Bride ransom competitions: in the yard, entrance, apartment

Banality or creativity? Classic bride ransom and its scenario

If future newlyweds want to organize a wedding, observing established traditions, the classic bride price is the best option, although many consider it banal.
If the organizers approach the matter with soul, the event turns out to be fun and interesting. For example, a good way to diversify the traditional ritual is to act out the classic bride price in prose.

The main thing is not to extract more money from the groom, but to please everyone present with fun competitions and an exciting spectacle.

Competitions at the bride's entrance

Tests for the groom at the entrance can be organized in the form of small mini-competitions, the correct completion of each of which allows the groom to rise to the floor above. For a funny bride price, you can choose tests related to both physical activity and mental activity.

True/false

Participants: groom.
Props: cards with questions.

You should come up with questions in advance for the groom related to the life of the bride, and these will be both real facts and fictitious ones. The groom must correctly guess whether it is true or not. For each correct answer, he goes up the stairs/floor. Questions could be:

Do you believe that your future wife went to a dance club as a child?
Is it true that the bride was a member of the KVN team?
Is it true that your betrothed can play the guitar?

Happy moments

Participants: groom.
Props: joint photos of the bride and groom.

Above each step or on each floor you should hang a joint photo of the bride and groom from their meeting to the present moment. The groom's task is to tell at what point in his life this photo was taken (for example, the first date, meeting his parents, the first New Year together, etc.).

Future life

Participants: groom.
Props: Whatman paper, felt-tip pens.

On the wall in the entrance you should hang a large Whatman paper with a picture of a happy life for the spouses drawn there: grass, sky and sun. The groom must complement this drawing at his own discretion. Ideally, he should draw a house, children, a car, etc. You can complicate the task for the groom by blindfolding him, and the witness will have to help him in the creative process.

The role of traditions at a wedding

If now future newlyweds decide for themselves how their wedding will take place, then previously all marriages took place according to the same scenario, which was determined by existing traditions. In each culture, they were formed in their own way, depending on the experiences of previous generations and religious beliefs. Many Russian traditions are still observed by newlyweds.

At weddings in ancient times, all customs were performed in order to attract happiness and prosperity into the lives of newly-made spouses and protect them from bad influences. People tried to attract the favor of the gods to the family and ward off the evil entities that tried to do mischief on the wedding day.

Nowadays, traditions no longer play such an important role; these are just touching memorable stages that are usually observed at a classic wedding. Young people come up with their own customs, which are no longer dictated by religion, but by their own preferences and fashion. In any case, old and modern traditions form the framework of the wedding scenario, on which other stages are then layered.

Competitions for the groom in the bride's apartment

Indoors, the ideal option would be not very noisy and not very active bride price competitions. For example, these could be tests related to the groom's creative abilities.

Build a house

Participants: groom.
Props: children's construction set (cubes, triangles, balls, etc.).

Using construction kit parts, the groom must build a house in which he and the bride will live in the future.

Photo identikit of the bride

Participants: groom.
Props: photo portraits of the bride and her bridesmaids, scissors.

They take a photo of the face of the bride and her bridesmaids in advance, cut the pictures horizontally to create separate parts of the body: forehead, eyes, nose, lips, chin. Cut-out photos are hung in a chaotic order on the poster. The groom will have to make a portrait of the bride from the pieces offered.

The smell of the bride

Participants: groom.
Props: several handkerchiefs scented with different perfumes.

You should spray the handkerchiefs with different toilet waters in advance, among which one will belong to the bride. The groom must find out his beloved's favorite scent.

Bouquet for the bride

Participants: groom.
Props: candies in bright packages, wire, scissors, wrapping paper.

The groom must make a bouquet of sweets, wire and wrapping paper. He is given 3 minutes to complete this task.

What does the ritual symbolize?

The history of this ritual stretches back hundreds and even thousands of years. Since after the wedding the bride left her father’s house and could no longer help her parents with the housework, it was not customary to give the girl away in marriage just like that - the groom had to pay a ransom. Its amount was determined by the beauty, good manners and thriftiness of the potential wife.

The ransom was agreed upon in advance during matchmaking, and if both parties came to an agreement, an engagement was announced. In addition, on the wedding day, the groom had to prove that he was worthy of the hand and heart of his beloved, and for this he had to pass simple tests.

The most popular task, for example, began with the young man’s neighbors blocking his way to the bride’s house with a fallen tree. The groom was given a saw, and he had to saw through the obstacle in order to pass further.

Now the redemption is taking place on a less grandiose scale. Since the hero of the occasion must look perfect at the wedding, competitions are organized not for physical actions, but for ingenuity. In addition, financial compensation is no longer provided to the bride's parents. The groom pays a symbolic amount only for the fact that he cannot pass any competition.

You have a girl, we have a great guy

Now what is a ransom at a wedding? This is a popular tradition , without which not a single wedding in Russia is complete. The organization of bride price at a wedding takes place according to a pre-rehearsed scenario .

