Accidental Marriage: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|''"I don't have a wife. Zoe, why do I have a wife?"''|'''Malcolm Reynolds''', ''[[~~Firefly (TV)|~~Firefly]]'' episode "Our Mrs. Reynolds."}}

{{quote|''"I don't have a wife. Zoe, why do I have a wife?"''|'''Malcolm Reynolds''', ''[[Firefly]]'' episode "Our Mrs. Reynolds."}}

Be careful when visiting foreign parts or in the company of aliens, because you never know... you just might end up married. A character (almost always a male) discovers that a seemingly innocent action now entitles him to a permanent fashion accessory -- an [[Clingy Jealous Girl|intense young lady]] who insists that they are now married. Sometimes it's a delusion on her part, but sometimes it's valid -- at least by the rules of the place where she grew up.

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** Similarly, though she doesn't actually believe Ranma to be married to her, Kodachi [[Yandere|develops her obsessive crush on him]] after Ranma [[Rescue Romance|rescues her from a fall]]. She's so infatuated that she insists that all of Ranma's other [[Arranged Marriage|Arranged Marriages]] are usurpers who are trying to steal Ranma from her. Despite the fact Ranma has no interest in her whatsoever.

* Lum's insistence that she is married to Ataru because he declared "Now I can get married!" (meaning to his girlfriend Shinobu) after winning the Tag Race in the first episode of ''[[Urusei Yatsura]]''.

* In ''[[Tenshi Ni Narumon]]'', Yuusuke stumbles over Noel, who just happens to be napping in the nude in the middle of a forest. Their lips meet and she awakens, convinced that they are now married. This results in her entire kooky family moving into (and totally redesigning) Yuusuke's house.

* In ''[[Tenshi ni Narumon]]'', Yuusuke stumbles over Noel, who just happens to be napping in the nude in the middle of a forest. Their lips meet and she awakens, convinced that they are now married. This results in her entire kooky family moving into (and totally redesigning) Yuusuke's house.

* Neneko's belief that she "gave up her flower" and is now married to Tomokazu because he accidentally fondled her rear end in an early episode of ''[[Yumeria]]''.

* In ''[[Photon]]'', after getting the kana for [[Baka]] [[Face Doodling|drawn on his forehead]] by his mischievous [[Unlucky Childhood Friend|childhood friend]] Aun, the title character draws the same characters on the forehead of the sleeping Keyne. Since in Keyne's culture, a man proposes to a woman by drawing his "personal symbol" on her forehead, Keyne awakens, discovers what happened, and concludes that she and Photon are engaged.

* As the plot of ''[[~~Dear S~~]]'', the protagonist Takeya ''bonds'' with Ren through a direct kiss in the very first episode -- then spent half of the series wondering what was going on between two of them.

* As the plot of ''[[DearS]]'', the protagonist Takeya ''bonds'' with Ren through a direct kiss in the very first episode -- then spent half of the series wondering what was going on between two of them.

* In ''[[~~One Piece (Manga)|~~One Piece]]'', Boa Hancock believes that she is married to [[Idiot Hero|Luffy]] after he hugs her. However she is too shy to ever talk to him about this, and her grandmother later clears up her misunderstanding.

* In ''[[One Piece]]'', Boa Hancock believes that she is married to [[Idiot Hero|Luffy]] after he hugs her. However she is too shy to ever talk to him about this, and her grandmother later clears up her misunderstanding.

* Yuna Miyama from ''[[Maburaho]]'' declares Kazuki her husband in the first episode.

* ''[[Revolutionary Girl Utena]]'': Utena Tenjou is surprised to find herself engaged to Anthy, the Rose Bride, after winning a duel against her previous fiance, Saionji.

* Subverted and parodied in ''[[Sayonara Zetsubou ~~Sensei~~]]''. Even though Itoshiki's hometown will marry anyone who makes eye contact, Itoshiki manages to spend the night there unmarried, even though in a desperate attempt to get him married, his family have sent various people who are good at making eye contact after Itoshiki... including footballers, thugs and a hideous 100-eyed monster.

* Subverted and parodied in ''[[Sayonara, Zetsubou-sensei]]''. Even though Itoshiki's hometown will marry anyone who makes eye contact, Itoshiki manages to spend the night there unmarried, even though in a desperate attempt to get him married, his family have sent various people who are good at making eye contact after Itoshiki... including footballers, thugs and a hideous 100-eyed monster.

** There's a [[Crowning Moment of Funny|Hilarious]] part of that episode where two of the people they hire {{spoiler|get in a fight, make eye contact and end up engaged.}}

** Similarly, both of the times he gets into [[Not What It Looks Like|embarassing situations]] with [[Neat Freak|uber perfectionist]] Chiri, she demands that he follows through by marrying her.

* ''[[~~Dragonball~~]],'' of course. Though it was actually accidental engagement, the relationship between Chi Chi and Goku was largely based on his assumption that "married" was a kind of food. When the misunderstanding is cleared and Chi Chi gets depressed about it, though, Goku actually agrees to go through it anyway since he gave his word to her. They eventually have two children together.

* ''[[Dragon Ball]],'' of course. Though it was actually accidental engagement, the relationship between Chi Chi and Goku was largely based on his assumption that "married" was a kind of food. When the misunderstanding is cleared and Chi Chi gets depressed about it, though, Goku actually agrees to go through it anyway since he gave his word to her. They eventually have two children together.

