People of Nepal have variation due to various caste, ethnicity, religion, geographical location etc. Due to this variation, the culture they follow to differ from place to place as per their norms, culture and customs. But mainly marriage tradition in Nepal can be separated into Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Muslim marriage on the basis of religion. Having said so, these are the popular religion in Nepal, but the tradition varies as per geographical locations too. The marriage was done in Hills, Terai or the Mountains has different rituals done.

In the Hindu community, the marriage ceremony takes place in a typical and special time of the year. Mostly they are done in mid-January to mid-March, Mid-April to mid-June and Mid-November to mid-December. For getting married too, an astrologer is consulted and he decided the auspicious date based on the position of stars of bride and groom. They also suggest the relation of the bride and groom on the basis of their star signs. In the past, the marriage ceremony of this community used to take place for three days, but these days the rituals are reduced to one day. On an auspicious day, the groom along with the family members and relatives go to the home of the bride along with a musical band. There, a special ritual and worship are done by the parents of the bride. There is a pundit ( a priest) who chants various mantras and at last Kanyadaan ( a ritual where the father of the bride gives the hand of his daughter to the groom) is done. This way, the father from that day has given the daughter to the groom. This ritual is really popular and exciting to watch, as there are many attention-grabbing rituals like making the bride and groom eat from the same plate, making the bride and groom play a game of Paasa ( This is a gambling game, this game is played in order to see the luck of the couple. This game is played by using coral shells). Another interesting ritual during this marriage is the bride-groom walk around the fire in a platform for seven times meaning they have made the seven promise and have kept fire as a witness and they will be together for another seven life-times. The priest also performs several other rituals and by the end of the day, the bride takes the groom to his home.

In the same way, there are various religious places to around the valley where marriage function takes place. They are the temple of Pashupatinath, Balaju water park, Guhyeshwori temple, Budhanilkantha (Narayanthan) temple, Dakshinkali Temple etc. The priest along with the parents, relatives, friends and kinship of both bride and groom gather on these temples and perform special puja (worship) to the deity and then the groom takes the bride to his place of residence. Due to the change of time, they also register their marriage in their local government offices.

Traditional Buddhist Marriages

The people who follow Buddhism observe these rituals for getting married. These marriage functions are often quite compared to the Hindu way of marriage and special focuses are done in ceremonial displays. In these wedding functions, the whole villagers and large numbers of the extended family are invited to observe the rituals.

Marriages in Nepal Monastery of Boudhanath
These days, due to modernization and lack of space in their home, Buddhist marriages too are done in monasteries. Traditional dresses are worn by both the bride and groom. The Lama ( Monk/Priest) performs a customary puja ( worship) of the deities in order to solemnize the wedding ceremony. In the same way, butter lamps are lit around the monastery for the whole day and it is very attractive. Traditional and modern music is played during these ceremonies and these music are really soothing and pleasant. In Kathmandu, most of the Buddhists prefer the monasteries for the marriage functions. Popular monasteries in the valley for these ceremonies include Kapan Monastery, Monastery of Swayambhunath, Monastery of Boudhanath etc.

These days marriages in a Party Palace are also getting popular.

There are also various other rituals popular in the hilly region where agriculture is the main occupation, there are issues of child marriage, polyandry, androgyny etc.