LUCKNOW: Prateek Sehta and his fiancee Nishi Athwani have been planning their wedding for months. After visiting Delhi and Mumbai for their shopping and going about in different cities to decide their wedding venue, the 25-year-old couple had finally put a stop at Jim Corbett (Uttarakhand) for their big day.
However, the second wave of coronavirus and subsequently the night curfew timings following it has derailed their plans.
The businessman from Krishnanagar says he couldn’t risk exposing guests and family members to infection. After several discussions and speaking to vendors and planners, the couple has decided to get married in a gurdwara, instead of their venue in Uttarakhand, in the presence of close friends and family.
“Most of our relatives were coming from different cities and hotel rooms were booked for them. But the health situation has spun and it is out of control. Safety is our priority. Therefore, we have decided to go for a gurdwara wedding with limited guests. In this way, we will not breach any Covid protocol or night curfew timing,” says Sehta, adding that as soon as the situation settles, they will plan a few functions.
Shikha Mishra (name changed on request), whose wedding is scheduled on April 29, is rather upset.
“Our wedding was postponed last year. We had planned the marriage this time keeping in mind the protection of our guests. Invites have already been sent out and even if we want to, we can’t cancel it because all arrangements and payments have been done. No refund is being given. We do not know whether guests will arrive or not and how we will wind up the wedding before 8pm. There is so much confusion,” says the 26-year-old.
Covid impact didn’t auger well for Satish Verma as well. The engineer has cancelled the wedding band and caterers, and is now planning to go for a court marriage instead.
“This was not how I wanted it to be. I thought since my company has given another year of work from home, this would be the best time to get married and start a new phase of my life. However, things are not turning out the way I imagined. My wedding was supposed to be a lavish affair but night curfew timing is a big jolt to the whole plan. Most of our guests have cancelled their plans,” he says.