* Rito Yuuki from ''[[~~To Love Ru (Manga)|~~To Love Ru]]'' almost ends up accidentally married to [[Cute Monster Girl|Cute Alien Girl]] Lala {{spoiler|until it actually comes time to go through with it. Lala, having known all along he didn't want to marry her and that his earlier confession was meant for someone else, backs off. At first she had been using him as an excuse not to have to go through with other marriage arrangements, but had quickly fallen for him and in the end didn't want to force him into anything.}}

* Rito Yuuki from ''[[To Love Ru]]'' almost ends up accidentally married to [[Cute Monster Girl|Cute Alien Girl]] Lala {{spoiler|until it actually comes time to go through with it. Lala, having known all along he didn't want to marry her and that his earlier confession was meant for someone else, backs off. At first she had been using him as an excuse not to have to go through with other marriage arrangements, but had quickly fallen for him and in the end didn't want to force him into anything.}}

* In ''[[~~Axis Powers Hetalia (Manga)|~~Axis Powers Hetalia]],'' Japan demands that his partner Italy marry him after the latter hugs and kisses the former on the cheek. [[Snap Back|They don't seem to go through with it]], though, since later [[Official Couple|Italy is paired up with]] [[Ho Yay|his other partner, Germany]]

* In ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia]],'' Japan demands that his partner Italy marry him after the latter hugs and kisses the former on the cheek. [[Snap Back|They don't seem to go through with it]], though, since later [[Official Couple|Italy is paired up with]] [[Ho Yay|his other partner, Germany]]

* ''[[Rurouni Kenshin]]'' has an episode devoted to this trope, as Kenshin is told to give his girlfriend Kaoru a ring he found -- the poor girl believes this to be an engagement proposal. By the end of the episode, though, all is confessed (and the ring is returned to the original owner, who was this close to killing himself because he threw it away after a fight with his fiance and there is no actual marriage. There's still a kinda sweet scene at the end where Kenshin makes up with Kaoru by bringing her flowers, though.

* In ''[[Seto no Hanayome]]'', the main character Nagasumi is rescued by Seto Sun -- the daughter of a [[Yakuza]] mermaid family. Turns out she would have to be executed for breaking the mermaid code of secrecy by saving Nagasumi, unless he marries her.

* Subverted in ''[[You're Under Arrest]]'' when Yoriko accidentally gets engaged to a foreign prince when she held his hand. He shrugs it off in the end saying his customs don't apply in Japan.

* This trope just piles up in the second episode of ''[[Kyo Kara Maoh ~~(Light Novel)~~|Kyo Kara Maoh]]''. [[Royal Brat|Wolfram]] spends all of dinner needling the new monarch Shibuya Yuuri, and succeeds in angering him by insulting his mother -- whereupon Yuuri slaps him across the face. [[Accidental Marriage|Unbeknownst to Yuuri, this constitutes a proposal of marriage.]] Instead of clearing up the confusion, Wolfram's brothers urge Yuuri to 'take it back', but Yuuri, thinking they mean the insult of the slap, swears he never will. The insulted and embarrassed Wolfram then throws his cutlery on the ground, and when Yuuri picks it up, it turns out that dropping a knife is a challenge to a duel, and Yuuri has accepted by picking it up. Poor Yuuri is deeply bewildered. {{spoiler|Yuuri wins the duel, and it's unclear whether having lost the duel means Wolfram isn't allowed to decline the marriage proposal, or if he just doesn't want to anymore; either way, the engagement stands.}}

* This trope just piles up in the second episode of ''[[Kyo Kara Maoh!|Kyo Kara Maoh]]''. [[Royal Brat|Wolfram]] spends all of dinner needling the new monarch Shibuya Yuuri, and succeeds in angering him by insulting his mother -- whereupon Yuuri slaps him across the face. [[Accidental Marriage|Unbeknownst to Yuuri, this constitutes a proposal of marriage.]] Instead of clearing up the confusion, Wolfram's brothers urge Yuuri to 'take it back', but Yuuri, thinking they mean the insult of the slap, swears he never will. The insulted and embarrassed Wolfram then throws his cutlery on the ground, and when Yuuri picks it up, it turns out that dropping a knife is a challenge to a duel, and Yuuri has accepted by picking it up. Poor Yuuri is deeply bewildered. {{spoiler|Yuuri wins the duel, and it's unclear whether having lost the duel means Wolfram isn't allowed to decline the marriage proposal, or if he just doesn't want to anymore; either way, the engagement stands.}}

** Fanwank is that Wolfram lost his chance to decline, and Yuuri can't back out since he already swore to never take it back. Their marital state is pretty much in limbo.

** Wolfram falls for Yuuri pretty hard before long, and becomes [[Crazy Jealous Guy|fanatically possessive]] of his fiancé, who is both naturally oblivious and in denial about this whole 'engaged to a guy' thing. [[Hilarity Ensues]].

** In a later episode a childhood friend of Wolfram's who considers them engaged due to similar circumstances appears, and Yuuri falls for the knife trick again, only this time he also accidentally points a spork at the challenger, which formally indicates that you have stolen someone's lover and intend to fight for them. Wolfram is touched.

