Love finds a way they say. Here’s a look at couples from around the world who have innovated with their wedding ceremonies amid the pandemic.
The drive-in wedding: A couple of Indian descent in Essex, England, married in a drive-in ceremony in the first week of October in the presence of 200 friends and family. Roma Popat and Vinal Patel had their wedding on a 500 acre estate. Guests arrived in cars and were given a basket of snacks, hand sanitizer, and garbage bags (for their rubbish). They could also order food from an app delivered by the waiters while the ceremony was taking place live, beaming on a giant screen for those in the socially distant distance.
The driveway wedding: In New York, Kelly Donohue and Andrew Scheurlein married on their driveway in April. They wore the clothes they had chosen months earlier. Friends and family stayed in their parked cars and watched from a distance. The groom’s father officiated in front of the couple’s garage door, which for the occasion was wrapped in white and decorated with a small flower arrangement.
Married on the street: A Pittsburgh couple, Nikita Raman and James Kennedy decided to take the few minutes outside of practice time the government allowed in the first week of April to take the plunge. They had a self-union ceremony at an intersection with two friends present as witnesses. They read each other their vows and stand on the street. The only other people in attendance were neighbors who gathered on their balconies to watch, but the wedding made it to the New York Times.
On a state border: Om Prakash Sha and his fiancée Kajol Sah were separated by a state border when the lockdown began. By May they had enough of him being stuck in West Bengal and they in Assam, and so they were given special permission to meet some relatives as witnesses at the border. And were married in a makeshift mandap near a border checkpoint.
The Virtual Nikka: During the pandemic from Hyderabad to Bihar, couples posted news about Nikka ceremonies being held via video call. The bride and groom each logged in from home. After the ceremony was over, the bride’s veil fell and she and the groom met for the first time as Mian and Biwi across the screen.
