Delhi govt's cap on wedding guests leaves many families worried

With hardly a week remaining for his wedding, 30-year-old Krishna Kumar and his family are now a worried lot after the Delhi government announced it would restrict the guests' list in marriage ceremonies from 200 to only 50 amid a sudden spike in Covid-19 cases in the national capital.

Kumar, whose wedding is scheduled for November 27, said invitations have been already sent to nearly 250 people.

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"Even though, 200 guests were earlier allowed, we had sent out invitations to around 250 people both verbally or through WhatsApp. The government should have taken this decision earlier as the marriage season has already started," he said.

Kumar's family is extremely worried since it has already invested around Rs 15 lakh for the special occasion. He said all payments have been made already - from venue to catering.

"What can we do now, we won't even get refund. We had booked a lavish farmhouse in Palla for the wedding since we were expecting around 200 people but now that only 50 are allowed, we would not need such a huge space for the wedding. But we have already paid them. I'm not sure if we would get any refund or can change the venue," he said.

The only relief for most of the families is that amid Covid-19, they planned to organise rest of the wedding ceremonies from Sangeet to Mehendi at their homes with close family members and friends.

After the Delhi government's announcement, Sneha Samaddar, whose wedding is scheduled for December 7, was flooded with messages from friends and family members. Fortunately, she and her family had already decided to limit their guest list to 70 people.

"We have only invited very close relatives and family friends for the wedding. Not more than 70. But now that it is decided that only 50 members will be allowed at wedding ceremonies, we will only be prune the guest list further. All arrangements have been made already. But now it will be our families and few extremely close friends," she said.

Since Covid-19 cases were on a surge here, her family had decided to organise wedding function in the same hotel where rooms were booked for the groom and his family since they would be coming from Maharashtra.

A marketing executive, who did not wish to identify herself, said that her wedding is slated for December 10 and since there are a number of elderly people in the family, the guest list was already kept below 100. And now after the Delhi government's decision, there will be further cut in the guest list.

Her sister Reva Sarna, who is personally monitoring all the wedding arrangements, said it would be awkward to request those who have been already invited to not attend the wedding now.

"For Sangeet and Mehendi, only very close friends have been invited. It's a small function and we had already planned to do it on the rooftop of her Vasant Kunj residence. We have already sought permission from Residents Welfare Association. Family members who wouldn't be able to make it can join the celebrations online," she added.

For Sangeeta Kohli, whose niece is getting married on December 2, their family is extremely stressed about how to do the last minute re-arrangements and changes in the guest list.

"We had invited only 100 people but had booked a banquet hall which could accommodate nearly 200 people but now with this new norm, we are completely left with no choice. It is also awkward to inform people now after sending out invitations. We have also made payments accordingly but it is not refundable," she said.