Event planners in Delhi face Covid-19 heat
Recession ho ya inflation, shadiyaan toh hoti rahengi na — remember this dialogue from Band Baaja Baaraat (2010)? Indeed, weddings and other events continue to take place, albeit low-key. Covid-19 has adversely affected event planners and forced them to take the virtual route.
“The wedding industry has taken a huge hit and our future looks bleak. All our events have been cancelled till June. The situation is far worse with those that have bigger venues. Artists associated with the industry are affected too,” says Raghubir Singh, owner of Delhi-based BMP Weddings, which has taken the digital route with Virtual Vivaah, where weddings are planned and executed online. Makeup artists, mehendi artists, dancers, choreographers etc. are digitally brought together. In case of Hindu weddings, a pandit is physically present with the couples to officiate the ceremony, which can be streamed online for guests.
Vikram Chhabra, director, Maadhyam Events, feels the next eight to 10 months will be very difficult as planners cope with the ‘new normal’. He adds, “Now that the government has allowed weddings with 50 guests, we’ve got queries for backyard weddings where people are asking us to plan a wedding with minimal décor.”
For birthday parties, the situation is no different. “I specialise in kids’ theme parties, and since kids are very prone to catching this virus, no parent would want to throw a party until it’s safe to do so. We are trying to work around the pandemic. We have sanitisation machines at the event venue, a mascot dressed up according to the theme to check thermo temperatures of guests, and even themed face masks,” says Salil Chaudhry, owner, Party Express.