** The writers love this trope.

* In ''[[Kore wa Zombie Desu Ka]]'', Ayumu accidentally gets knocked into a female vampire, Maelstrom, and ends up kissing her on the lips. According to Maelstrom's culture, a kiss between a man and a woman constitutes a marriage, which she vows to take seriously. Underscored because at the time of said marriage, [[Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy|Ayumu was wearing a frilly pink dress and Maelstrom was wearing shorts.]] Hilarity ensues as she competes with Haruna for Ayumu's attention.

* In ''[[Kore wa Zombie Desu ka?]]'', Ayumu accidentally gets knocked into a female vampire, Maelstrom, and ends up kissing her on the lips. According to Maelstrom's culture, a kiss between a man and a woman constitutes a marriage, which she vows to take seriously. Underscored because at the time of said marriage, [[Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy|Ayumu was wearing a frilly pink dress and Maelstrom was wearing shorts.]] Hilarity ensues as she competes with Haruna for Ayumu's attention.

* Sorta parodied in ''[[Tenjho Tenge]]'' when Souichiro Nagi gets tossed into a dressing roo when Aya Natsume was taking a shower. [[Naked First Impression|He gets to see Aya naked]], and according to the rules of the Natsume clan this means she must devote herself to him. Cue to Aya acting like a weird mix of [[Yamato Nadeshiko]] and [[Clingy Jealous Girl]] in regards to him.

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== [[Fanfic]] ==

* [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6133933/1/Waking_Up_in_Vegas Waking Up In Vegas] had [[Iron Man|Tony]] marry Pepper while they were both drunk.

** [[Crowning Moment of Funny|With a]] ''{{spoiler|[[~~Star Trek (Franchise)|~~Star Trek]]}}'' [[Crowning Moment of Funny|themed wedding, no less!]]

** [[Crowning Moment of Funny|With a]] ''{{spoiler|[[Star Trek]]}}'' [[Crowning Moment of Funny|themed wedding, no less!]]

* [[Kidanova|Erio]] to Caro in [http://danbooru.donmai.us/post/show/143894/caro_ru_lushe-comic-doujin-erio_mondial-mahou_shou this] parody [[Lyrical Nanoha|fan manga]]. (CAUTION: Danbooru Link. Image SFW)

* This [http://hotcorner15.livejournal.com/6221.html\] Glee fanfic has a version of this. It is different in that the marriage is between two girls.

* In ''[[Manchester Lost (Fanfic)|Manchester Lost]]'', [[Good Omens ~~(Literature)~~|Aziraphale's]] last name has technically been 'Crowley' for the past 500 years or so; they both thought that the other had arranged the divorce.

* In ''[[Manchester Lost (Fanfic)|Manchester Lost]]'', [[Good Omens|Aziraphale's]] last name has technically been 'Crowley' for the past 500 years or so; they both thought that the other had arranged the divorce.

== [[Film]] ==

* In ''[[The Scarecrow]]'', [[Buster Keaton]]'s character is found on one knee (he was tying a shoe) by the leading lady, who simpers and says, "This is so sudden." Luckily, he is in love with her, and they elope.

* The main character in ''[[~~Corpse Bride (Animation)|~~Corpse Bride]]'' enacts a mock wedding vow rehearsal, not knowing that the "branch" he places the ring on at the end is actually the finger of a restless bride's corpse until it's too late. (''The Corpse Bride'' was loosely based on a Russian-Jewish version of an older Jewish folktale.)

* The main character in ''[[Corpse Bride]]'' enacts a mock wedding vow rehearsal, not knowing that the "branch" he places the ring on at the end is actually the finger of a restless bride's corpse until it's too late. (''The Corpse Bride'' was loosely based on a Russian-Jewish version of an older Jewish folktale.)

* Among many other hijinks during their crazy night in Vegas, one of the characters in ''[[The Hangover]]'' manages to get himself hitched.

* In ''[[Stargate (~~Film~~)|Stargate]]'', Daniel finds himself offered a bride because he's believed to be a messenger from the gods. He winds up falling in love with her, a rare instance of the accidental marriage staying together. {{spoiler|Well, until she gets possessed by a Goa'uld in [[Stargate SG-1|the series]].}}

* In ''[[Stargate (film)|Stargate]]'', Daniel finds himself offered a bride because he's believed to be a messenger from the gods. He winds up falling in love with her, a rare instance of the accidental marriage staying together. {{spoiler|Well, until she gets possessed by a Goa'uld in [[Stargate SG-1|the series]].}}

* In ''[[The Searchers]]'', Martin Pawley thinks he's buying a blanket from some Indians. Turns out he's married one of them instead. Ethan Edwards thinks its hilarious. He is also rather nicer to the unexpected bride than her 'husband' despite the fact she's a Commanche.

* In ''[[Shanghai Noon]]'', Chon Wang ends up accidentally married (from his POV) to the Sioux chief's daughter (who knew exactly what she was doing). She follows him around for the rest of the movie, periodically saving his ass, only to end up trading him in for Roy at the end.

