What makes a wedding so noisy, fun and bright? Of course, there are games and competitions that traditionally accompany this event. And the more fun tasks the toastmaster sets for the guests, the faster and easier the acquaintance will be between the invited relatives and friends of the newlyweds.
What is a wedding without a bride price? This tradition originated in Ancient Rus'. In the past, the groom actually bought the bride, bringing a large sum of money as a gift to her parents.
Today, the wedding ransom has a symbolic character and consists in the fact that the future husband performs comic “feats” for the sake of his beloved , which are offered to him as tasks by the toastmaster (or the one who plays the role of the host during the ransom). In some cases, wedding competitions for the ransom of the bride force the groom and his friends to seriously fork out money, since many tasks involve monetary “fines” in case of failure.
Popular and funny
As a rule, the presenters meet the groom at the bride's entrance, blocking the road. With each competition passed, the young man and his groomsmen (who help the hero of the occasion throughout the entire event) approach the bride’s apartment. Options for tasks can be very different: from funny and comic, to “monetary” ones, implying material rewards for the participants in the celebration.
Fake husband
For the “Lime Husband” competition you will need a person unfamiliar to the newlyweds (preferably artistic), a bouquet and a classic suit. When the betrothed arrives at his destination, the bride’s friends should already meet him in the company of a man with a bouquet, dressed as the groom. At the same time, the fake husband loudly asks the girls about the whereabouts of the bride, calling her by name. The presenters, noticing the arriving husband candidate, ask him his name and purpose of arrival. When the real groom answers, the girlfriends join in the conversation:
—Can one wife have two husbands? One of you is an impostor! But it doesn’t matter, we will find a real groom. Whoever answers questions about our beautiful bride, we will send him to win her heart.
Next, the girlfriends begin to ask the contestants questions about the bride. Examples of what you can ask:
- eye color;
- favorite movie;
- pet name;
- shoe size;
- favorite dish.
At the same time, the fake groom is constantly trying to avoid answering or falsifying the facts, which is why he is given the title of loser.
Man's word
This is an original, slightly gambling competition that will help test the dexterity and honesty of the groom.
A dartboard is mounted on the wall. It can be purchased or homemade, but preferably in large sizes. Along the entire perimeter of the board are the words of the groom's promises or similar pictures cut out from magazines (car, apartment, fur coat, flowers, ring).
At the beginning of the competition, the groom says the phrase: “I promise to give my wife a gift in a year of married life...”, after which he throws a dart. The target that the dart hits is loudly announced by the presenter.
Hedgehog
The presenters present the groom with an apple, into which toothpicks have previously been inserted (one shortened one and about 15 regular ones). Taking out one toothpick from the apple, the newly-made husband must compliment his wife until he comes across a short toothpick.
Exemplary father
This is a well-known competition that is rarely overlooked when writing a ransom script.
Every wife wants to see in her husband not only an ideal spouse, but also a wonderful father. You can test his abilities through a competition. It is necessary to prepare a large toy baby doll and clothes for it in advance. The host strips the doll down to her panties, while the bridesmaids blindfold the groom. A box with clothes is placed in front of the subject, which must be quickly and carefully put on the toy.
You can complicate the competition by limiting the test time or adding completely inappropriate wardrobe items to the doll clothes (a woman's dress, a man's sneaker, an army belt).
Nodule
For this competition you will need a long kitchen towel or thick rope.
The bridesmaids hand the groom a towel with the offer to tie it in a knot as strong as his love for his new wife. And when the knot is ready, the girlfriends will have to set a new task: to untie the knot as quickly as the head of the family solves the problems that arise. Help: the towel can be kept as a family amulet.
Photo blende
To prepare this competition, it is necessary to involve a person who understands photo editing. A portrait photograph of the bride is copied, after which new details of appearance are added to it using computer processing and old ones are corrected. You can disguise a scar, draw a mole, change eye color. In total there should be at least 10 distinctive features.
