Bride marries one of the guests after groom goes MIA on their wedding day
What should a bride do when her groom goes MIA on their wedding day?
Weddings, no matter how beautiful and elaborate they are, could churn out drama that you think you would only see in movies—a Bridezilla in full tantrum mode with a “monster-in-law” in tow, or a runaway groom who leaves the ceremony to “find himself.”
A wedding in India took a different turn as a bride, whose groom went “missing” after the pre-wedding rituals, married one of the guests instead.
According to the Times of India, the bride and her original groom had already performed the jaimal (exchange of garlands) ceremony, which are among the pre-wedding rituals in a bright, colorful, and elaborate Indian wedding.
As their families were preparing for the main wedding ceremony, they learned that the groom “mysteriously” disappeared, which left the bride and her family in shock. It was later on revealed that the man deliberately left the ceremonies but his reason for doing so remains unknown.
The bride was reportedly inconsolable, distraught, and her family members were upset.
As guests have already trickled in the venue and witnessed the turn of events, one of them reportedly approached the bride and her parents to suggest that the bride be wed to a suitable member of the baarat (guests from the groom’s wedding party) right at the moment.
After consultations between families, the bride’s family trained their eyes on a baarati, and without any delay and opposition, they were married at the venue.
The bride’s family reportedly lodged a complaint to the police against the runaway groom and his family.
Weddings are important social affairs in India and the choice of who they will marry is also important for the bride and the groom as their family’s status is at stake.
In a similar incident that occurred in January this year, a guest also married a bride when the original groom developed cold feet on the day of the wedding.