For those who decided to get married in the spring of 2020, as well as for those involved in the preparation and conduct of the wedding (registration authorities, relatives and friends of young people, event agencies), the introduction of preventive measures in connection with the threat of the spread of coronavirus infection became force majeure. Does this mean that all scheduled marriages are canceled or postponed indefinitely?
Among the reasons why the wedding is postponed, there are not only such popular ones as "I doubt" or "I need to think", but also very objective ones. This can be unexpected family circumstances, health problems, mourning for a close relative, financial problems, and more. Along with this, the statistics of registration authorities show that up to 35% of weddings are upset because of disagreements in the "union of two loving hearts" about the "wedding of their dreams." A significant contribution to this percentage, as well as interference in the plans of Russian newlyweds, whose marriage registration fell on a date after March 31, 2020, was made by the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, recognized as a force majeure circumstance. So what do you do? Postpone the wedding "for later" or hold the wedding no matter what?
As part of the universally observed regime of high alert and self-isolation for COVID-19, the ban on holding public events, including the solemn registration of marriages, is strictly observed. But this does not mean a complete cancellation of wedding events. Those who applied to the registry office are faced with a choice. You can postpone the event to a later date and play the "wedding of your dreams" as planned, when the quarantine restrictions will be lifted. Those who do not want to change the day of registration have to be content with the "light version" of the official wedding ceremony, as well as agree to a different scale and nature of the wedding celebration.
During the confrontation with the pandemic, the work of Russian registry offices was organized in an emergency mode. You can sign in a "special order", that is, in compliance with the necessary sanitary and epidemiological measures: personal protective equipment (masks, gloves), disinfection, social distance between people.
The ceremony looks very unusual:
- absence of guests (even photographers are not always allowed in);
- at the entrance of the newlyweds, the temperature is measured with a non-contact thermometer;
- hands and passports must be treated with disinfectants;
- interaction with the employee responsible for registration is more like a reception at a notary (entered / signed / left in the book);
- the couple, who has been declared husband and wife, have difficulties and incidents when exchanging rings and kisses.
I must say that most of those who marry under quarantine treat COVID-19 preventive measures with due responsibility and understanding that the epidemiological situation dictates its own rules. Maxim Katz (director of the Urban Projects Foundation), Nikita Likhachev (director of the Yula service Mail.ru Group) and their spouses spoke in an interview with the correspondents of one of the Moscow media that in this situation the social responsibility of each person is important. The newlyweds claim that the absence of the solemn part did not affect the wedding in any way. Both couples celebrated the event in a "for two" format, and it was decided to play a noisy wedding later, when the quarantine ended.
Many, in support of a strict and ascetic form of registration, abandon pompous outfits and hold a wedding in ordinary clothes, without numerous invitees. However, among those entering into a marriage union during the quarantine period, there are examples of how elements of creativity and extravagance are added to an event corrected by the coronavirus. Someone supplemented their image with original accessories: masks and gloves in the style of wedding suits, such as Evgeny and Vera Kolotushkin from Voronezh. Others simply painted their personal protective equipment with markers and cosmetics. The brides of the West Bank of Palestine during the gathering wear bright makeup in addition to the face and eyes on a protective mask, and the manicure adorns latex gloves, which cannot be removed due to safety regulations. In Jakarta, brides and grooms exchange not only wedding rings, but also "wedding masks".
In some registry offices of our country, the newlyweds in chemical protection suits appear before the registrar every now and then. This is following the example of newlyweds from Riga. The first photo of this kind was posted by the Mayor of the Latvian capital on Instagram in March 2020. A couple from Ufa (Vyacheslav Egorov and Valeria Valeeva) spent the wedding in respirators and rubber gloves. The rings were passed to each other on chains, kissed without removing personal protective equipment. Well, young people, prone to theatricalization and buffoonery, literally "turned the tragedy into a farce." Grooms and brides in gas masks stand out. The new trend was picked up by photographers and videographers, making such newlyweds the objects of thematic photo sessions and video clips. The newlyweds from Nevinnomyssk became the champions of outrageousness. On April 25, they appeared at the wedding in outfits "in the spirit of self-isolation": the groom was dressed in an imposing dressing gown and slippers, and the bride wrapped herself in a blanket.
According to experts, most couples who formalize their relationship during a pandemic are limited to official registration, and the celebration is postponed "until later." After all, someone was planning celebrations in an exotic and romantic place, where it is not yet possible to get to. For others, it is important that guests from afar can come to the holiday. In some regions, the mass and scale of weddings is a long-standing national tradition.
But there are also those who, during the self-isolation regime, decide to refuse the event to take place the way it was originally intended. Weddings are held in a home or intimate format. The organizers and participants of the preparatory process meet young people halfway: restaurants are replacing banquet services with catering; other contractors are also reducing the volume and transforming the nature of the services provided: photographers, videographers, presenters, decorators.
