Highlights
- Many couples have called off their weddings in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak
- Wedding industry stakeholders claim losses worth millions of dollars
- "No silver lining in sight for another year," says wedding planner Kartik Bhalla
Melbourne-based café owner Angadh Singh Oberoi was all set to say “I do” to the woman of his dreams in a grand ceremony in a small town near Mumbai in western India on April 17th.
Thousands of dollars had been spent, invites had been sent, wedding attires had been bought and everything from the venue, food, flowers and band had been booked.
But increasingly dire news about coronavirus and subsequent international travel bans prompted the young couple to make an unfathomable decision to eventually cancel their big day that they had spent nearly a year to plan.
“My parents were already in India to get everything organised a month ahead of the wedding as it's hard sitting in Australia getting work done in India.
“But as soon as we heard about current visas getting cancelled and the government announcing stricter travel restrictions, our first concern was to get mum and dad back before there were any further lockdowns,” said the 30-year-old.
Mr Oberoi’s mother, Shubhjit Oberoi who was in New Delhi along with her husband, busy making last-minute preparations for their son’s impending nuptials had to hastily book return tickets to touch down in Melbourne before the restrictions came into effect.
“We received a panic call from Angadh and our daughter saying please come back as soon as possible. We had to rebook our tickets and we touched down on March 18.
“We are now in self-isolation since past one week,” said Ms Oberoi.
She added that while the decision has been “emotionally hard and unfortunate” for the entire family, they are prepared to get the couple married on the scheduled date to enable them to start their lives together.
“I believe whatever happened has happened for the good. We are no longer planning to host a ceremony in India. We most likely would have a small ceremony here in Australia,” she added.
Oberois aren’t the only ones. Another Melbourne-based would-be groom, Sahib, who doesn't wish to disclose his last name, had travelled to Chandigarh in northern India to get married amidst family and friends on April 5th.
Speaking to SBS Punjabi over the phone, the 28-year-old said, initially when the news of the virus spreading trickled in, “we naively decided to go ahead with the wedding.”
“But it was only last week, that things go critical and we decided to indefinitely postpone the wedding."
Sahib’s fiancé Nayaab Sharma said the deferral came as a shock for her as she had been planning the “biggest day of her life” ever since she and Sahib started dating nearly a year ago.
“It came as a shock. Everything is ready. My lehenga (wedding outfit) is hanging in the closet. Some guests have arrived while others who were arriving from overseas had to cancel their bookings,” said the 28-year-old architect.
She added that she was frustrated but “safety of her loved ones is a priority right now.”
“I am heartbroken because I have no idea when we’d be able to hold the ceremony. I wanted my friends and family to attend my big day. Now we are clueless when that would be.
“Right now, health and safety of my loved ones and all those impacted is of paramount importance. While it hurts, our wedding would have to wait,” added Ms Sharma.
Chandigarh-based wedding venue owner, Jaskaran Singh, who had booked Sahib and Nayaab’s wedding said he has so far had to cancel 22 events that were slated for the months of March and April.
“We have so far cancelled 22 weddings functions while 12 other couples are monitoring the situation, hoping for it all to get better. But we all know, they are being unrealistic,” said Mr Singh.
The 30-year-old businessman added that the ban on gatherings, travel restrictions and lockdowns imposed by the government has thrown India's $40 billion worth wedding industry into a massive cash crisis, “the one that we would never be able to recover from.”
“I have already lost business worth millions and stand to lose way more in the upcoming months. And we are not the only ones impacted.
“We have over 60 permanent employees, at least 600 temporary workers at any given time which include waiters, cooks, security, housekeeping, drivers and auxiliary staff. And this list excludes people who we hire to do the overhead work like catering, flower arrangements or entertainers,” added Mr Singh.
Also feeling the pinch are the wedding businesses operating in Australia, claims Kartik Bhalla, a wedding planner based in Sydney who primarily caters to families from the Indian subcontinent.
He said all wedding-related businesses, be it, caterers, decorators or venue owners are encountering an "unprecedented slump" and there is no silver lining in sight for the industry at least for a year.
“We might see some ripples around August, but nothing that would set the recovery process in motion. We have already incurred substantial losses and going out of business seems like a real possibility in the near future.
"As of now, we are investing all our energies towards retaining our permanent employees and ensuring their health and safety," said Mr Bhalla.
He added that a majority of business holders were asking couples to reschedule to prevent them from losing their deposits.
"In my line of work, we usually ask clients to pay 30% of the payment in advance. And if they cancel for any reason, we have a no-refund policy on the advance payment made.
"So in the current scenario, it would be wise for families to consider rescheduling instead of calling off the wedding," added Mr Bhalla.
As of the time of publication, only people who have recently travelled from overseas or have been in contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case and experienced symptoms within 14 days are advised to be tested.
If you believe you may have contracted the virus, call your doctor, don’t visit, or contact the national Coronavirus Health Information Hotline on 1800 020 080.
If you are struggling to breathe or experiencing a medical emergency, call 000.
Listen to SBS Punjabi Monday to Friday at 9 pm. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
