Sudip Khadka and Pooja Rana Magar met eight years ago at her family-run restaurant. A regular customer, Sudip befriended Pooja, and it blossomed into love.
The two decided to get married and made plans for the ceremony in April. However, the pandemic and lockdown put an end to their plans. But the two obviously could not wait any longer, and decided to take the plunge, pandemic or no pandemic.
Many couples across the world share similar stories of postponed weddings as many thought it best to cancel celebrations and hunker down at home with their loved ones to ride out the pandemic. But as the months have dragged into a year, with lockdowns lifted and reimposed, couple have decided that they might as well get on with it.
“We didn’t want to wait any longer,” Sudip said, as he spoke to us on the phone. “Things seem more unrestricted and normal these days.”
The ceremony on 1 December was attended by family members, masks were worn and physical separation maintained. The reception had about 60 close family members in a venue that could fit some 300 people.
“We wanted to be cautious and could not invite all our friends,” Sudip explained. “But the pandemic is not an excuse, so we met and celebrated with friends beforehand.” Nepali weddings are always fun, no matter the circumstance,”Pooja adds.