Examples of how couples originally acted in different countries, who, despite the quarantine for COVID-19, decided to get married:
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Emily and Parris Hati from San Francisco got married in an empty church. A creative photographer placed portraits of everyone who was supposed to be present at the ceremony on the ground for guests and parishioners. The unusual and very impressive wedding generated a lot of interest from Internet users.
Wedding in an empty church - The issue with the number of those present at the wedding in Tel Aviv was resolved in a peculiar way. In addition to the allowed number of guests, there were 20 more people who were accommodated … on the roof of the nearest house. True, I had to obtain permission from local law enforcement officials for such a free interpretation of the rules for observing social distance.
- Neighbors came to the aid of the lovers Jose Lopez and Deborah Gurrea, who were forced to cancel the solemn wedding. On the appointed April day, at 7 pm (this is the beginning of the Spanish wedding, which lasts until 4 am), a couple in wedding dresses went out onto the balcony. Family and friends greeted them from neighboring balconies. And then there was everything: orange tree flowers and a box with 13 gold coins, shouting vows of the bride and groom, the dance of the young and the fiery music of Seguidillas Manchegas, as well as other national wedding traditions of Spain. Of course, at the end of quarantine, young people will have to visit local civil registry offices and seal their union with a seal and signatures. But they will remember the wedding on the balcony forever.
- In Chicago, the offsite registration of 23-year-old Elian and 22-year-old Eliot took place in the home garden. According to the rules of self-isolation, the event was attended only by the rabbi, parents and married couples. The rest of the guests drove up to the house and stayed in their cars. They watched the ceremony via an online broadcast. When the young people were declared husband and wife, the whole street was filled with the sounds of honking cars.
- New Jersey students Niazmul Ahmed and Sharmin Asha marry in a computer game. Animal Crossing doesn't feature wedding mechanics like the online Final Fantasy XIV. And the groom had to work hard to organize a virtual event with a romantic setting on the seashore. Everything was decorated with flowers, hearts and even the initials of the married couple. Friends-gamers joined them there.
In the epidemiological situation, observed in connection with the threat of the spread of coronavirus, as an alternative to the traditional banquet, online streaming services have begun to be actively used around the world. Celebration of the wedding in the trends of the new reality rapidly gained momentum, using various means of video communication: in the mode of videoconference, teleconference, live broadcast on YouTube, and the like. Wedding photographers are also adapting to new formats and offering newlyweds photo shoots in Zoom Google Hangouts, Apple's FaceTime.
Here are some examples of how digital communication can be used for a wedding:
- The heroes of their favorite TV series came to the aid of the engaged John and Susan (Maryland, USA). Actors from The Office remotely acted as guests of the digital celebration and even recorded separate videos of them dancing at the wedding. Jenna Fisher acted as the bridesmaid. Country singer Zach Brown sang The Man Who Loves You the Most for the couple. The Zoom event completely recreates Jim and Pam's memorable wedding opening dance from the iconic sitcom fan-favorite of the newlyweds.
- Muscovites Anastasia and Alexei Lavrinov managed to celebrate the most important day in their lives in front of the webcam with a bang. With the help of the Zoom Video Cjmmunication service, it turned out to create the entourage of the wedding ceremony. The "add a virtual background" option made it possible to use a photograph of a castle in Italy, which they could not actually get into due to the restrictive measures on COVID-19.
- In Kyrgyzstan, there were more than 40 guests at the online wedding of Iskander Khalmurzaev and Yulia Kim. The toastmaster, musicians and a magician entertained them via Skype.
- Vyacheslav and Valeria Egorovs from Ufa, immediately after the registration of the marriage, showed the certificate and rings by video link, and accepted congratulations. They performed a wedding dance right on the street in front of the Wedding Palace to their favorite tune from a smartphone. The bride “threw” a bouquet to her friends, randomly choosing one of them in the contacts on her phone. After that, the owner of the bouquet received it by courier.
- The first newlyweds who held an online wedding in Belarus were Fedor and Veronika. Congratulations and contests were fun. Money "for a boy and a girl" was collected for the phone numbers of the bride and groom.
- On April 01, 2020, the first online broadcast of marriage registration in Russia was held from the Arkhangelsk registry office. Newlyweds Andrey and Ekaterina from Severodvinsk shared a memorable event on Instagram.
In the West, legal obstacles to remote weddings are gradually being removed in many places. At the end of April 2020, in some states of the United States (New York, California, etc.), marriage registration was legalized by videoconference. The rule of concluding a "digital union" is one: communication between newlyweds and the person performing the wedding ceremony, clerks of municipal services and witnesses - directly, without using a pre-recorded video. During the pandemic, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) provided its citizens with the opportunity to officially register relations using a special Internet service. It is possible that this, taking into account the real epidemiological situation with COVID-19, will be practiced in Russia. In the meantime, remote registration of such an act of civil status as marriage is not available to Russians.
