A responsible approach to organising weddings

With winter at the doorstep and year-end vacations around the corner, wedding season has officially begun. This makes it a good time to address how we often tend to get carried away by the festivities and ignore some major issues that come with it.

Noise pollution

With people gathering on the streets and screaming in joy to cars honking loudly to indicate that the groom has arrived, and playing loud music in residential areas till very late, noise pollution is common in our local weddings.

While it seems inevitable, there are steps one can take to avoid this, such as taking permission from the local authority in residential areas and letting neighbours know beforehand about the event, especially if it goes on till late at night. We should also refrain from using fireworks. The sudden loud noise of the explosion can disturb people, especially those with children and pets living nearby and may lead to bigger accidents.

Going beyond our financial capabilities

Bangladeshi weddings are typically grand in scale, and you must spend a lot of money to organise an event that will impress hundreds of people. Something people commonly do is  exceed their financial capacity. We get so fixated on giving our all to an event that we sometimes overlook the long-term financial consequences.

There are many instances where people take out loans and are unable to repay them. It's very crucial that we reconsider how financially viable our spending is and if there are other more practical areas of our life we would be better off directing our funds at.

Food waste

Weddings generate a lot of food waste, and while the organisers are frantically trying to deal with the problems that arise while pulling off a wedding, it is common for a considerable amount of food to be simply thrown away.

If we implement a system of RSVP-ing properly, we can make a better estimate of the number of guests dining, and not prepare food in excess. With some effort, any leftovers can also be packed and brought home to be eaten later or collected and be given to people who are in dire need of it instead of throwing it away. If your budget permits, doing charity around this time could be a noble idea too.

Managing transportation

Vehicles transporting guests to the wedding are frequently mismanaged. In many cases, the convention center itself lacks sufficient parking space to accommodate the vehicles that arrive. As a result, the roads in front of the venue get blocked, causing traffic congestion for others trying to pass.

To avoid causing inconvenience, we should assign people from the organisers to direct the vehicles so that they move smoothly and do not block the road. In this way, the guests will face less problems trying to arrive at the wedding and people trying to use the roads can move freely.

With wedding fever sweeping the country, lots of people will be busy organising or preparing for the special occasion of their loved ones. Amidst all the preparations, let's try to be socially responsible and focus on creating a better experience for everyone around.

Tamjidul Hoque likes spicy food and wants to watch a new anime now that his exams are finished. Give him anime suggestions at tamjidulh@gmail.com