At my cousin’s wedding, when the ritual of hiding the groom’s shoes was being observed, the groom’s friend got so fed up with the entire thing that he went and bought a new pair of shoes and told the bride’s sisters to keep the old pair instead of parting with money.

— Reena Thapa

It was my uncle’s wedding and as the house was crowded, all the gifts had been stacked into the bride-groom’s room. But who was to know that one of my uncle’s friends had set the alarm for 12:00 midnight and wrapped his gift. It was really funny to see the entire household trying to fathom which gift contained that clock and in the process disturbing the newly wed’s wedding night.

— Srijana Lama

It was my friend’s wedding and the groom was to leave for the bride’s house at 11:00 am. Everything was ready. The groom looked handsome in his new suit and he was getting in the car when he happened to put his hand on his head. He realised that he had forgotten the topi. With 15 minutes to spare, the groom floored his bike, ran to the nearest shop selling topis, got one and went on for his wedding.

— Ratna Lamichhane

My friend was getting married but since the girl was not of his choice, he ran away on the day of the wedding itself. But since he

did not have a means to support himself, he returned after two days and the wedding went on though two days late.

— Surabi Dhakal

It was my sister’s wedding reception and the groom, the groom’s family, guests and everyone else was there for the reception... except for the bride. She was at the beauty parlour. Due to the rush and the crowd at the parlour she had been stuck and could not be ready on time.

— Pallavi Gurung

For my brother’s wedding, we had to go from Panchthar (hilly region) to Morang (Terai). There was no transportation facility and we had to walk. And it would take us an entire day to reach the bride’s house. Being young and enthusiastic, we did not feel tired when we reached our destination. We were warmly welcomed and had food. But then it started to rain cats and dogs. All of us ran for shelter.The priest could not complete the wedding rituals and stopped. There was hardly enough room for all so we had to take turns sleeping — two hours each. And it was another day of trudging back to the groom’s house, which we reached at around 11:00 pm.

— Ramesh Bhandari, Angna VDC-4, Panchthar

I had gone janti for my uncle’s wedding. Some girls (bride’s sisters) served us food and I took it. But suddenly one of the girls jumped down and took the shoe that was next to where I was sitting. The food dropped to the ground and I found myself reaching out to catch the girl. She tried to escape and pass the shoe to another girls, who was blocked by my cousin. This went on for nearly 10 minutes. And it was funny at the time.

— Basanta Ojha

It was my cousin’s wedding and we were quite tired due to the preparations that we had done for the wedding. The bride’s house was far and a bus had been hired for the janti. I was supposed to go with the janti too, but as I overslept, the janti bus had already left by the time I made it to my cousin’s house. I felt disappointed as I had been really looking forward to this wedding procession. But then there was a telephone telling us that the wedding had been postponed for four days as the bride had had her monthly period then. The groom’s party had to manage somehow for the four days as returning home without the bride was out of question.

— Devi Pokhrel, Biratnagar

For children weddings hold a different charm. I remember my aunt’s wedding and I was bored. So I went up a nearby hill to keep watch on the goings on from far. But then boredom got the better of me and I started pelting stones targeting the partying crowd below. It was fun to see their reactions and I grinned wide till I realised that my father was watching me. That is the reason why I am afraid of pelting stones for democratic or republican party.

— Pariwesh Lama

My uncle arrived totally drunk for his marriage ceremony and he got a beating with a broom.

— Neelotpal Sharma

We were returning home at around 9:30 pm after a friend’s wedding when we were surrounded my army personnel at a local chowk. We were shocked as the curfew was supposed to start from 11:00 pm. The army men stopped us and made all the boys do 10-10 sit-ups each holding our ears.

— Hari Sundar Kusi, Libali, Bhaktapur

I had gone to Kolkata to attend my cousin’s marriage. Her reception was to held at a place quite far from her home. On the wedding day, we were to take a bag of garlands for the varmala ceremony, but we took another bag by mistake. The groom and his relatives had arrived. Suddenly I saw my Aunt and other ladies looking for the garlands. There was a sort of confusion.The bride and the groom were standing on the dais. Everyone was looking at one other. Then I had an idea. I took another of my cousin to the corner of the pandal. He stood on a chair and took out two chrysanthemum garlands. I tied them up and handed them to my aunt. And though these garlands were not as grand as those left at home, they saved the day.

— Shobha Marda

I married the love of my life and we were to spend our honeymoon in Pokhara. But it so happened that whichever vehicle we boarded had baskets of chickens on them. The chirping and stink made us wince.

— Ek Prasad Duwadi

Ours was an arranged marriage. And when I was taken to my husband’s home after all the endless ceremony at my house, I was so tired that I wanted to rest above everything else. However, rest was not possible. After having food I was taken to room where several women were enjoying the marriage function. Then my brother came and said he was going back. I thought a new place, unknown people... So I said, “Wait I am also going with you.” As soon as I said these words, laughter broke out inside the room and the ice was broken.

— Ambika Pandey, Chitawan

At my parents’ wedding, my uncle was the official photographer. On way to Pokhara, my uncle had kept the camera on the roof of the car when they had stopped. He drove away and it was only after some time that he realised what had happened. So he left my mom and dad in the middle of the road and went back to the spot but could not find the camera. My parents’ wedding pictures got lost along with the camera.

— Preetha

At my elder brother’s wedding, guests were to be served and there would be no buffet system. So, all of us children were herded into a hall to have our food. We all waited and it was quite sometime before an adult entered the hall. But the second he stepped into the room, all of us jumped to our feet as if it was a teacher to who had entered a classroom.

— Eklaxmi Nepal

A colleague had invited us to his sister’s wedding. Beautiful ladies ushered us to a room meant for distinguished guests. We were offered with coffee, but the coffee had salt and though it was almost impossible for us to drink it, we managed somehow. Then another girl brought us some food items and with mouths watering we dove in. We felt thirsty and reached for the water only to realise that it was laced packed with lots and lots of chilli powder.

— Tilak Poudel, Pokhara

A relative of ours was getting married. So all preparations were on. Then he decided that he would like to go to another town and buy his wedding attire and the rest. And that he would do it alone. He didn’t want anyone to accompany him. Given his nature, his parents and brothers agreed. And one fine day he left home to do his wedding shopping. And in the evening everyone waited eagerly for his return, some dreading the choices he’d made. However, he came home with bags and bags of books. His answer: he found books more interesting.

— Uday Moktan