KOLKATA: The wedding season kicked off in the city on Sunday without any pandemic restrictions — be it on the number of guests or timings — for the first time in two years. Brides and grooms who had been pushing their weddings back for months can finally get married in the presence of all family members without compromising on rituals or grandeur.
“We have a large family and our wedding date was fixed on February 7. But the third wave brought in new restrictions which limited the number of guests to 200 while we had a guest list of 750. Thus we deferred the wedding to Sunday to ensure the event doesn’t get ruined by restrictions,” said Neha Das, a techie from Behala.
A decorated wedding venue
Akash Jaiswal, a businessman who got married at a banquet hall off EM Bypass on Sunday, said the first thing on his mind while choosing the date was the fact that there were no Covid restrictions. “The restrictions would have forced us to calculate who to invite so as to stick to the permitted head count. But on Sunday, I could focus on the wedding rather than think about the guest list or when to ask people to leave,” he said.
Over the last two years, the number of wedding guests had always been capped — between 20 and 200 — depending on the state of infection. The night restrictions were also in place till earlier this month, which would have forced guests to leave early. Thus, this is the first time that couples and families are not getting into nerve-wracking planning and having to consider that plans might have to be altered or even scrapped at the last minute.
Some couples who got married during the pandemic with limited guests are now holding the reception with everyone they had missed. “A relative got married in November 2020 with only 50 people in attendance. Now they are planning a reception with a large number of guests,” said Arghya Pramanik, a resident of Salt Lake’s BJ Block.
Wedding photographers, decorators and caterers, too, said they were happy being able to work freely like in pre-pandemic times.
“My wedding projects had come down, so had my income. I am glad the restrictions have been lifted and I can work with a bigger team without worrying about how to go home once it gets late,” said Sujoy Das, a wedding photographer who had an assignment in Behala on Sunday.
Raja Banik of Biswakarma Decorators and Balmukund Daga of Pugalia Caterers said they were relieved. “We had trouble transporting our wares at night and in the early hours, and also had to work with a smaller team. Now we can concentrate on our art,” said Banik, who had three events on Sunday.