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* In ''[[The Muppets Take Manhattan]],'' {{spoiler|the play that the Muppets are trying to get produced includes a scene where Kermit marries Miss Piggy. When the play is staged, a real minister plays the minister's role.}} There would be some debate after that film, in the Muppet-Verse, whether Kermit had actually married Miss Piggy. (He certainly didn't want anything like that, but [[The Show Must Go On]]...)

** Years later they're still playing off this one. In the extras section of the first season Muppet Show DVD collection are a series of interviews with the Muppets. Piggy confirms that they are, Kermit is adamant that they aren't... and no one even ever says the "M" word.

** And in ''[[The Muppets (~~Film~~)|The Muppets]]'', it's still left somewhat ambiguous! They cohabited a mansion outside of Hollywood, where Piggy left Kermit prior to the film, and when they're reunited in the course of events she says, "You never intended to marry me." While that's certainly true and in accordance with the events of ''Manhattan'', it's unclear whether the marriage was legit or if she left because she was tired of waiting for him to decide to make it real.

** And in ''[[The Muppets (film)|The Muppets]]'', it's still left somewhat ambiguous! They cohabited a mansion outside of Hollywood, where Piggy left Kermit prior to the film, and when they're reunited in the course of events she says, "You never intended to marry me." While that's certainly true and in accordance with the events of ''Manhattan'', it's unclear whether the marriage was legit or if she left because she was tired of waiting for him to decide to make it real.

* At the end of ''Lara Croft [[Tomb Raider]]: The Cradle of Life'', Hillary and Bryce nearly get married in an African ceremony which involves getting their hair braided, {{spoiler|or so they are told.}}

* The [[Dick Van Dyke]]/Disney movie ''Lt. Robin Crusoe, USN'' had this at the end. The main character is coaxed into dancing with Wednesday, and her father laughingly says, "Hey, Wise Guy do pretty good marriage dance!" Crusoe accidentally pushes Wednesday down while protesting, and only gets saved from the [[Woman Scorned|angry native girls]] by a [[Deus Ex Machina|Navy helicopter]].

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* In the 1923 silent Yiddish comedy ''East and West'', freewheeling New York jazz baby Mollie travels to the old country with her father for a family wedding, and [[Culture Clash|hilarity]] naturally ensues. The turning point of the movie involves a "pretend wedding" the night before the real one, which of course ends up being a valid wedding according to Orthodox Jewish law. The catch is that the groom is a young Telmudic scholar who knew that the "pretend" ceremony was binding, but didn't stop it because he was enamored with Mollie. {{spoiler|It ends happily, though.}}

* Bob in ''[[Priscilla Queen of the Desert]]'' does not seem to have married his wife deliberately and wishes he could be rid of her.

* In ''[[~~Jeremiah Johnson (Film)|~~Jeremiah Johnson]]'', when [[Mountain Man|Jeremiah]] and Del Gue are taken by surprise by some Christianized Flathead indians, Jeremiah offers them some horses just to be polite and guarantee his safe release. Unfortunately, the Flatheads have a gift economy and are bound by tradition to respond to any gift with an even greater gift. The Flathead chief compels Jeremiah to marry his daughter.

* In ''[[Jeremiah Johnson]]'', when [[Mountain Man|Jeremiah]] and Del Gue are taken by surprise by some Christianized Flathead indians, Jeremiah offers them some horses just to be polite and guarantee his safe release. Unfortunately, the Flatheads have a gift economy and are bound by tradition to respond to any gift with an even greater gift. The Flathead chief compels Jeremiah to marry his daughter.

* In ''[[The Princess Bride (~~Film~~)|The Princess Bride]]'', Buttercup believes she is married to the Prince, because Humperdink told the abbott to "skip to the end", so the abbott says "man and wife". Humperdink goes to fight a battle and Buttercup goes numbly to her chambers to kill herself. {{spoiler|Westley informs her, despite not being there, that she didn't say "I do" and so she isn't. Happiness ensues.}}

* In ''[[The Princess Bride (film)|The Princess Bride]]'', Buttercup believes she is married to the Prince, because Humperdink told the abbott to "skip to the end", so the abbott says "man and wife". Humperdink goes to fight a battle and Buttercup goes numbly to her chambers to kill herself. {{spoiler|Westley informs her, despite not being there, that she didn't say "I do" and so she isn't. Happiness ensues.}}

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* Du Chaillu from Terry Goodkind's ''[[Sword of Truth]]'' books. Richard {{spoiler|Rahl, at that point known as Cypher, saves her life, and proceeds to kill thirty warriors from her tribe, including her 5 husbands, proving through their prophesy that he's their savior, and she's now his wife.}} He, being Richard, tries to talk her out of it via pure logic and a desire to make people just ''think''! We then proceed to write this whole incident off until {{spoiler|''The Temple of the Winds,'' when we realize, "Oh shit, Kahlan ''is'' Richard's third wife."}}

* Subverted in Jack Higgins' novel ''The Wrath of God'': the narrator rescues a Yaqui girl from rape by [[Bad Cop, Incompetent Cop|corrupt police]] and she hangs a medallion around his neck. He thinks it's just a gift to say thanks, but when he learns he's now married by Yaqui law, he '''likes''' the idea. Unfortunately, someone else has given him [[An Offer You Can't Refuse|a dangerous mission]], and he may not survive to settle down with the girl.

