Tradition of stealing the groom’s shoes?? (I’m the bride’s sister)
Hi everyone! I’m hoping someone could tell me me more about this tradition.
My sister’s soon-to-be-husband is Indian (from Mumbai, gujarati) and they’re having their wedding in India this December. This is my first Indian wedding so I’m very excited :))
His friends & family told me that there’s a tradition where the sister of the bride steals the groom’s shoes during one of the events, hides them, and asks for money to give them back. And since their job is to stop me from doing this, they’re not giving me a lot more information or tips 😂 (all in fun of course)
Can someone please tell me more about this?? I’m very confused lol but it seems very fun so I want to strategize early and know what to expect. Any info would be greatly appreciated, but below are some questions off the top of my head:
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what event is this during?
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do I steal/hide the shoes before that event or during?
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do I have to sneakily steal them, or is it like, in front of all the guests during a specific time?
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how much money do people ask for?I’m not aiming to make money off of this or anything, I just want to play the game properly. I don’t want to ask rudely ask for too much (or too little, not sure if that would be seen as an insult). For record, his family is fairly wealthy but not extreeeemely either
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any tips? 😂
Posted Oct 28, 2025, 4:47 PM UTC