How coronavirus could change wedding culture | Indianshelf.in

“Recently a friend of mine got married during the coronavirus lockdown period. They have always dreamt of a grand Indian traditional wedding, but unfortunately, he pandemic situation made them tie the knot within their house. Everyone was a part of the wedding, including me but virtually.” It is the new normal if you are planning to get married during or after this pandemic situation.

The coronavirus has affected every industry and has caused a big downfall to every country’s economy. The most affected area is the wedding industry because their large gatherings are against the social distancing policies which have to be followed for at least 18 to 24 months.  

In this blog, we will discuss how coronavirus could bring a change in the wedding culture in terms of its decorations, social gatherings amidst the rules of social distancing.

Effect on wedding planners

The coronavirus pandemic and social distancing measures have brought the wedding planners which majorly include the caterers, photographers, makeup artists and decorators; to a standstill.

The worldwide lockdown has led to either cancellation of the weddings or postponing them to the later months of 2020 or to 2021.

Each of the wedding service providers has decided on to reduce their staff and to work on a freelance basis. With a limited gathering of 50 people, the wedding decorations cannot be done at a large scale. They will have o cut down on the huge decorations with chandeliers, flowers and drapes and think of minimal decorations with a classy look.

The caterers and chefs who earlier found pride in cooking for a large number of people with endless varieties have to curb much in their cooking proportions and varieties.

There will be no longer any need for a big team of photographers as with only 30 to 50 people around, carrying the entire team will be a waste of time and money.

Because of the limited number of people, they will ask for discounted rates from the wedding service provider, which will not be possible because the workload will remain the same for them. 

  Virtual weddings will be the new normal.

Most of the people want to continue to with their wedding plans; nevertheless, so organizing digital or virtual weddings will be the new trend. 

Since an only limited number of people can now be a part of the wedding, most of the wedding functions will preferably be taken place at home itself with home decorations. 

The distance relatives, cousins and friends can still enjoy the wedding virtually at their respective homes. This will be a new turnaround, especially in case of a big fat Indian wedding. Everyone will miss the happiness of going to a friend’s wedding or getting ready or waiting to have some lip-smacking food! But live streaming of the wedding ceremonies will the foreseen trend for the next two years.

Matrimonial sites are helping the people to enjoy various marriage function online so that you do not miss any of them. They have made arrangements for organizing live sangeet performances and DJ nights which you can enjoy and dance like never before!

You can log in to Zoom or Facebook live where your friends’ can virtually be a part of your wedding will be newly added fun.

Mandatory hygiene standards to follow

Hygiene is almost an important concept when you are planning for a wedding or any significant event. Post coronavirus pandemic, following some basic hygiene standards, will be a must. 

You need to plan for a wedding with an open space with a limited number of people so that social distancing rules can be followed. There should be a spacious seating area so that people could sit and eat while maintaining social distance. All the food preparations and the decorations must be done keeping in mind the cleanliness hacks. 

If shortly you are planning for a buffet service you need to keep in mind to prevent the proximity and queue of the wedding guests which happen at the food stalls. Distant locations can be marked asking the people to stand within the marked signs.

You have to ensure the wedding suppliers are bringing their products to form a neat and clean place and ensuring that all the vegetables are properly washed and then only put to further use.

It is the age of PPE kits and sanitizers

There will be an increase in demand for PPE kits, masks and hand sanitizers as this will become a mandate in all the occasions amidst the small gatherings.

Instead of showing affection to the wedding organizers, the guests will have to first sanitize their hands, get the temperature checked and then meet their loved ones. This new normal will take time to adjust in society, but it will be a mandate to protect everyone from this virus. 

Every seating table must have sanitizers and napkins and hand wash facility wherever possible. The entire venue must be sanitized before and after the wedding.

For the makeup artists, photographers and catering servers must sanitize their hands, wear masks or PPE kits wherever required.

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Final words

Augmented and virtual reality will now be the new concept which can make an online wedding and immersive ideas with great success. With time there will be more alterations to it as without visiting the wedding venue, you can enjoy the online wedding if some 3D technology comes in place. 

Societal norms will call for more handshakes and ‘namaste’ rather than hugs. Court marriages will gain more popularity as rather than spending so much for just a small gathering, and people will prefer to save more money and keep the wedding more closed and limited. 

Post coronavirus weddings will be a heartbreak for the couples, wedding service providers, families and invitees but in the end, what will matter the most is getting married to the loved one.

Instead of a public declaration, it will be a private ceremony which will be five years from now will become a toast to celebrate in the anniversaries as post coronavirus weddings will be one of a kind.