* In ''[[~~The Wheel of Time (Literature)|~~The Wheel of Time]]'' books, when Mat discovers that Tuon is the woman [[You Can't Fight Fate|he is fated to marry]], he has a brief breakdown in which he proclaims that she's his bloody wife three times in a row. Turns out that in her culture, each party saying such three times is the essential part of the wedding ceremony, and Tuon's 3x response can take place any time within the next year.

* In ''[[The Wheel of Time]]'' books, when Mat discovers that Tuon is the woman [[You Can't Fight Fate|he is fated to marry]], he has a brief breakdown in which he proclaims that she's his bloody wife three times in a row. Turns out that in her culture, each party saying such three times is the essential part of the wedding ceremony, and Tuon's 3x response can take place any time within the next year.

** The time is stated just after Mat finds out that he performed the first half of the ceremony. {{spoiler|Doesn't matter as she completes it long before time is up.}}

** And then there's Rand and Aviendha. Aviendha tries to keep an angry distance between them, but thanks to Rand's ignorance of Aiel culture his attempts to apologize to her keep turning out to be Aiel courtship rituals.

*** And Nynaeve ''claims'' she and Lan are engaged, under Two Rivers customs, because he gave her his ring. In a mixture of subverting reader expectations (since this is a real, modern custom, sort of) and possible [[Retcon]], she's lying because she really, really wants to marry him.

* Crawford, one of the protagonists of [[Tim Powers]]' ''[[The Stress of Her Regard]]'', finds himself unwillingly married to a silicon-based [[Our Vampires Are Different|vampiric life form]], having slipped a wedding ring onto the finger of a statue so he wouldn't drop it in the mud during a rainstorm.

* [[PG Wodehouse ~~(Creator)~~|PG Wodehouse]]: The [[Jeeves and Wooster (~~Literature~~)|Jeeves and Wooster]] books are ''made'' of Accidental Engagements. Add to that the fact that poor Bertie can't seem to decide whether or not he wants to stay a bachelor...

* [[P. G. Wodehouse|PG Wodehouse]]: The [[Jeeves and Wooster (novel)|Jeeves and Wooster]] books are ''made'' of Accidental Engagements. Add to that the fact that poor Bertie can't seem to decide whether or not he wants to stay a bachelor...

* ''[[Dune]]''. Paul Atreides asks Fremen girl Chani if she'll carry his water tokens, startling her somewhat. Fortunately an amused Stilgar recognises that Paul is simply ignorant of what this implies among Fremen. {{spoiler|They wind up (intentionally) married, so in the long run it wouldn't have mattered anyway.}}

* Invoked in ''First Lord's Fury'', the sixth book of [[Jim Butcher]]'s ''[[Codex Alera]]'': Kitai is worried about how people will see her relationship with Tavi because of all the things they've gotten up to without being married. Tavi points out that they more or less accidentally fulfilled the Marat marriage custom back in the first book, and they could claim to have been married since then.

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== [[Live Action TV]] ==

* Mal's wedding to Saffron in the ''[[~~Firefly (TV)|~~Firefly]]'' episode "Our Mrs. Reynolds" supposedly occurred by accepting a wreath, drink, and dance from the young lady. However, {{spoiler|"Saffron" was actually a con-artist, taking advantage of the obscure tradition to get aboard without raising suspicion, with the ultimate intent of hijacking the ship}}.

* Mal's wedding to Saffron in the ''[[Firefly]]'' episode "Our Mrs. Reynolds" supposedly occurred by accepting a wreath, drink, and dance from the young lady. However, {{spoiler|"Saffron" was actually a con-artist, taking advantage of the obscure tradition to get aboard without raising suspicion, with the ultimate intent of hijacking the ship}}.

** However, Mal is lucky in that {{spoiler|[[The Vamp|Saffron]] has been [[Black Widow|married many other times]], some of her husbands are still alive because she only ripped them off, and the Alliance has laws against bigamy}}. Suffice to say, the marriage is invalid. Though Saffron does tease him about it the next time they meet.

* A subplot in the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' story "The Aztecs" involves the Doctor accidentally getting engaged to a local woman.

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* One episode of ''Hey Dude!'' had a subplot where a group of [[Ruritania|generically Eastern European]] guests were visiting the ranch, and one character accidentally proposed marriage to a young girl.

* In ''[[Happy Days]]'', Fonzie and Jenny go as bride and groom to a costume party on a yacht and, after an incident involving a performance with a [[Married At Sea|minister played by the ship's captain]], think they've accidentally gotten married, to Jenny's delight and Fonzie's horror.

* In ''[[Arrested Development (TV)|Arrested Development]]'', cousins George Michael and Maeby wind up accidentally married while performing a mock wedding for a group of senior citizens. However, because of the incredible [[UST]] between them, and the fact that they {{spoiler|[[Not Blood Siblings|aren't even related by blood]], this is both a bit less [[Squick|Squicky]] and infinitely more funny than it might otherwise be.}}

* In ''[[Arrested Development (TV series)|Arrested Development]]'', cousins George Michael and Maeby wind up accidentally married while performing a mock wedding for a group of senior citizens. However, because of the incredible [[UST]] between them, and the fact that they {{spoiler|[[Not Blood Siblings|aren't even related by blood]], this is both a bit less [[Squick|Squicky]] and infinitely more funny than it might otherwise be.}}

** GOB once met a woman with whom he intended to have a one-night stand; instead, they ended up married for a few episodes thanks to a drunken dare. (The woman, by the way, was played by [[Amy Poehler]], Will Arnett's [[Real Life Relative|real-life wife]]).

