No-frills wedding with only family as witness

KOLKATA: Had times been normal, this wedding wouldn't have looked like a stripped-down version of the one originally planned. But dates are sacrosanct and it is inauspicious to put off a wedding.
So, Priyanka Banerjee of Barasat went ahead and married fiance Parijat Das on Monday at one-fourth the cost and a guest list pared by over 80%.
TOI was present at the wedding to check out how the bride and groom cut corners on the biggest day of their lives.
Both Priyanka and Parijat are working professionals and had planned an elaborate wedding, till demonetisation hap pened. But the young couple was determined to work around the problem.
It started with the cancella tion of the receptions that the two families had planned. Guests were individually called and told that the receptions had been put on hold.
“It was embarrassing to call up friends, colleagues and neighbours and tell them the reception was off. But there was no other way . From the decorator to caterer, none offered credit card facility. Neither were they willing to accept the entire money in cheque,“ said Priyanka Banerjee. There was no option but to cut down the original guest list of 450 to just 75.
Luckily, the family did not have to book a wedding hall.The ceremony was to take place at her aunt's three-storey house in the neighbourhood. But the plan to do up the house with decorative lights and flowers was put off.
“We pooled in money, but even the Rs 70,000 we managed to collect was too little.Our original plan was to spend around Rs 3 lakh,“ said Bharati Sengupta, Priyanka's aunt.
The bride herself spent a harrowing 12 days queuing up at ATMs and banks. She even went to the bank with her wedding card to withdraw Rs 2.5 lakh, but was turned down. Even the jeweller kept her waiting till Saturday and finally accepted payment by credit card.
When TOI reached the venue in the morning, two small decorative pillars with some artificial flowers stood in the doorway and the terrace had eight tables with garden umbrellas to serve the guests. The trousseau for the bride had just arrived.
“Just 10 trays with the bare minimum, just for the sake of tradition,“ Priyanka said.At least the groom's family had not compromised on the 5kg fish.
“It feels like a doll's wedding,“ rued uncle Rudratez, who gave away the bride in the evening. “It might look like a pic nic, but this is the best that could be done under the circumstances,“ the bride said.
At 7pm, the groom arrived and the ceremony started.Whatever the circumstances, both bride and groom looked picture perfect as they began a new journey together, their troubles temporarily forgotten.