With the fresh news of Chris Evans and Alba Baptista’s low-key, surprise wedding taking the internet by storm, voracious consumers of tabloid news have drawn a concrete conclusion. ‘Tis the season of quiet weddings. Homely get-togethers. Surprise elopements. Single digit guest lists. While its permeation in India seems rather absurd given our penchant to blow entire life savings on these week long events leading up to the wedding, it has, to quite an extent trickled into the Indian wedding scene as well.
The Captain America actor wed Baptista in a secret ceremony on Saturday in a secluded estate in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. In addition to Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, and Scarlett Johansson, numerous of Evans’ Marvel co-stars attended the event. There was no previous announcement to the media or even speculations for that matter – everything was tight on the confidentiality grounds and their active decision to keep the news under wraps.
Dare we say, celebrities are also normal people? Some want it lavish and prefer screaming at the top of their lungs declaring their vow of marital partnership and others, well, they’re well equipped with responding to the ‘you didn’t even tell me’ jibes for the rest of their lives. Props to Chris and Alba because nobody saw it coming. Not a single soul.
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Now separated couple Brangelina also surprised their fans after tying the knot in an intimate ceremony at Château Miraval, the family’s estate in the French village of Correns. Attended by just 20 friends and close family members, the strictly private wedding can be credited with the domino effect we are now recurrently witnessing around us. Amongst celebrities and otherwise.
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Cricketer KL Rahul and actress Athiya Shetty also tied the knot at their Khandala place with limited people in attendance completely cocking a snook to all the media frenzy. Whilst they didn’t go at exponentially great lengths to keep it under wraps as tabloids had beforehand starting the predictions courtesy the decorations outside KL’s house, the media sure was actively kept out of it to perform the rituals on their own terms. And then what usually ends up happening in this case is that the couple, a few hours or sometimes days after the event starts posting the wedding dump on their respective Instagrams to give the world a glimpse into their lives.
Honestly, it’s rather complex to define what a ‘quiet wedding’ is. Upon having a chat with my colleagues, our interpretations were somewhat different, some associating it with the low-key nature of the event, to some leaning towards the celebrities’ strenuous efforts to conceal the news and others just equating the concept with a home wedding.
The phenomenon started back in 2017, when the former caption of the men’s Indian cricket team said ‘I do’ with Anushka Sharma in Tuscany, 42 people in attendance. A huge surprise and a jolt to millions of his fangirls (may or may not be projecting a little), the highly classified nature of their wedding spoke volumes about their desire to share this moment with their fans on their own terms.
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The most recent case was of Alia and Ranbir getting hitched in a quiet, homely affair. Their wardrobes were quiet, the decor was more towards the muted side and of course, the nuptials were low-key respecting the couple’s wishes to celebrate the intimate moment with those closest.
To conclude things, the trend of embracing a relaxed route with regards to a wedding shouldn’t really be a taboo. Defining it as per societal expectations, be it your parents or acquaintances invites chaos. Let this serve as a reminder for all Indian brides that they’re supposed to have equal say in the nature of their rituals. Quiet or not, it’s your day after all.
Also Read: 8 Designer Labels For Menswear To Look A Cut Above The Rest This Wedding Season
