A West Bengal couple is all set to host 450 guests at their wedding - but without flouting Covid rules. When Sandipan Sarkar and Aditi Das get married on January 24, guests will use Google Meet to 'attend' the ceremony. Moreover, food will be delivered to all the guests through Zomato.
"We had been planning to get married for the past year, but the pandemic became a problem," Mr Sarkar said. To ensure the safety of their guests and to conform to the 200-people cap for weddings set by the state government, the couple from Burdwan decided to host their wedding on Google Meet. Guests will be able to use the video conferencing platform to view a live telecast of the wedding while tucking into dinner sent to them via Zomato, all in the comfort of their own homes.
The 28-year-old said that the idea of hosting a digital wedding came to him after he was hospitalised for four days following Covid-19 complications.
"I was worried about the safety of my family and the safety of my guests," Mr Sarkar told NDTV. "After being hospitalised with Covid-19 myself from January 2 to January 4, I decided to think of a solution to avoid large gatherings," he said.
Only about 100 to 120 guests will attend the wedding physically, while more than 300 people will watch the live telecast. All invitees will receive a link to watch the wedding along with passwords one day before the ceremony.
A Zomato official, speaking to Telegraph India, said that the company lauded the move. "It was a very new idea for us. I talked to seniors in the company, who welcomed it. We have already prepared a team to monitor this wedding's deliveries. We laud such a move in the pandemic. We are planning to promote this event officially," he said.
The coronavirus pandemic has forced many couples to rethink traditional weddings. One couple from Tamil Nadu, for example, is all set to host their wedding reception in Metaverse. Dinesh S P and Janaganandhini Ramaswamy will allow their guests to choose a digital avatar to enter their virtual reception in February.
