VIRTUAL WEDDINGS BECOME THE NEXT BIG TREND
Indian weddings are not just about the pomp and show but have the entire family’s emotions attached to them. An average Indian family saves throughout their lives to spend on a wedding. However, in the past few weeks the wedding industry has taken a massive hit owing to the ongoing pandemic.
The wedding industry is like an engine that drives various other industries such as apparel, jewellery, hospitality, flowers, transportation, and catering. Lakhs of labourers and workers make most of their income during the wedding season. With no big fat weddings happening, all these industries have suffered huge losses.
But as they say, nothing can beat humans at innovation. Over the last few weeks we have heard stories about couples getting married on video calls.
With experts stating that it will take another 15-20 months before social distancing can be totally lifted, will virtual weddings become the new normal?
In India over 10 million weddings take place every year and the budgets range from Rs five lakh to a few crores. Now it is given that a significant number of couples may just opt for the virtual wedding than wait for the next 20 months to exchange vows.
So, would virtual weddings become the next big trend? We asked some industry leaders and here is what they had to say:
Keyur Shah
Founding Director, Usually Unusual Entertainment
The coronavirus crisis has felled many; the ‘big fat Indian wedding’ is surely one of the most affected industries amongst them. In India and across the globe, hundreds & thousands gather for dazzling multi-day wedding celebrations, which are fun, lavish, and drive a massive industry. In our coronavirus-affected world, these weddings now present themselves as ominous super-spreader events, to be shunned by all. Many couples have postponed their wedding to a future date when the situation gets better and a few others have decided to follow the government norms and have a wedding with fewer guests.
We at Usually Unusual Entertainment got back on ground after a 4 month hiatus with an unforgettable virtual/hybrid on ground never before destination wedding experience in Udaipur. It was a close knit affair with just the couple and their immediate family consisting of 34 Guests. We showcased the wedding Live to more than a dozen Countries in Real Time with a 2 Way Interaction.
Usually Unusual Entertainment is being creative and implementing the use of technology in innovative ways to rekindle the magic of the big fat Indian wedding. This is the start of our new journey as the industry slowly opens doors. As the Technical Show Running & Stage Management Team we learn & adapt to the new norms in these challenging times.
Technology might be able to come to rescue for the Big Fat Weddings. Augmented and virtual reality can transform the wedding experience and make it a truly immersive experience. Envision a wedding in a blissful location with a few people in attendance and then hundreds of others participating through 3D virtual reality goggles? Drones can deliver amazing camera angles and swoop around the beautiful landscape. Flowers, food, scents — all the other wedding accoutrements can be brought to those participating remotely through a wedding planning service. The money saved on travel, hospitality, and transportation can be utilised to ensure a truly memorable in-home wedding experience.
A full virtual wedding experience could go even further. The couple and their families could be sitting at home while immersed in a dream location. A couple in Mumbai could have the wedding set in a charming piazza in Venice; those in Delhi can imagine they are on a sublime lake-side villa in Lake Como; and a couple in Bengaluru could marry next to a virtual waterfall in verdant Hawaii. Guests would be sharing that same immersive reality during the wedding. And, when the time comes for dancing and festivities, all the guests could be transported into a shimmering discotheque, experiencing it through the virtual reality goggles. That’s the magic of Technology. . Now, it may be time to make the big fat Indian wedding into the Grand virtual/hybrid or I would say phygital Big Fat Indian Weddings.
Pulse Events & Wedding By Sunny Sabharwal ( CEO )
The unprecedented situation spurred a lot of wedding cancellations & postponements. The ‘Big Fat Weddings’ are now downsized to a gathering of mere 50 people. Smaller gathering, more intimate affair, an emphasis on top-notch hygiene standards, subdued celebrations on Zoom links and contactless services are among the new normal of the weddings.
Pulse Events & Wedding by Sunny Sabharwal one of the top wedding planners organised a wedding in Gurugram during the ‘Unlock 1.0’. Sunny Sabharwal & his team adapted to The New Normal quite well & successfully hosted all the functions without any health complication.
‘All kinds of safety measures were taken care of. Both guests & staff were of equal importance in the matter of safety. Celebrating in such trying times seems hard but we, as wedding planners feel it’s our responsibility to make the celebration as pleasing as they would have been prior to the pandemic along with ensuring safety’ Says Sunny Pulse.
A professional doctor was called in to run a health check up of the backend staff as well as the core team & issued a medical fitness certificate to each one of them. Team Pulse made sure that only the staff who were totally healthy could enter the venue. Anyone even with a minor symptom was not issued a certificate hence the entry was denied in the venue. Pulse Events team sent health declaration forms to every guest wherein they had to fill out few details.
In addition to E-invites, countdowns, a proper list of rules to be followed was sent across to everyone, abiding to the Government Regulations.
