Planning a wedding during COVID?
Here are some tips...

India’s 50 billion USD Wedding industry took a massive hit in 2020 with the outbreak of COVID-19. This ensued a strict lockdown and multiple restrictions on social gatherings. Most weddings that were scheduled for the first half of 2020 had to be postponed and the post lockdown period witnessed succinct weddings with a select number of guests, per COVID-19 guidelines issued by the Indian government. According to an estimate by a wedding agency owned by a hospitality firm OYO, the volume of wedding events in 2020 was down by 40-50 percent over the 2019 numbers, and guestlists also shrunk by 60 percent given the Government’s restrictions on public gatherings.

On the contrary, instances of weddings turning out to be Coronavirus super spreaders have also been reported from across the country. Despite a dip in the number of COVID cases reported over the last few months, the recent resurgence of COVID-19 in India appears to be triggered by super spreader events such as weddings. With new mutant strains of Coronavirus spreading thick and fast, a strict vigil is necessary at weddings, right from their planning stage. A few tips while planning for a wedding could help create safe and joyful memories amidst COVID

Tips to Plan a Wedding Amidst COVID

● Scale

The idea of big and elaborate weddings is firmly rooted in Indian DNA. Most Indian weddings normally span across days with a host of rituals and ceremonies to be performed. With the pandemic still lurking around, small ceremonies with fewer people would be a pragmatic way to hold weddings while abiding by COVID guidelines for public gatherings.

● Crisp Guest List and E-invitations

Weddings in India are an opportunity to bond with relatives and friends by celebrating the most important milestone of one’s life. However, as the wedding scale is going to be downsized amidst COVID, it might not be possible to have all the near and dear ones included in the guest list. Having a select and minimal number of wedding guests in compliance with the government’s guidelines shall ensure a peaceful and happy wedding. Replace physical invitations with e-invitations that include a virtual video streaming link of the wedding event live, so that virtual guests feel that they are part of the celebrations.

● Budget

Given the smaller wedding ceremonies, the budget for weddings could be made quite elastic depending on your choice. You may either want to embrace austerity and avoid splurging out money for the wedding or you may wish to dole out expensive gifts and a lavish lunch for your guests.

● Abide by Safety Norms and Guidelines

A safe and smooth wedding experience is of utmost importance for both the hosts and the guests. Thus, it is crucial to follow the COVID safety norms and guidelines to avoid any lapses. Ensuring physical distance at the wedding venue at all costs, regular temperature checks, and distributing sanitizers and masks to the guests is a bare necessity during these COVID times. Sanitizing the venue every hour also ensures the safety of the guests.

● Comprehensive Wedding Planner

Necessity is the mother of invention and wedding planners too, have found novel ways in terms of venue, manpower, hygiene, and hospitality, to organize intimate weddings during the pandemic. Hence, it would be prudent to hire a single, holistic wedding planner who may handle all the end-to-end aspects of a wedding, instead of outsourcing various tasks to multiple vendors. This shall ensure better coordination and minimize any safety risks caused due to human contact.

● Leverage on Discounts and Finance schemes

A key part of wedding expenses involves shopping for luxury items such as watches and high-end gadgets such as DSLR cameras. As these are expensive, lifestyle loans and digital product loans that are collateral-free can help cover their costs at zero or lower interest rates.

Additionally, shopping to set up a new home entails huge costs as it might include buying furniture, and consumer durables such as refrigerators, microwaves, air conditioners. Most financial institutions offer personal loans and consumer durable loans at affordable EMIs to fund these expenses.

● Environment-friendly Destination Wedding

Destination weddings are now back in vogue given the smaller number of guests at the wedding. Hosts are keen to provide a grander wedding experience as the guest list is shorter. Outdoor weddings at eco-friendly destinations with beaches, lush green lawns can help implement social distancing norms while creating a calm ambiance to enjoy the celebrations. Also, getting RT-PCR tests done for all the guests a couple of days before traveling to the destination wedding may rule out any unwarranted COVID risks.

● Staffed Food Stations and Disposable Cutlery

Sit-down dining can greatly minimize human contact, as food shall be served directly at the table by gloved servers. In the case of a buffet, exclusive staff can be engaged to serve food to the guests so that no touchpoints are created. Food must also be sourced from reliable vendors who comply with the highest safety and hygiene standards in the preparation and transportation of food to the venue. Disposable cutlery helps avoid the reuse of cutlery and prevents any risk of contamination.

Conclusion

The COVID pandemic has surely altered many aspects of our lives including the scale of Indian weddings. While the hosts and wedding planners are being forced to think out of the box and devise novel and safe ways to perform weddings in India, not much seems to have changed on these weddings’ budget aspect. In the case of a shortfall, one can always avail of a personal loan and several other loans offered by reliable financial institutions to fund any planned or unplanned wedding expenses. HDB Financial Services is one such trustworthy platform where an individual can apply for various kinds of collateral-free personal loans repayable through affordable EMIs. Applying for a personal loan or other such collateral-free loans at HDB Financial services online or by getting in touch with the nearest physical branch is now a swift, hassle-free process with minimal documentation.