During the ransom, the groom is shown the original and the processed photograph. The subject’s task is to determine which features have been changed and where the real photograph of the bride is.
Rainbow Salvation
the groom and the groom can save her . To do this, they need to collect 12 things from the guests in the color that the kidnapped hero of the occasion loves.
For the competition, you need to ask the bride in advance what colors she considers her favorite. The groom will not have to guess, since his main task is simply to get a “tribute”. Therefore, the host tells the future husband and his friend two different colors, after which the young people, accompanied by music, begin to quickly go around the guests in search of suitable things.
Portrait in words
For the competition, you need to prepare leaves with words of a romantic theme: flower, candles, moon. Then the leaves need to be folded in half and thrown into a hat or a beautiful box. During the ransom, the groom pulls out the agreed number of pieces of paper, reads them out loud, and then, using these “clues,” tells others about his beloved. For example, if the groom draws out the words “caramel”, “oasis” and “evening”, then he can say this: “My wife has a character as sweet as caramel, an attractive look like an oasis, and a hug as cozy as evening.”
Dancing with an Elf
The bride was kidnapped by an elf (one of the guests, dressed in a costume with horns and wings from a prank shop). The main condition of the kidnapper is to dance heartily with the guests. Therefore, five couples are chosen from among the guests to draw forfeits from the elf’s bag. And in the bag there are already prepared pieces of paper on which various dance styles are written:
- hip-hop;
- lambada;
- tango;
- ballet;
- jazz.
Each pair performs their part in turn.
Drunk Key
The competition has two options: with alcohol and without alcohol.
It is necessary to prepare a three-liter jar and a key in advance. The groom has to get the key to his bride's heart. But the difficulty is that the key is at the bottom of a can full of Coca-Cola. Therefore, together with his friends, the future husband must drink cola and get the treasured key.
If the groom has many close friends who can help him complete the task, you can add alcohol to the cola (everything needs to be calculated correctly so that none of the groom’s retinue gets drunk and all friends successfully participate in further competitions).
Moments
By searching the bride's archives, you can find many interesting photographs. And joint photos with your future husband will be just a godsend for the ransom competition.
The bridesmaids greet the groom with printed photographs depicting memorable moments for the newlyweds: a joint picnic, a relationship anniversary, a first trip to the sea.
During the entire ransom, the groom must be told the stories of these photographs (one story for a certain period of time or path). If the groom copes with the task, then you can move on to the next tasks. If not, friends pay a fine in monetary or comic form (dancing, singing, ditties).
Sweeter than honey
As a prop, you need to prepare two glasses, one of which contains a very sour and the other a very salty liquid. The presenters invite the groom to drink from the cup of predictions. Based on the man’s face, the “fortune teller” (any girl from among the bridesmaids) will determine how pleasant life with his young wife will be.
Thus, the groom’s task in this competition is to maintain a satisfied and happy appearance, emptying the glass to the bottom.
Sleeping beauty in the castle
All you need for the competition is a photo of the bride, clothespins and twine. The photographs are attached to a string that is pulled by the two tallest guys among the guests. The presenters tell the groom the sad news that his betrothed was imprisoned in the tower by an evil witch, who also sent a dream to the girl. You can wake up your chosen one only with a tender kiss. Therefore, the groom needs to kiss each photo, jumping up or using the help of a friendly retinue.
For growth
The bride's height is measured using a colored tape or rope. After this, you need to cut 4 more multi-colored ropes of similar length, but slightly shorter/longer than the main one. The groom must guess which of the ribbons corresponds to the height of his betrothed.
By analogy with height, you can make the groom guess the waist circumference or the length of any part of the bride’s body.
Hush, there's an exam in progress!
In order to host this competition, you will need several guests. Each student has a piece of paper with the name of their school subject on their chest. Now the ransom participants turn into teachers who must take an exam from the groom.