* In a massive oversimplification of Greek marriage customs, ''[[Full House]]'' had an episode where both DJ and Jessie unknowingly married Greeks by walking around the table with them. The problem was easily solved, though: divorce was achieved by walking around the table backwards.

* In ''[[Go Go Sentai Boukenger]]'', a girl arrives at the base, saying Souta once proposed to her, though he'd never met her before. {{spoiler|Turns out she's actually a cat. He'd once found her injured and took care of her, and had said he wished he could keep her. She sought him out after becoming human due to a shapeshifting-inducing [[MacGuffin]].}}

* ''[[Just Shoot Me]]'': Maya and Elliot go to a mass wedding thinking that Dennis went there to marry a model and end up unwittingly married.

* On ''[[Married ~~With~~ Children]]'', a recently divorced Marcy goes to a banking convention, has far too much to drink at a party, and wakes up the next morning married to the bartender from the night before. The bartender, Jefferson d'Arcy, played by Ted McGinley, would be Marcy's husband for the rest of the series.

* On ''[[Married... with Children]]'', a recently divorced Marcy goes to a banking convention, has far too much to drink at a party, and wakes up the next morning married to the bartender from the night before. The bartender, Jefferson d'Arcy, played by Ted McGinley, would be Marcy's husband for the rest of the series.

* On ''[[Whos the Boss]]'', after a trip to South Carolina in which they signed in to a motel as "Mr. and Mrs.", Tony and Angela somehow ended up as Common Law spouses under S.C. law. The ensuing effort to annull the marriage was less about ending the marriage than about Tony and Angela awkwardly dodging their own feelings on the subject.

** Also an example of [[Hollywood Law]], since Common Law Marriage requires both parties to have a public declaration of their mutual intent to be married in order to be valid. Just signing a motel registration book isn't enough.

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* A variation of this comes in a first-season ''[[Taxi]]'' episode. John Burns picks up a girl at Mario's with the line, "Let's just skip everything and get married." Not only does it get him a date, but she accepts his proposal. (As John later explains to the other cabbies, each of them was expecting the other to call it off...but they went through with it.) Later, the couple plan to get the marriage annulled, but by the episode's end they actually decide to make a go of it.

* In the ''[[Babylon 5]]'' episode "The Parliament of Dreams," the main characters, as part of a "Galactic Religions Week" on the eponymous station, experience an extremely confusing [[Our Elves Are Better|Minbari]] religious ceremony involving eating red fruit and some intense looks between the Minbari Ambassador Delenn and the human commander, Jeffrey Sinclair. As it turns out, {{spoiler|although the people attending it were told that it was a "rebirth" ceremony, Sinclair's lover informs him that it could also have doubled as a wedding. He jokes that he didn't think that Londo and G'Kar were one another's type.}}

** Most interestingly, {{spoiler|this is actually a bit of [[Aborted Arc]]; Delenn and Sinclair ''were'' supposed to get married, but then [[J. ~~Michael Straczynski (Creator)|J~~ Michael Straczynski]] realized that Sinclair's personal arc logically would have to end with Season 1; as a result, Sinclair gets [[Put On a Bus]] to Minbar and Delenn ends up marrying Sinclair's [[Suspiciously Similar Substitute|replacement]], John Sheridan.}}

** Most interestingly, {{spoiler|this is actually a bit of [[Aborted Arc]]; Delenn and Sinclair ''were'' supposed to get married, but then [[J. Michael Straczynski]] realized that Sinclair's personal arc logically would have to end with Season 1; as a result, Sinclair gets [[Put on a Bus]] to Minbar and Delenn ends up marrying Sinclair's [[Suspiciously Similar Substitute|replacement]], John Sheridan.}}

* In ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' O'Neill eats a fruit pizza and wakes up married to the girl that offered it to him. [[Hilarity Ensues]], the marriage is called off {{spoiler|until she comes back to comfort him}} and the planet is saved.

* In a variant, Angela on ''[[Bones]]'' was shocked to learn that a drunken-party ceremony she'd participated in on Fiji was actually considered a valid marriage by the U.S. State Department. She'd been so drunk that she forgot it'd happened, and hadn't known that the presiding party-goer was legitimately authorized to perform weddings.

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** Doubly strange because, as she was intoxicated and doesn't really remember it, not to mention can't even remember what her husband looks like, she could get annulment without needing him, but for some reason chooses to go through various wacky hijinks to figure out who he is and get him to sign the divorce papers. {{spoiler|When they find him and he refuses, it's treated as if she's now trapped in the marriage, even though that's not at all the case.}}

* ''[[Passions]]'' had Theresa drunkenly marry Julian. No matter, he faked his own death not too long after. The series finale revealed that Theresa was free to marry Ethan because Gwen had married someone else (offscreen) when drunk some years ago. Talk about a copout.

* Inverted in an episode of [[~~Gilligans~~ Island]]: The Millionare and his wife find out they're accidentally not married because their priest was a fraud.

