A match made in heaven is what most couples wish for — but this close to the clouds? As rains and floods lashed the city, some still fought their way to married life! When Sudharshan Sakthivel and Dharini, originally from Chennai but in California now, walked into their wedding reception in T Nagar, they were surprised to find 400 people turn up despite the heavy rain.

“This could have never happened without the help of our families, friends and especially the service providers. Everybody was supportive and gave us confidence that we could do this,” says Sudharshan. He adds how he didn’t talk to his fiancé for four days due to connectivity issues before the wedding. “I was tense because I didn’t know what was happening at her end. She was also unwell,” he tells us and smiles, “When you’re surrounded by good people, good things definitely will happen.”

Sudharshan’s wife Dharini soon joins the conversation and says how they didn’t really have any apprehensions about calling off the wedding. “I didn’t have my blouse, and the reception gown that was sent for alterations reached me only a couple of hours before we began the celebrations. Sudharshan’s suit got delayed and people had to wait for an hour for us to gather at the main hall,” she recalls.

They laugh, “We designed our wedding invitation six months ago that had pictures of us wading through the waters, in a boat. Ironically, that came true.” Dharini adds, “We arrived at the venue by car but there was water as high as the headlights. We were scared because of the bumpy roads. But the staff at the mandapam were helpful and finally we tied the knot.” Sharanya Subramaniam, CEO of Ice Boys Entertainment, who filmed the wedding, says that because schools had declared a holiday on that day, kids turned up in huge numbers!

Says Sharanya, “If you see the films I made over the past year, you could hardly find any kids. But in this wedding, there were many. I have captured nice candid shots and I hope the film will come out decently.” However, Karaikal-based System Engineer Hariharan Venkat, who was in Porur, for his marriage, is upset because he didn’t have as many guests as expected. “I invited 150 people personally, but only three came. Half of them were scared because of the flood and bad roads. The rest didn’t make it to the wedding due to no proper transport facilities or availability of fuel, parking, or accommodation. Also, the mandapam people took advantage of the chaos and charged us more for electricity. We couldn’t find flower garlands and we even had to alter the dinner and lunch menus because of the unavailability of veggies in the market. These people mint money even during a regular wedding season, and now because of the rains, it goes without saying,” he rues. He also adds saying, “We’re planning to have another reception later this week, in Karaikal, so that our relatives can attend.”