The simplest test for a newlywed will be the dowry. When the groom's retinue arrives at the bride's house, her relatives and neighbors block the newlywed's path. They offer to purchase a dowry for coins or pass a test. It is expected that for the sake of honor and economy, the groom will try his luck at winning .

A man's main weapon will be intelligence, humor and good mood.

Tricky assignments will rain down on him from all sides; he will be tested in dancing, singing serenades, and hammering nails. Or they may ask you to list and prove your positive qualities. The composition of bride price competitions depends only on the imagination of the organizers ; there are no restrictions for them.

Groom at the bride price

According to the rules of the ransom, the next stage is a comic sale of the bride. There is a whole science about how to properly sell a bride at ransom. By how the ransom ceremony takes place, one judges the wealth of the future husband and the happiness of his chosen one.

The groom's responsibility lies in the ability to become a winner in a difficult situation and not lose face during competitions.

Process

The advantage of such an event, which is not tied to any creative theme, is that organizing will not take much time. The bride's friends and relatives, who, as a rule, are involved in preparing the tests for the groom, do not need to select special costumes or decorate the place of celebration in any special way.

The ransom organizers remain in their usual outfits, which will not change throughout the wedding. A sign or poster with an inscription in the spirit of “The bride lives here” is hung on the front door of the hero of the occasion. The inside of the entrance is decorated with posters, paper garlands, lanterns and pom-poms, balloons, colorful ribbons, etc.

It is customary that the bride price should be prepared by the witness, but recently this role has been given to several girls at once. This is even better, because if the event is hosted by one friend, she will quickly get tired, but several presenters replacing each other will create a more interesting scenario. Most often, the ransom is carried out by 3 people.

Stage one - meeting the groom

The scenario of a classic bride price with phrases like “We have goods, you have a merchant” will be lackluster. Everyone has long been tired of such remarks. It’s better to make the dialogues more original – you can even speak in your own words.

For example, when the groom and his retinue arrive at his beloved's house, the host can greet the guests with a speech.

Presenter. Hello, (groom's name). Where are you in such a hurry? Why did you come?

The groom says that he has come for the bride.

Presenters. For the bride - that's good. Look how many of us there are - for every taste and color. Blondes, brunettes, brown-haired, tall and short, cheerful and serious, calm and fast. Each of us will go to the registry office right now.

The groom says that he has already chosen his bride and says her name.

Presenters. Ah, so you came for the most enviable bride. Well, the lip is not stupid. Do you know that the parents of your beloved strictly forbade giving her away just like that? You will have to go through tricky tasks, show your strength and ingenuity, and in some places pay off with money, quench our thirst with champagne or delight with sweets. Are you ready for such tests?

The young man replies that he is ready.

Interesting! To add a “zest” to the beginning of the wedding, you can come up with or take as a basis a ready-made script for a classic bride price in verse.

Stage two – competitions

The groom and all the guests stand under the bride's windows.

Presenter. First, show us how much you love your bride. Although she is far away now, she will definitely hear the words of true love. Shout three times how much you love (the name of the bride), and if she throws her handkerchief out of the window, then we will move on.

After the hero of the occasion throws off the handkerchief smelling of her perfume, the whole procession goes inside the entrance.

On the ground floor, the presenter shows the groom a large flower with separate paper petals, with a number written on each of them.

Young woman. If you really love our (bride’s name), then you should know everything about her. There are numbers written on the petals of the chamomile, you need to guess what they mean. For every mistake you make, you will pay a fine.

The numbers could be as follows:

foot size;
the last three digits of the phone number;
clothing size;
heel length on wedding shoes;
how many children does the bride want, etc.

When the groom answers all the questions or pays them off, everyone goes up to the next floor. There are footprints glued to the steps and walls leading to the next landing.

Presenter. In married life, the wife must be sure that she can rely on you, that you will not deviate from the intended path. Now you need to follow exactly the footsteps, without stepping anywhere else, to the next floor.

The groom jumps onto the first step himself, and then must guess that his friends should carry him, touching him to the marks on the walls or distant steps.

On the next platform there is a dartboard, but the usual fields on it are replaced by the following phrases:

the demon beguiled;
tired of ironing shirts;
I want to fall asleep in an already heated bed;
ran out of clean socks;
mom forced
by calculation;
kicked out of the house;
tired of being escorted home;
for love (in the very center).

Stages of bride price

There are only three main stages. They need to be planned immediately and limited in time.

Meeting. As a rule, the groom and his retinue are met at the entrance, but not always. Sometimes the entire ransom ceremony is moved to the bride’s apartment. The event is hosted by the witness and girlfriends of the betrothed, or a specially hired person. The script is prepared in advance and printed for all presenters. They do this on A4 sheets and put them in identical folders. The script, printed on rolled paper and presented in the form of an Egyptian scroll, also looks good. The success of the ransom depends on the artistry of the witnesses. After all, they are the main characters.

