The Bridal Auction

It is customary to steal the bride at weddings and then wait for the groom to bid on her. The bride stealing is a very expensive custom although it involves very little effort. A friend may steal the fresh bride during the actual wedding ceremony. The groom must then buy his bride back. This whole process takes the form of an auction.

What is the bride worth to the groom?

 

The real purpose of this custom is to see how much the groom is willing to pay for his bride. Thus, the guests are always eager to bring the groom to the limit. Each additional increase poses the question of whether the groom is willing to pay enough to spend the honeymoon with his wife. Usually, the bride’s guests plan the auction and it is clarified in advance which guests steal the bride and what amounts are to be auctioned.

Raise money or pay yourself?

 

The groom is often forced to collect money to redeem his bride. The man finally succeeds in collecting a few dollars from the wedding guests with a little luck. However, the groom has to fulfill very difficult tasks in order to entertain the guests. The aim of this custom is to prove that the groom is ready to do anything in the world to spend the rest of his life with his bride. This reflects in the amount the groom is willing to pay for her. This amount is actually an indicator of how willing the groom is to accept the difficulties of married life and how well he can handle them.

Exaggerations are good, but moderation is recommended

 

It is usually recommended to go a little further when the groom thinks he has won the auction. Of course, you can steal the bride several times. You can also tie her. First of all, you immobilize the bride with a visible wire. Then you put her hands behind her back and handcuff her. Take safety measures and ask the groom to pay a sort of ransom for the bride. Now the bridal auction begins again. This can go on and on. However, moderation is recommended.

The requests for the bride

 

The thieves can ask for whatever they want, depending on how much they think the groom would be willing to pay. The amount itself is not very important. It is quite the contrary. The efforts made by the groom are in the foreground. The guests can set a maximum and a minimum limit and then see where it all goes from there.
The kidnapper should set some rules if the groom is forced to pay ransom for the bride. Different areas can be defined. The requests may actually work to the "kidnapper’s" benefit is the auction takes place in a certain area.


As mentioned earlier in this article, the purpose of this custom is to clarify how much the groom’s love for his wife is worth in a beautiful wedding location. Moreover, it is not about the money, but about the efforts he is willing to make in order to enjoy his life together with his wife.