After Delhi, UP too puts a cap on Wedding Guests; here is what the top planners have to say

In a recent announcement made by Delhi government,  the number of guests at the wedding has been capped at 50. This has been done in response to  the rise in the number of Covid-19 cases in Delhi. The ceiling was earlier increased to 200 on October 31. 

The decision came as a disappointment for the industry which was hopeful of recovery and was waiting to get the best out of this wedding season. As a result, most wedding planners and hotels in the capital have already started receiving cancellations for the weddings and events that were booked from October 25th.

After Delhi, the Yogi government has also decided to put a cap on wedding guest limit at 100 across Uttar Pradesh. The Chief Minister has asked all district magistrates to ensure restriction of 100 guests at weddings. A formal order in this regard will be issued today.

BW Applause and Everything Experiential reached out to wedding industry stakeholders to know more about the current scenario. Here is what they had to say: 

Rituraj Khanna, CEO, Q Events

Whom do we blame- the government to allow everyone to go on a Diwali shopping spree or our sensibilities of going in the over crowded markets and then for Diwali parties which ended up with Covid patients in large numbers in New Delhi. 

The result is that our industry is paying heavily for it. I have had four cancellations till now- that too big weddings- hotels are in a state of panic- from 200 to 50 people- with the events starting next week. What can one do except cancel the events- since the saaya dates were less we had taken multiple events and prepared for them. Production is all done- with the flower prices going high we bought them early and kept them in our cold storage- and now everything has come to a standstill- the government could have allowed the 200 gathering till the 12th December after which till January there were no events. It has taken months for us to revive and get all our staff back and now what does one do- we as one of the biggest production houses are suffering. All our material is lying waste. 

We are now looking forward to our destination weddings which might give us some respite- rest- we can only pray to God- it’s a tough time for all of us- and no one to bail us out.

Chetan Vohra, Managing Director and Co Founder, Weddingline

The recent rise in covid cases is very concerning . The virus is a lot closer home in this second wave and a lot of people one knows have been affected by it. It’s alarming to see family members of clients who have had it - and it is indeed scary to be out and about meeting people.

The rollback to 50 people is unfortunate, and had the authorities put into control tighter norms that prevented the kind of rush we saw in markets - the spread may have been contained across Delhi and NCR.

There have been widespread cancellations owing to either the fear of catching the virus or the uncertainty of an impending lockdown. With the wedding season opening this month we all had hopes of making up some lost ground. Moreover,  a lot of time and investments have been made by companies in equipment and infrastructure  that would sanitise venues for  events - so that it was safe. Now with the events being canceled that is another loss most are grappling with.

Vikaas Gutgutia, MD & Founder, Ferns N Petals & FNP Gardens

For the $50 billion Indian wedding industry, recovery was on the cards, but businesses will again come to a standstill, as we are facing the brunt of Diwali crowds at markets. Many of our clients who were to get married in May had pushed their wedding to November- December are now again looking to postpone it to the next year. Because of these cancellations and alterations, all the associated units such as caterers, designers, make-up artists, wedding vendors, or planners have been affected to the core. We are now anticipating cancellations and delays by clients.

We have been getting calls from clients who had opted for a venue in Delhi, to enquire, if the functions can be organized at our venues in the NCR region. In the coming days, all our 11 wedding venues are booked to host 10-12 weddings each but we are now, anticipating cancellation or delays. We are suggesting our clients to shift their functions to our venues located in Gurgaon (outside Delhi). We are also helping them in managing their function on a further date. Plus, people are also fine with hosting an intimate wedding with 50 guests.

The industry had already suffered massive loss in the pandemic and if the situation keeps worsening, the industry will again come to a standstill. The sudden announcement has triggered panic and worry for the industry, it has become chaotic as people are rushing for venues out of Delhi.