* Inverted in an episode of [[Gilligan's Island]]: The Millionare and his wife find out they're accidentally not married because their priest was a fraud.

* In [[~~Farscape (TV)|~~Farscape]], the "Look at the Princess" trilogy. The wedding itself is completely on purpose (though John was REALLY forced into it by the bride's mother giving him an impossible choice.) However, he didn't realize that by kissing the princess and being found genetically compatible with her, he would be expected to marry her (since her DNA had been poisoned so no one else was compatible with her.) Damn those alien politics.

* In [[Farscape]], the "Look at the Princess" trilogy. The wedding itself is completely on purpose (though John was REALLY forced into it by the bride's mother giving him an impossible choice.) However, he didn't realize that by kissing the princess and being found genetically compatible with her, he would be expected to marry her (since her DNA had been poisoned so no one else was compatible with her.) Damn those alien politics.

* On ''[[30 Rock ~~(TV)~~|Thirty Rock]]'', a French-speaking minister accidentally married Jack to Liz instead of Avery. At first they planned to just sign the divorce papers, but then Pete pointed out that this gave Liz leverage to get Jack to stop slashing the ''TGS'' budget. Cue [[Escalating War]] as each struggles to get more leverage over the other.

* On ''[[30 Rock|Thirty Rock]]'', a French-speaking minister accidentally married Jack to Liz instead of Avery. At first they planned to just sign the divorce papers, but then Pete pointed out that this gave Liz leverage to get Jack to stop slashing the ''TGS'' budget. Cue [[Escalating War]] as each struggles to get more leverage over the other.

* Ross and Rachel in ''[[Friends]]'' engage in the drunk-in-Vegas variant of the trope.

** In another ''Friends'' storyline, Joey finds an engagement ring in Ross's jacket after Rachel's had her baby. Rachel sees him with the ring and accepts Joey's "proposal". Much [[Threes Company Plot|humorous misunderstanding]] later, Joey explains to Rachel that he wasn't proposing, Ross was ... and Ross says no, he wasn't proposing either.

* On ''[[~~Red Dwarf (TV)|~~Red Dwarf]]'', in series 6 the Dwarfers have to barter for an oxygen unit from a planet of GELFs. Their price? Lister as bridegroom to a female yeti.

* On ''[[Red Dwarf]]'', in series 6 the Dwarfers have to barter for an oxygen unit from a planet of GELFs. Their price? Lister as bridegroom to a female yeti.

* The premise of the [[Taiwanese Series]] ''[[Drunken to Love You]]'', is two strangers getting drunk, getting married, and falling in love.

* An episode of M*A*S*H had Winchester "married" to a fun-loving woman after his [[Rn R]] to Tokyo.

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== Mythology ==

* [[Older Than Feudalism]]: In ''[[~~The Aeneid (Literature)|~~The Aeneid]]'', Aeneas is "married" to [[Girl of the Week|Dido]] in this manner. Juno has the nymphs singing and the lightning crashing, and to Dido, this resembles a marriage carried out by the gods. But to Aeneas, it was just a few hours alone in a cave during a storm with a nice girl. [[Woman Scorned|You know what that means]]... well, [[Genre Savvy|Aeneas sure knew]].

* [[Older Than Feudalism]]: In ''[[The Aeneid]]'', Aeneas is "married" to [[Girl of the Week|Dido]] in this manner. Juno has the nymphs singing and the lightning crashing, and to Dido, this resembles a marriage carried out by the gods. But to Aeneas, it was just a few hours alone in a cave during a storm with a nice girl. [[Woman Scorned|You know what that means]]... well, [[Genre Savvy|Aeneas sure knew]].

* In Arthurian legend, Percival has [[No Social Skills]], being raised in isolation by his mother. When he first meets his future love interest he exchanges rings with her, unaware of what his gesture [[Wacky Marriage Proposal|signifies]]. Later, when he figures it out, he sets off in search of her to make good his proposal.

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== [[Video Games]] ==

* In ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time ~~(Video Game)~~|The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time]]'', Link accepts the Zora's sacred jewel so he can open the Door of Time, only to discover with some confusion that he is now engaged to Princess Ruto.

* In ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time|The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time]]'', Link accepts the Zora's sacred jewel so he can open the Door of Time, only to discover with some confusion that he is now engaged to Princess Ruto.

** Amusingly, it's implied that he never realizes. He only finds out about the whole thing seven years later when she confronts him at the Water Temple, and you better believe that he's freaked about it. {{spoiler|Luckily, she relents after you defeat Morpha, [[I Want My Beloved to Be Happy|seeing that Link's interest lies more in Zelda than her.]] And she's one of the six sages}}.

* In the mod for ''[[~~The Elder Scrolls III Morrowind (Video Game)|~~The Elder Scrolls III Morrowind]]'' "Julan: Ashlander Companion," there is a point where, without thinking, Julan {{spoiler|tells the female player character she should marry him after he becomes leader of his tribe}}. According to the mod, the leader of a tribe is the one who conducts marriage ceremonies, and since Julan is {{spoiler|by now said leader, he and the PC are now married}}.

