WFH takes on a whole new meaning with virtual weddings...

Distance is immaterial when two people want to take the plunge and tie the knot. Here's how shaadi.com is facilitating virtual weddings, during times of lockdown.

With the COVID-19 pandemic unexpectedly taking over the world, many couples have been forced to postpone their wedding. Some had to even cancel them. In these times where social distancing and avoiding large gatherings is the norm, Shaadi.com has teamed up with Leo Burnett to put a virtual spin on weddings. #WeddingsFromHome, an initiative wherein the entire wedding ceremony and celebrations are conducted virtually, from within the safety of their homes. Conceptualised and executed by Leo Burnett India, the first virtual wedding took place in 14^th April.

The first couple to get married were Avinash & Kirti from Ghaziabad who went ahead with a traditional Hindu ceremony albeit via video conferencing. Shaadi.com and Leo Burnett pulled out all stops to ensure that nothing is amiss for the couple on their big day. From make-up and mehndi artists to Ganesh sthapna, Sangeet, dhol, sangeet performances by family everything was carefully planned out. Wedding invites were sent with video call links and a special backdrop was designed to create the right atmosphere and setting. With over 200 people joining in via video call the couple was surrounded by friends and family as they tied the knot. Post the wedding, a special food delivery was organized to the houses of all guests to distribute sweets and food. Highlights of the wedding were also showcased on Shaadi.com social media handles.

Commenting on this, Adhish Zaveri, director – marketing, Shaadi.com said, “Weddings From Home is an audacious act with a strong purpose at the heart of it. At the root of its success are two critical factors. One, repurposing existing technology to drive discontinuous value and two, allowing people to celebrate their big day with as much fanfare, regardless of the lockdown."

Zaveri added that its even possible to have a sangeet performance and dhol- tasha in a virtual wedding. Another couple Sushen Dang from Mumbai and Keerti Narang from Bareilly got married on 19^th April. Below is the livestream of the couple's wedding - facilitated by a priest on a zoom video call.

Speaking about the initiative Rajdeepak Das, Managing Director India & Chief Creative Officer Leo Burnett South Asia said “Firstly this is one of the most unique and ambitious plans - a virtual wedding and we are thrilled to have partnered with Shaadi.com to make this a reality. Kudos to the team for taking on the seemingly impossible task of within 48 hours lining up make-up artists to pandits, to designing wedding invites. They truly went all out to ensure that no aspect of the wedding is overlooked from the sangeet to the mehendi to the final ceremony. The human spirit is indomitable and we always find a way out of the toughest times and what better example of that than hosting a wedding in the times of social distancing. This is the first of many weddings to come.”

Campaign Credits:

Managing Director India and Chief Strategy Officer Leo Burnett South Asia: Dheeraj Sinha

Managing Director India and Chief Creative Officer Leo Burnett South Asia: Rajdeepak Das

Executive Creative Director: Sonal Chhajerh

National Creative Directors: Sachin Kamble, Prajato Guha Thakurta

Associate Executive Creative Director:: Archit Gadiyar

Creative Director: Gaurav Kumar

Creative Team: Dipayan Purkayastha, Pratik Dhas, Mayurakshi Banerjee, Sayan Sengupta, Gaurav Singh

Senior Vice President: Pooja Mehta

Account Management: Ashupreet Khullar, Smruti Vyas

Planning: Shibani Mitra, Devika Joshi