The young man must tell the geography teacher about 10 places where his fiancée likes to go for walks. The history teacher asks the groom how he met the bride. The literature teacher invites the subject to express his love for his future wife in literary form.
The number of teachers and tasks can be changed at your discretion, coming up with interesting and suitable “exams” for a given situation.
The essence of tradition
In ancient times, it was not customary to give away a bride just like that, because for her family she was a housekeeper and contributed to the production of food. When a girl left her father's house to join the groom's family, her parents lost a couple of working hands, which is why they suffered quite significant material losses.
To compensate them, the groom agreed with the head of the family on the amount of the ransom. It could be money, livestock, food and useful household tools. During matchmaking, the girl had to show her best side - cook something, politely treat the guests, then clear the table. All this, coupled with the beauty of the bride, increased the size of the ransom.
Now the old order is no longer relevant, the event is held completely differently. The groom no longer pays his beloved's parents, but must pass tests prepared by her friends and relatives. All competitions are aimed at testing ingenuity or memory, so it turns out to be an interesting and vibrant spectacle.
To be held at the entrance
In most cases, in order to ransom the bride, you need to climb a staircase. In such conditions, it is simply impossible to hold noisy and space-consuming competitions. But the stairs and walls allow you to realize some interesting and fun ideas.
Pathfinder
Before the groom enters the entrance, you need to draw footprints on the stairs in a chaotic manner. The more difficult it is to climb them, the more interesting the test will be. After all, the groom will be asked to overcome the span, moving along the indicated route, strictly adhering to the painted tracks. If the subject misses, the trail is sprinkled with coins or bills from the pockets of the groom and his friends.
Stairway to Heaven
The bridesmaids print out the reasons for her future wedding on A4 sheets in advance. Most of them should be humorous: “just like that,” “forced,” “forgot the reason.” And only on one sheet is written “for love.” Next, the sheets are laid out in such a way that the reason “for love” is at the very top level, to which comic reasons lead. The groom must climb to the very top, bypassing unnecessary sheets.
Interesting! Any of your friends can bring it to the specified point, but you shouldn’t give such a hint, because the point of the competition is funny attempts to overcome the distance.
Rhyme
This competition is used if the bride's apartment is located high. One flight of stairs turns into a field for creativity, where each new step becomes available to the groom after he pronounces a declaration of love for his bride in verse. In order not to delay this competition, ask all the groom's friends present to help in composing rhymes.
Call
This competition is held in front of the bride's apartment. The groom is asked to ring the bell with his heel. He must think to take off his shoes in order to press the bell with his heel. The most interesting thing in this task is to look at the groom’s erroneous attempts, which are usually carried out in the company of friends.
For the groom
Cool competitions for the groom at the ransom will allow everyone present to laugh heartily and relax , and the groom himself will be able to show his best qualities, be it acting talent, dexterity or intelligence.
You are my teddy
Soft toys of various shapes and sizes are laid out on a flat surface. The groom, blindfolded, needs to feel all the proposed options, choosing from them the toy that most resembles the bride. To make the competition more difficult, you can take various household items instead of plush animals.
Carlo
As props for this competition, you will need a medium-sized piece of wood and a well-sharpened knife. The bridesmaids pass the props to the groom with a request to demonstrate how the hero of the occasion knows how to “plane children.” At the end of the competition, guests must decide which spouse the child is like.
Groom dance
Music is played for the groom, to which he must dance merrily. But the catch of the competition is that the music is constantly changing, and the groom has to adapt to a new rhythm every time. The hosts of the ransom must prepare in advance a selection of 10-15 different melodies. To complicate the task, you can force the groom to tie bows from multi-colored ribbons during the dance.