* In the mod for ''[[The Elder Scrolls III Morrowind]]'' "Julan: Ashlander Companion," there is a point where, without thinking, Julan {{spoiler|tells the female player character she should marry him after he becomes leader of his tribe}}. According to the mod, the leader of a tribe is the one who conducts marriage ceremonies, and since Julan is {{spoiler|by now said leader, he and the PC are now married}}.

* In episode 3 of ''[[Wallace and Gromit]]'s Grand Adventures'', Wallace accidentally proposes to Miss Flitt while picking up a lugnut that she mistakes for a wedding ring. Sorting this out takes up a good part of the plot of episode 4.

* ''[[Tears to Tiara]]''. First Arawn winds up married to Riannon as a political thing. Then he marries Morgan to save her from getting executed, and it's not even entirely clear if he realizes this one. Then he burns a seal pelt that belongs to Llyr, so that's three. For four, he accidentally marries Octavia because he grabbed her hand. At the rate he's going everyone on earth is going to marry him, apparently.

** Thankfully in the anime adaptation, Arawn only marries the first three mentioned above. Octavia doesn't marry him because he never holda her hand. {{spoiler|Instead, might marry Arthur since he held her hand after their sword fight.}}

* In ''[[~~Super Paper Mario (Video Game)|~~Super Paper Mario]]'', this is actually what sets the entire story into motion. Princess Peach is hypnotized into marrying Bowser (an odd couple if ever there was one) which is what fulfills a prophecy which begins the destruction of the universe. You should know what happens next: Mario comes to save the day. Of course.

* In ''[[Super Paper Mario]]'', this is actually what sets the entire story into motion. Princess Peach is hypnotized into marrying Bowser (an odd couple if ever there was one) which is what fulfills a prophecy which begins the destruction of the universe. You should know what happens next: Mario comes to save the day. Of course.

* In ''[[Blue Dragon]]'', the fact that Marumaro is wearing exactly one hat is interpreted as a proposal of marriage by the girls of Kelaso Village.

* You don't actually end up married, but due to your character's lack of knowledge of Echani culture in ''[[Knights of the Old Republic (~~Video~~ ~~Game~~)|Knights of the Old Republic]] II'', it is possible for a male character to be flirting with/courting the Handmaiden without realizing it.

* You don't actually end up married, but due to your character's lack of knowledge of Echani culture in ''[[Knights of the Old Republic (video game)|Knights of the Old Republic]] II'', it is possible for a male character to be flirting with/courting the Handmaiden without realizing it.

* In ''[[Starcraft]] II'', Jim Raynor's [[The Lancer|Lancer]] Matt Horner once got himself married to the mercenary Mira Han after winning a card game, claiming he didn't know what the prize was going to be. [http://starcraft.wikia.com/wiki/Mira_Han A portrait of his lovely wife.] Needless to say, he made little to no effort to stay in touch with her. This didn't stop her of using the alias "Mira Horner".

{{quote| ''(Before the mission "Cutthroat")''<br />

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** Also nearly happens when the deaf Leela makes a deal with the Robot Devil, agreeing to give him "her hand" in exchange for robotic ears. According to the fine print, it was her hand ''in marriage.''

* Subverted on ''[[King of the Hill]]'' when Peggy and Hank hold a mock wedding for Bobby and Luanne to try to end a prank war between the two. Bobby thinks he got Luanne pregnant by replacing her birth control pills with candy, and Hank tells him he can atone by making an honest woman of her, though Luanne knows it's a joke. After the fake ceremony performed by Bill, Hank and Peggy tell Luanne Bill really is a minister, so they really are married. Bill gives the truth away before the end of the episode.

* On ''[[Total Drama World Tour]],'' [[Stalker ~~With~~ a Crush]] [[Loony Fan|Sierra]] tries to trick [[Adorkable|Cody]] into this by reciting the marriage vow really fast and tricking him into saying "I do," arguing it counts since she became an ordained minister on the Internet. [[Subverted Trope|Subverted]] at the beginning of the next episode when [[Alpha Bitch|Heather]] points out they didn't have a marriage license or any of the other trappings in the first place (even ignoring the issues of their age or his informed consent). She continues to call him her "husband" for most of the season, though.

* On ''[[Total Drama World Tour]],'' [[Stalker with a Crush]] [[Loony Fan|Sierra]] tries to trick [[Adorkable|Cody]] into this by reciting the marriage vow really fast and tricking him into saying "I do," arguing it counts since she became an ordained minister on the Internet. [[Subverted Trope|Subverted]] at the beginning of the next episode when [[Alpha Bitch|Heather]] points out they didn't have a marriage license or any of the other trappings in the first place (even ignoring the issues of their age or his informed consent). She continues to call him her "husband" for most of the season, though.

* [[Subverted Trope|Subverted]] on ''[[Ugly Americans]]''--[[Unfazed Everyman|Mark]] accidentally agrees to take part in some weird demonic ritual for his girlfriend [[Horny Devil|Callie]]. A lot of the festivities ''seem'' to mean it's a wedding, either directly (white dress, ice sculptor) or indirectly (killing her ex-boyfriends), but it turns out she actually plans to [[Soul Jar|suck out his soul]]. When he manages to get out of it (and [[Shout-Out|cheers her up by]] [[Carrie|dumping pig blood on her]]) he asks if all this means they're engaged, and she tells him not to be an idiot.