In her mother’s saree and Nani’s choker, here’s how this bride had her lockdown wedding

The pandemic came as a shock that changed people’s lives in more ways than one. Following the catastrophe, came the lockdown that put everyone’s life on hold. And it was no different for couples who had to cancel or postpone their wedding. While many couples are having an intimate wedding now, one couple who got married when the lockdown was in its full swing is Chaitali and Nitin. 

In a tête-à-tête with us, bride Chaitali shared all about her intimate wedding and how the pandemic changed her plans of having a big, fat Indian wedding. The couple got married on May 2 in the presence of their immediate family, while their cousins and friends joined in through Zoom. “So, it was a mix of virtual + close-knit wedding," as our bride describes it. They got special permission from the government as things were not exactly smooth back then. 

Check out her lockdown wedding story right below. 

How it all began 

Chaitali and Nitin’s love story began six years ago when the two met during their post-graduation. Our bride Chaitali shared, “We were in the same class and just happened to sit together for one of the classes. We instantly clicked and became really good friends. We then got closer and started liking each other. We were hesitant of getting into a relationship because we thought it might ruin our friendship, but we took the plunge, and now 5 years later, we're married."

The lockdown madness 

From the wedding outfits to wedding functions, there was nothing that went as planned for these two. “The lockdown happened right after our engagement in March. We were supposed to collect our wedding outfits, order for our wedding cards, finalize the wedding jewellery after March and basically, everything got stuck because of the lockdown.” 

However, they had an big engagement party prior to the lockdown with all their friends and family. Apart from this, all other pre-wedding functions were supposed to happen in May including mehndi, sangeet, choora and the wedding. 

“I still hadn’t collected my wedding lehenga, so I decided to wear my mother’s saree bought from Meena Bazaar during the wedding shopping. I hadn’t purchased my wedding jewellery, so I wore my Nani's vintage gold choker. I did my hair & makeup on my own on the day of the wedding. The same happened with my fiancé as well, he had not collected his sherwani and decided to wear a tuxedo that he received as a gift during our engagement,” she added. 

How would you express your lockdown wedding experience?

“Getting married with 15 people is not the ideal scenario that any couple would have in their minds. Honestly, it wasn't the scenario that we wanted. I did miss the celebration honestly, but on the day of the wedding, everything felt just perfect. The fact that all the pieces in the puzzle that our wedding was, just fit together so beautifully made us realize that happiness is not made up of materialistic elements. The state of happiness is your state of mind. All my relatives who were hesitant of us doing this were so happy and grateful the next day because our wedding reminded them of the stories, they heard from their parents about how weddings used to happen in earlier times. Simple, intimate, and beautiful. And honestly, who says we can't celebrate again.”

Do you have any advice for the brides getting married during the pandemic? 

“The only advice I can give is that I completely understand what you're going through. It is every girl's dream to have a fairy tale wedding. If you're having the wedding, then that means you've decided that your love is more important than a grand celebration. Don't be disheartened or overthink about the situation, try to enjoy each moment. You can still do all the things you wanted, but just instead of 500 people, you'll have 50 which is even more special because these 50 are the ones most special to you and are risking their safety to be a part of your celebration! Have a blast but don't forget to take all the precautions because honestly- we're still in the middle of a pandemic.”