As the blue sapphire debuted on Kate Middleton’s ring finger, the news machinery went into overdrive about the whole she-bang of the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton early next year. Interestingly, the mode of announcement of this grand proposal was a stately message on the Queen’s newly formed Facebook page and a tweet on the official royal Twitter site. While it’s a big breaking away from tradition for the stiff royalty, many city couples have been going cyber about various facets
of their tying the knot — from digital wedding cards, to streaming live video of their wedding for friends and family who couldn’t attend, to posting honeymoon pictures, and more.
Amit Bajaj, who works for Mudra Max, recently surprised his friends by putting pictures of his rokka ceremony of Facebook. “My fiancée Apurva and I speculated about making things so public. We even consulted friends and I asked my mum about whether it would be okay,” he tells us. What finally tipped things was the desire to ensure that everyone knew he was hooked and booked. “I initially wondered about my ex-girlfriends, who might still have hopes. But then eventually, it seemed the best way to break the news,” he joked adding that there were many cousins who lived overseas and got to know about the news from the pictures.
But in this eco-friendly age of less handwritten notes and wedding cards, some just find it more convenient to let everyone know through a changed status message. Shalini Sengupta, a media professional who recently got engaged, found it easier to just display the message rather than call each one individually. “I called each of my best friends and told them (and mind you I have at least 15 best friends) and called myself engaged to my fiancé on Facebook for public knowledge,” she says adding, “I am also a little superstitious, so we kept mum about the relationship till the time we both were sure about it. Oh and also it’s a kind of a message sent to ‘boys’ who think they can take a chance on me,” she laughed.
Ex loves and potential ones aside, most people consider it an exercise in networking, akin to birthday greetings and job promotions, tapping the most valuable commodity in Zuckerland. Comments. Ruhi Mehra, who works as a consultant, told the world through the wedding card, this time only digital and tagged with all her friends’ names on it. “Of course, I want everyone to know I am getting married, who doesn’t like being the centre of attention. Also, if the news comes more as a surprise, then the interest and comments are bound to be higher,” she shared.
And when so much care is taken about not having the bride photographed with a gulabjamun in her mouth, most feel wedding pictures need to be appreciated. “Initially, there was no way to show your pictures to friends who lived far away. Mailing was an option but too tedious, so whether they are marriage or honeymoon pictures, you got to flaunt it if you got it,” says a newly married Poornima Lamba, who recently returned from her Malaysian honeymoon.