Stringent entry protocol was ensured at the venue. Every guest had to undergo Thermal Check, Pulse Rate Check through oximeter & Sanitisation. Status of their Aarogya Setu Apps was thoroughly checked. Body Temperature & Pulse rate of every guest was noted with their name.
On asking Sunny Sabharwal (Sunny Pulse) about the challenges faced due to restrictive rules, he said ‘We have to learn to live with it. But we shouldn’t let the outbreak dampen the spirits & emotions of family members. My team & I made sure to make abiding rules like wearing a mask fun & quirky so that it doesn’t seem all so bad. We customised the masks with labels ‘Ladkewale’ & ‘Ladkiwale’ which the guests found pretty attractive & wore all the time without hesitation. We placed instruction standees all around which had ‘WE CARE’ written in bold which didn’t sound taxing. Small details make a huge difference.’
It was assured that the venue was emptied an hour prior to the start time of event so that the venue could be disinfected properly. The seating arrangements were made keeping in mind the social distancing norm.
‘The New Normal during this pandemic needs an unflinching effort to drive transformative yet humane leadership to the employees & assurance to the clients. We’re glad that clients trust us for their Big Day celebrations amidst the prevailing situation too & we’re totally ready to make their special day unforgettable.’
Pulse Events & Wedding by Sunny Sabharwal created the usual celebratory environment adapting to The New Normal which is the need of the hour & quite laudable.
Rituraj Khanna, CEO, Q Events
Our Indian weddings are all about luxury- good decor- a well designed food menu- great entertainment- and above all our emotions and sentiments are attached to the weddings – Starting from our small poojas till our Mehndi’s, Sangeet and Wedding sometimes followed by a Reception- so in order to fill in all these 7 or 8 events we will not be able to do justice in a virtual wedding.
I mean a family of a handful is sitting in some remote area getting married and we zoom in all the guests- I tried thinking about this- ordering food for all of them from a 5 star and getting it delivered to them- small gifts for all the guests- and had more ideas how to pamper the guests including entertainment- an illusionist- but then it was like- yaar hum machine se thodi shaadi kara rahe hai- so a better option would be- if you don’t want to postpone the wedding- I would suggest quiet rituals amongst the families and once everything is fine then you can give a gala reception along with a sangeet where everyone can be a part of it.
But at the moment my mind is closed to a virtual wedding- I guess it’s ok to do a birthday party or a Mother’s Day virtually but definitely not a wedding- in fact a friend of mine from the industry did call me to ask if he should make a concept for me for a virtual wedding, he explained to me it would look like a set etc etc but I said a no- will want to wait for some more time- my emotional quotient that for a wedding is far too high to think of people peeping from their iPads and laptops or phones and attending a virtual wedding- and this lockdown is not forever- weddings can wait and so can we- it’s an experience we give to a client- the photographers shooting – the speakers blasting- the artists and dancers performing- the pandits chanting- structures- flowers- expensive furniture- and then the Indian jhappis – I wouldn’t trade all this for anything in the world.
Atul singh & Parikshit sharma CEO stylish wedding
I have not heard of many virtual weddings taking place in India. Once the pandemic is over and the situation gets normal, people will choose normal weddings. The number of guests would decrease and weddings might turn into small family affairs for the time-being. People are looking forward to having a wedding which is exceptionally good and fun-filled in the coming season. So once the wedding season approaches and we get rid of these restrictions, weddings will continue in the same way.
Once the lockdown is over the wedding industry will be the first to pick up, even before the corporate events. This is the reason why the hotel industry is also focusing on wedding events. Virtual weddings are not for Indian clients because we are all about emotions and being together in celebrations. The wedding industry will bounce back as soon as the government relaxes the restrictions.
Harkrishan Owner Elements design
“The pandemic has introduced us to new ways of living and celebrating. A wedding is a big day for any couple and it is all about creating a beautiful experience celebrating love. Curating a digital flow of events is definitely a way of celebration but it doesn’t replace the festive feels or the magnificence of a multi-day celebration. For example : A virtual connect cannot replace the vibe of dancing in the procession of a Baraat.
In my opinion, social distancing and hygiene maintenance measures are a great addition to what goes in organising an event. But as the situation gets better, the trend of virtual weddings will eventually fade with people wanting to celebrate extravagantly.”
Bhawna chawla chopra, CEO Timeless wedding
The moment a child is born in India, the parent has dreams of his or her wedding along with career plans of their child. they start investing for the D day ever since day 1. so weddings can never go virtual as it is meant to be big fat Indian weddings where all dreams come into reality. also, India is very well known for its culture, religion and languages, and very few things binds these three things together and they are
1. cricket
2. Bollywood
3. weddings
hence weddings can never go virtual as its one main occasion where all family members and near and dear ones unite together.