Plans hit by curbs, girl ties the knot in Apt temple

LUCKNOW: Vandita Singh (28) of Lucknow had made elaborate plans for her wedding scheduled for April 25-26 in Gurugram. From the last detail of decoration for the farmhouse wedding to every shimmer that would go with her dress and makeup.

But destiny had other plans in store for the Lucknow-Jammu couple as lockdown was clamped in view of coronavirus pandemic before they could tie the knot.

From postponing to agreeing on a court marriage, the couple ultimately got married at a small Shani Dev temple in the park of their new residential society, on May 18.

Amid lockdown, the bridal outfit was readied in two days and sent to her via radio cab. The idea came from her new landlord which got a thumbs up from all concerned. Vandita’s parents traveled to Gurugram from Lucknow for the day and the parents of Sidharth (groom) checked in from Udhampur (Jammu) on video call. Their friends too were given a night’s notice to attend the wedding. Most of them from around the world caught up with rituals on video call.

“I have never really made plans for anything in my life. This was the first event where I got involved. Sidharth and I had started preparations since November 2019 soon after the date was fixed for the wedding. Every weekend both of us would go to the interiors of old Delhi to meet vendors,” says Vandita. After all her bookings for makeup and other bridal paraphernalia fell flat, Vandita had just two days to get everything going.

“To say I was panicking would be an understatement. Even the court was shut for us. But the photographer was kind enough to send his assistants on the day. The outfits were rented from Gurugram and the owner customised it for me in two days. Bookings for makeup and hairdo had to be booked last minute. For decoration, I used frames to create a backdrop,” she says.

The wedding, attended by 15 people, was finally solemnized with the landlord making arrangements at the temple and for the pandit. All the guests donned masks in keeping with lockdown norms.