(This story was first published on 25 December 2020 and is being republished in light of the 'first' anniversary of India's COVID-induced lockdown.)
You can put the world to a standstill, but love will still prevail. The conditions amid which couples around the world have tied the knot this year certainly proves this. From using paint rollers for haldi ceremony to getting married while being in quarantine, here are some creative ways in which couples said ‘I do’.
1. The Couple That Got Married on State Borders
In the beginning of June this year, Priyanka and Robinson got married at the state borders of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Priyanka is from Mattupetti, Kerala and Robinson hails from Saravanapettai, Coimbatore. Since their wedding took place during the peak of the lockdown, most family members did not get permission to travel across state borders for the wedding.
This just goes to show that while their ceremony had its limitations, their love really knows no bounds!
2. When the Cast of ‘The Office’ Surprised a Couple With a Zoom Wedding
Imagine being huge fans of The Office, and the cast, including John Krasinski, Steve Carrell, Jenna Fischer, Rainn Wilson, BJ Novak, Mindy Kaling, Ed Helms, decides to attend your wedding!
That’s exactly how it went down for a couple from Maryland, USA. Susan and John have been fans of the show and their proposal was also inspired from The Office. On John Krasinkis’s YouTube show Some Good News, a clip is shown of the actual proposal. The proposal plays out exactly the way Jim (Krasinki) proposed to Pam (Fischer) in the show.
With a gesture this grand, Krasinski ensured that Susan and John had an even better wedding, which is why he and the other cast members surprised them on Zoom. What’s more, Krasinki announced that he’d been ordained on the internet recently, which meant he could officiate the wedding too! Speak about dreams coming true.
3. When a Mumbai-Based Couple Got Married in a Hospital
Two resident doctors had their haldi and mehendi ceremonies at Mumbai’s Sion Hospital, where they work. Dr Rimpi Naharia and Dr Sarjerao Sonune are both anaesthesiologists who had to delay their wedding because of the coronavirus lockdown. Their parents travelled to the city, while most relatives attended the wedding through Zoom. The hospital was decorated by their friends, who were also part of the ceremony.
4. The Couple Whose First Wedding Dance Was on the Street
Sara and Marco Sylvester, a couple from Washington DC, got married in April, merely 48 hours before the city went into lockdown. They first had an intimate ceremony in a church, following which there was a whole procession arranged for them on the street. They danced to Elvis Presley’s hit song Can’t Help Falling in Love. The song starts with the lyrics, “Wise men say, only fools rush in...,” which seemed like the perfect song for the couple, considering their situation at the time.
5. The Drive-in Wedding
Roma Popat and Vinal Patel, a couple based in Essex, England, decided to tweak their wedding after the lockdown was imposed. They had a 500-acre space where they were originally going to get married, which they then converted into a drive-in space for their guests. All guests could now attend the wedding by sitting in their cars and follow social distancing guidelines with ease.
They were also given snacks, hand sanitisers and small bins for any litter during the wedding.
6. A Marriage With the Bride in Quarantine
A couple from California, Lauren and Patrick Delgado, decided to get married when Lauren was placed in self-isolation after testing positive for COVID-19, merely five days before her wedding was set to take place.
The wedding that took place with the bride sitting near her bedroom window on the second floor with the groom on the ground floor made headlines.
7. A Haldi Ceremony With Paint Roller for Social Distancing
In order to ensure that social distancing norms were followed, this family decided to perform the haldi ceremony of their daughter with the help of paint rollers. This way, the guests didn’t have to touch the bride while still being able to apply haldi on her.
8. Doorstep Delivery of Wedding Food
When the families of Chennai’s Shivaprakaash and Mahathi decided to conduct their wedding on Zoom, Shivaprakaash’s dad had a very innovative idea. They got in touch with a supplier and had South-Indian style food in a banana leaf delivered to all the guests’ houses.
Along with the food also came an instruction manual on where to place each item on the leaf and how to eat it correctly.
A lot of things might have come to a stop during the pandemic, but definitely not people’s creativity!
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