Destination weddings are back… with a Covid twist

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Akshata Agrawal and Rahul Singh (names changed) had decided to get married on May 24, as the day was auspicious, according to the astrology calendar. As they prepared for the big day, however, little did they know that the Covid-19 pandemic would disrupt all their carefully laid plans.

Akshata and Rahul took the disruption in their stride. But they were not willing to wait indefinitely to tie the knot and decided to do it in June. Not only that, the Kota and Jaipur based bride and groom also opted for a destination wedding in Udaipur, further to the west in Rajasthan but not so far away, with 30 guests.

Guests were asked to drive to the venue in their own cars. There were multiple temperature checks, and every guest vehicle was sanitised, as part of a slew of measures to keep things safe.

Along with guests, a makeup team, which had been quarantined in Jaipur for 14 days, also reached the venue. The pandits officiating the ceremony had Covid tests carried out five days prior to reaching the venue.

All in all, it was a destination wedding with bells and whistles of the Covid-era, all aimed at ensuring everyone — the couple, their families, guests, and all those attending on them — were safe.

Driving to destination

Akshata and Rahul are not alone. Like them, many others are opting for destination weddings, even in the midst of a global pandemic. Ankur Sarawagi, India Country Head, The Knot Worldwide, says that these marriages have, in a sense, altered the definition of the term ‘destination wedding’.

“Resorts and venues a few hours from where people live are being preferred now. For Mumbai it is Lonavala or Pune; for Delhi, it is Manesar, Udaipur and even Jaipur. People are more comfortable driving to the venue, so they are choosing venues on the outskirts of the city or a nearby hill station, he said.

Talking about the trend, Sandeep Lodha, CEO, Weddingz.in, said that while there are a few couples saving money they would otherwise have spent on a lavish wedding with lots of guests, there are others who are deploying that money on a destination wedding with fewer guests.

That, says Lodha, is the reason Weddingz.in is seeing slightly more destination weddings than last year in its overall bookings.

Muhurats are not an issue

Along with destination weddings, Lodha also pointed at another aspect that may alarm the orthodoxy — many couples are now open to getting married on any date.

“Due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown, summer weddings are moving to winter. But the number of muhurat (auspicious) days are limited. Muhurat dates are more important for people in the north, but they are now open to non-Muhurat days,” he said.

Many finding work again

“In April-May, when there were 20 guests, artistes were not being engaged. But that is changing and there is a robust demand for photographers, make-up artists etc though there is a drop in artistes like choreographers. Overall, there is a drop in tamjham,” said Lodha.

He added that the new segment, virtual weddings, is making photographers more important as they are streaming the wedding online. People may be cutting the guest list for their weddings but on the virtual front, they are inviting hundreds of guests, he noted.

“One more role that is becoming important is the MC (master of ceremonies), who engages the virtual guests,” he added.

Business is picking up

While the trends in the wedding space are interesting, what is heartening for the wedding industry is that business is picking up.

“The volume is getting back as demand is high. As many as 90 percent of our venue partners are sold out for the month of November. However, the spend is lower. The amount of value the venues could generate is lower as wedding budgets have mostly reduced by half,” said Sarawagi of The Knot Worldwide.

This is one of the reasons why Lodha expects a muted winter for the wedding industry. “This season will be 50-60 percent of last year’s numbers in terms of business because the coronavirus is still around and the number of Covid-19 cases is still rising.”

Lodha expects demand to reach pre-Covid levels by October–November.