Oculist
The young groom is greeted by a guest wearing a medical gown, a doctor's cap and a reflector on his head (all props can be rented at costume shops). An impromptu ophthalmologist introduces himself to the groom, saying: “We are looking for a healthy groom for our bride! Let's check your vision!" After these words, the presenters bring out a poster with various dates that are significant for the newlyweds. The date of acquaintance, the bride's birthday, the anniversary of the relationship is best suited. The groom guesses each date. He can be fined for incorrect answers.
A gift from the heart
The bridesmaids bring out a basin to the groom, offering to put in the bottom the best gift that is dear to the bride’s heart. The newly-made spouse will begin to sort through options with friends, settling on various things. But all these options are wrong. The test continues until the groom guesses that he should sit in the basin.
Attention! If the competition drags on, guests may get bored. After several incorrect options on the part of the groom, you can safely give hints.
Fisherman
The bride and her three friends tie ribbons to their wrists and then hide behind a screen. Ribbons are extended into the hall. The groom, like a real fisherman, must “catch” his betrothed. If the bridesmaid is hooked, the fisherman pays a ransom. The competition continues until the real hero of the occasion is found.
Example script
Ransom scripts are often written in poetic form. It looks great if everything is properly rehearsed. The script written in prose looks no worse. It does not need to be learned by heart, but you can only remember the essence.
Grandmothers on a bench
The presenters put on headscarves and sit on a bench at the entrance. When guests arrive, they pretend they didn’t recognize them:
- Why are you standing here, come on in. The groom will arrive now.
-Who are you, why did you come?
- We watch everything during the parade. Who are you visiting?
- So this is the groom?
- Well, come on in. We are selling a bride here.
The girls stand in front of the groom and block his way into the house. The witness takes out a daisy made of paper. On each petal of which numbers are written. (date of meeting, time of first kiss, bride’s height, etc.). The cost of an incorrect answer can also be indicated on the chamomile.
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– Now let’s see how much your groom knows our bride. Guess what numbers are written on the petals, we’ll skip it, we’ll find another one.
After the competition, guests enter the house, and the second stage can be held in front of the elevator.
For the competition, they are preparing a set of clothes for a newborn (diaper, cap, bodysuit) and a child’s doll of the bride.
– A new family will be born soon, and we want to check what kind of father your groom will be. Will he be able to help our bride?
The groom is offered to dress the doll. If he fails to cope or makes many mistakes, the best man helps him.
After which the guests go up to the floor below the bride’s apartment. On each step, letters are written in advance, meaning some kind of household chore (SO - wash clothes, VP - wipe dust). And the groom cannot climb to the next step until he guesses what duty is encrypted. The number of letter combinations depends on the number of steps. If he doesn't guess correctly, he pays the agreed amount.
– Is your groom ready to help our bride?
- Well, let's check now. He must not only guess what needs to be done, but also promise us that he will help.
Then the guests go into the apartment, and I demand that my beloved be given to them. And then the groom can be offered a fake bride. If her betrothed is not satisfied with her, he buys her off. After which the real bride comes out to him.
As you can see, you can also conduct a fun buyout in an apartment building. Have a lot of fun, entertain and relax your guests. Which will give the beginning of a fun wedding ceremony. And it will help you get beautiful photos.
For the witness
The groom's witness is an important person for the wedding. Therefore, it can be “tested for strength”. And the groom himself will be pleased to unwind a little and take his mind off the trials by looking at them from the outside.
Advertising, advertising!
The witness is given a box of matches. Now he must advertise the groom well, alternately pulling out matches and saying nice words to the hero of the occasion. The number of matches may vary. Also, for fun, you can involve relatives or friends of the groom in the competition.
street performance
This is a fairly simple but interesting competition. The bridesmaids, in roles, read out a pre-prepared fairy tale, and the witness and friends of the groom must at this time show their acting skills, opening their mouths to the beat of the text and acting out the scene voiced by the bridesmaids. Instead of a regular fairy tale, you can take a comical or stupid story to make the performance more interesting.
