The pandemic has forced many people to make major lifestyle changes. All aspects of our lives have been affected due to the pandemic. Dating, relationships, and weddings are no exception to these lifestyle alterations.
Although the pandemic has seen a huge shift from big fat weddings to intimate background events with close people, some people find it extremely difficult to develop meaningful connections with people virtually.
The dating scenario has changed drastically when compared to pre-COVID with very limited options available to plan meet-ups.
Meeting people has become hard due to the lockdown and stay-at-home orders, and the process of dating has taken a huge hit.
Noory Ahmed, 31, has been looking to date for almost 14 months and says, “ It’s very hard to go on virtual dates. You can’t feel a vibe and it’s hard to determine a person’s personality when you virtually connect with them.”
Melanie Wood who is an event designer and decor provider talks about the differences in wedding ceremonies due to the pandemic.
Nabeela who got married during the pandemic says it was really stressful planning it.
Nabeela got married in Chicago, U.S., which made it more difficult for her closest family in Canada to attend the wedding.
“It was very emotional and difficult to accept that no one from my family in Canada could come because I had huge plans for my wedding but they were all ruined due to the pandemic,” she said. “I’m glad that we at least got to have a honeymoon which made up for the wedding but we still plan on hosting a bigger event when everything goes back to normal.”
Zoya Rizwan, a wedding planner says that planning weddings is a hectic job.
“There is a lot of back-forth going on with the vendors and clients to find the most suitable dates where everything is available and it’s tough.”
Shaykh Yusuf Badat, a licensed marriage officiator who is also the Iman at Islamic Foundation of Toronto, spoke to us about the number of marriages he has officiated during the pandemic.
“There are seasons for weddings and according to the season, the number cant be counted as high but it is steady. It went down during the start of the pandemic when everything was shut down, of course,” Badat said. “But I’m doing at least four ceremonies per month which is pretty steady.”