getting married online are the ones who cant change their dates But I dont see this as a longterm thing in India We see weddings as the coming together of the family However therell be an attitude change and big fat Indian weddings will be scaled down Zaveri however feels that given the uncertainty eweddings can be a trusted alternative to ensure couples happilyeverafterCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news