Gift from a witness
When the groom arrives for the ransom, the bridesmaids must demand from him a handmade gift for the bride. When the groom confirms the fact that he does not have such a surprise, the presenter suggests turning to a witness for help.
The girlfriends bring out previously prepared props (ketchup, mayonnaise and Whatman paper), after which they invite the witness to draw a picture of their family life for the newlyweds using unusual materials.
Who takes the money from the bride price?
People who are inexperienced in wedding traditions often wonder: who takes the money from the bride price? All money from the bride price goes to the groom's authorized friend. He collects all the cash for a young family fund. This is the newlyweds' first common capital acquired through joint efforts.
When planning a youth bride price scenario, it is important to save the strength of the participants. There is no need to overuse complex competitions and tasks for the groom, otherwise the wedding ransom will turn into torture and torment. And his task, on the contrary, is the joy of excitement from victory and the successful reunification of loving hearts .
Shoes to buy back
Another good wedding tradition is buying back the bride’s shoes . It would seem that the groom has passed all the tests and can take his beloved from his parents’ house, but that’s not the case! The girlfriends steal the shoe and again force the groom to fight for his happiness.
Previously, the purpose of the ransom was to check the candidate husband for generosity and prosperity. The girls from the bridesmaids' retinue took turns trying on the shoe. The one who needed the shoes at the right time had the right to keep them and then ask for a generous payment for the item of wedding clothing. Now this tradition is a tribute to the past and one of the ways to bring fun noise to the wedding.
Note! Don't delay purchasing your shoes. A 10-15 minute script will be enough to pay attention to the tradition, but not tire the guests.
Path-path
In the room where the ransom is supposed to be held, it is necessary to lay out a path of previously prepared white and red daisies. The groom must walk along an improvised carpet, while fulfilling the condition: if you step on a red daisy - confess your love to the bride, if you step on a white daisy - say how you will scold your wife after the wedding. And if the groom refuses to reproach his beloved, he is charged a fee.
Rich guests
As a ransom for the shoe, the groom and his friends are asked to write the bride's name on the floor using paper bills.
Another variation of this competition is to ask the groom and his retinue to fill three vessels with something that rings, rustles and flows.
Alphabet
For this funny competition, you need to prepare A4 sheets with printed letters of the alphabet in advance. Impromptu cards are distributed to the groom and his friends. After this, the owners of various letters apply the sheets to the part of the body that begins with the indicated letter. It is necessary to attach all the cards on hand at once, and dropping the props is strictly prohibited.
Sponges
The bride and her bridesmaids leave imprints of their lips on the Whatman paper, having previously put on bright lipstick. The groom's task is to find which of the many kisses the bride left. For each "miss" a fee is charged.
Striptease
Several people from among the groom's guests can participate in this competition. For the props you need a clothesline. Measure out a length that can be loosely wrapped around the waist of a clothed adult man, then sew the ends together.
The one who takes part in the competition must sexually put on a rope (over the head) and then remove it (through the legs). At the same time, you cannot finish before the music stops.
Find the shoe
Shoe boxes are used to hide a variety of shoes. It is best to use funny and inappropriate props: skates, felt boots, men's boots. And only one box contains the bride's shoe. The groom must guess the box correctly, paying for each incorrect choice with a song or money.
Remember! Competitions should be fun and relaxed. If one of the subjects cannot cope with the task or does not want to continue participating in the competition, it is better not to insist so as not to spoil the holiday. You should also not complicate the competitions, because if they drag on, the guests will quickly start to get bored.
How to plan an event correctly
When planning a bride price, you need to pay attention to a few simple things.
- Time is of the essence. Remember that while the ransom is a way for guests to relax, it is stressful for the groom. Therefore, the optimal time is 15-25 minutes. For everything to go smoothly, the script needs to be as flexible as possible. This will help avoid difficulties if the groom takes a long time to complete the competitions, or arrives later than planned.
