KOLKATA: State government’s decision to ease restrictions at wedding events — which can be attended by 200 people — has brought relief to not only the couples, scheduled to tie the knot, but also to several industrial sectors that are linked with various aspects of marriages.
Several couples were either about to postpone their weddings or were planning to go for registry marriage and defer celebrations. Now they have decided to go ahead with their wedding plans in keeping with the new government guidelines.
“We were planning to postpone the wedding and talk to the caterers and the owners of the venue for celebration. Now we will have to truncate the guests’ list but we have decided to go ahead with the ceremonies,” said Neha Som, a resident of Tollygunge, who will tie the knot on January 30.
Salt Lake resident Chirashree Ghosh, whose daughter will get married on February 5, also heaved a sigh of relief. The family had booked the Swabhumi banquet venue nearKadapara on February 4 and 5 but their plans went haywire after the third wave of the pandemic struck the city. “My daughter works in Mumbai and the groom’s family is also settled there. They had booked flight tickets and applied for leaves. We had even thought of postponing the reception. It is a big relief for us that the restrictions have been eased,” Ghosh said.
Several catering companies are also happy with the decision of the government. Rudra Prasad Saha, owner of Weddingbell Caterer, said, “Since the restrictions were imposed earlier this month, my team comprising 150 people were distressed. They were afraid of financial problems. The relaxation is a good news for us.”
Saptarshi Mukherjee, owner of Mahabhoj Caterer, said, “We had a difficult time due to the restrictions. It is extremely difficult to whittle down the invitees of an event like wedding to only 50.”
Several wedding photographers too were on the verge of losing out on work. “I have five bookings over the next two weeks. Earlier, the clients wanted to cancel the shoots. After the restrictions were eased, they are going ahead with the weddings and the shoot,” said Arindam Dhali, a wedding photographer.