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Competitions and tests. The most exciting part of the event. The path to the bride is divided into several stages. If the young people decide to carry out the ransom starting from the entrance, then they choose flights of stairs as obstacles. But without fanaticism, if a girl lives on the 9th floor, you shouldn’t do a task on every step. It will be enough to limit yourself to three stages, in front of the elevator, on the sixth floor, and at the entrance to the apartment. If the ransom will take place in the apartment, then it is necessary to think about artificial barriers. For this purpose, prepare columns with stretched flight, which will symbolize each stage.

Final stage. This could be the parents' apartment, or the bride's room. It is already made in light style. The simplest competition, or comic scene. For example, the groom may bring out his neighbor’s grandmother and ask if this is his bride. If the betrothed does not agree, he pays a ransom, after which his beloved leaves.

This is followed by a small buffet for guests in the bride’s apartment. After which, everyone gets into their cars and goes to the registry office.

A humorous bride price scenario in verse

Bride ransom is a long-standing wedding tradition that has retained its relevance today in many countries around the world.

It consists of a whole complex of actions, games, and humorous competitions that can be carried out by both the bridesmaids and the host, created in order to accompany the process of the groom making a certain payment as a ransom for the bride to her parents or girlfriends.

During the ransom, the groom offers money or valuables until his beloved comes out to him.

This part of the wedding ceremony is taken more seriously in some Muslim countries, where the groom gives large sums or expensive property to the bride's family as a ransom. But, according to European tradition, the ransom looks like entertainment for the families of lovers and wedding guests.

Nowadays, each couple interprets the tradition of ransom in their own way, using modern scenarios, their own themes, style and circumstances for this part of the ritual.

Finding an extraordinary and fun scenario for a bride price is very easy today. Couples who do not want a banal wedding should not rush to abandon this interesting part of the ceremony, because they can come up with their own original way to conduct the ransom.

The wedding portal Wedding.ua found one of these methods for you. We suggest newlyweds use a humorous bride price scenario in verse:

Hello, Ladies - Gentlemen! Where are you from and where? And what do you want anyway? Come on, pass by! The groom will come to us now. We are really waiting for him here. He will pay us a lot of money. Together we will go to the registry office!

Oh! So are you the groom? Why is it so quiet then? Where is your zealous horse then? Where is the mustache and dashing look? Come on in now that you have arrived. After all, there’s no way to go back.

Friend of the bride: (In front of the entrance) Oh, you guests - gentlemen? How long did it take you to get here? Let's go - we've prepared the way. Why did you dress up like that? What's in that suitcase? And why is there money in your pockets?

Look how things turned out! You wanted to get married! Well, which of you two is called the groom?

Well, if you are a groom, then why are you quiet again? We have countless brides here. Look, it’s in any window. The one that is dearest to you all, call loudly quickly.

The groom calls the bride.

You screamed something weakly. Only scared the cats away! Gather your strength, my friend, Shout one more time.

The groom calls the bride.

Don’t tear your throat out in vain, shout to her about love.

The groom calls the bride.

All ages are submissive to love, And all nations, and if so, Shout: “I love you, (name of the bride)” In three different languages. And if you don’t bother to learn overseas letters, please give us a ringing ransom right away, as it’s supposed to be given!

*The groom is offered several cards indicating the language in which to shout out the confession.

Bridesmaid: (On the steps of the porch) I just don’t understand something, Tell me why, Should the bride wait for you And languish by the window? We won’t give her away like that. We’ll look at the groom. Isn't he lame or hunchbacked? And isn’t the tongue like a shovel? Is everything with him, and is everything in place? Is it suitable for the bride?

We don’t know the groom at all and we want to know everything about him. Let the friend-witness slowly list the groom’s merits to us. If a friend does not name 10 qualities in advance, there will be a complete turnaround from threshold to gate.

*There are 10 ribbons strung on the porch. For each quality mentioned, the bride's friend cuts one ribbon.

Bridesmaid: (In front of the entrance door) *There is a ribbon stretched in the doorway. Well great, come on in. But you can’t jump or crawl, and you don’t have scissors, so think about how to get through.

*There are several scissors on the tray. Spicy ones are the most expensive.

Bride price customs

Bride ransom is an ancient rite that includes a lot of customs and superstitions. But now we will talk about the most common rituals.

So, in some regions it is customary to pay the bride price exclusively in money, but not everywhere. It is worth remembering that money as a value appeared not so long ago, and before that, exchange in kind was common in Rus', and they were redeemed with gifts. Therefore, it would be better for the witness and groom to stock up not only on money, but also on sweets.

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There is also a tradition according to which the groom, cajoling his bridesmaids, sends a box of gifts to his beloved’s apartment. This could include candies, ribbons, and various trinkets. After such a gift, the groom should no longer be “tormented” too much during competitions.

Another custom that should be observed already in the apartment or in the betrothed’s room. According to it, if the groom's friends remove the bride's shoe, the ransom automatically ends. The fun lies in the fact that while the witness is conducting the test, the young man’s friends are trying in every possible way to get to the bride. And their girlfriends don’t let them do this. This custom is usually very fun. And even if you don’t manage to take the ransom for the last task, you will definitely have fun.