- Redemption amount. Nowadays, it is better to stipulate the amount of the bride price in advance, so as not to leave the betrothed without a penny already at the first competition.
- Additional questions. They will help the groom complete tasks if he gets confused.
When preparing the bride price, you don’t need to blame everything solely on the witness. Connect other friends. So that the event does not end in failure.
Useful video
The video shows an example of how a bride's ransom can take place in an urban environment: If your wedding is held outside the city or in the village, you can change the program a little:
The bride's ransom is a fun and noisy event, so tune in to a positive wave and do not be afraid to participate in competitions, because in the future it will turn into wonderful memories. When testing the groom, you can deviate from the script and change the competitions to suit a specific situation. Laughing and having fun are allowed!
What is needed for a bride price - a sample list of props
Before the ceremony, participants rehearse their roles and decorate the bride's house for ransom. When decorating, you usually need to take attributes in the wedding tradition:
- A bride price poster is created using Photoshop, where photographs of lovers are processed in an original way. They are used to make beautiful collages or cartoons based on the joint interests of the newlyweds.
- Wedding tracks participate in ransom competitions . They are sold in stores, but you can download them for free on the Internet or prepare templates yourself.
- chamomile for bride price tests the intelligence and memory of the groom. The petals are made from colored cardboard. They write on them significant events from the life of the bride and questions for the groom for ransom . The groom pulls the petal like an exam card.
To make your work easier, you can purchase wedding purchase kit
Ready set for wedding purchase
In case of an incorrect answer, the newlyweds will have to pay a ransom to a strict admission commission consisting of future relatives on the spouse’s side.
The groom will not make a mistake if he takes care of the bride price kit in advance. What is needed for a bride price - an approximate list of props:
- Money of different denominations . In the tests, he will have to pay fines for mistakes and give bribes to the bride's relatives who stand in the way. Coins and banknotes in denominations of 50 - 100 rubles are suitable for this, but generous suitors pay off in a big way.
- Wine or champagne. A popular product for appeasing the competition committee. And it will always be useful for personal purposes.
- Sweets, candies, chocolate. Instead of real coins, chocolate coins in gold wrapping are quoted at the wedding price. Sweets are useful for cajoling minor jury members. The bride's younger brothers and sisters participate in all competitions.
- Ballpoint pen and notebook. In case you have to write poetry or draw a portrait of the bride. Competitions can be unpredictable, it’s better to play it safe and take more items.
The groom's main trump cards will be a good mood and a sense of humor. A man in love in an excellent mood will easily overcome all obstacles along the way.
Matchmaking at a wedding
During the times of Ancient Rus', matchmakers completely arranged the marriage of young people. Nowadays the tradition of matchmaking has been simplified, but they are still the organizers of the wedding ceremony. Matchmakers greet guests and keep order during the ceremony.
The matchmaker on the bride's side knows everything about how to meet the groom without paying a bride price. She finds out the intentions of the visit and does not allow guests beyond the threshold.
It is the matchmaker who inflates the price of the bride, praising her virtues
Matchmakers on the groom's side act as a support team for the newlywed. They motivate the young husband and help him pass competitive tests, increasing his value in front of the bride’s relatives.
For the role of matchmaker at a wedding, accomplished married women are chosen from the bride or groom’s side. It is believed that a successful marriage is inherited by newlyweds from matchmakers.
Bride ransom photo
Actions of the bride's parents during the ransom
The ransom ceremony takes place amid excitement and turmoil. At such a time, it is not clear how parents should behave at the bride price. After all, their little blood is taken to someone else’s family.
Parents, as usual, do not participate in competitive productions; they are busy organizing the wedding celebration. A buffet table for the bride's ransom, table setting, refreshments - all these tasks concern the newlywed's mother and father. But their main goal is to bless the young for a future happy family life.
If the bride is not the only daughter in the parental family, then her younger sisters and brothers are obliged to bargain on their sister’s ransom at the wedding.
