You might be wondering what is a Bridal Door Game? This is a game played when the groom picks up his bride on the day of the wedding. The bridesmaids will give the groom and his group of ‘brothers’ (best men) a list of tasks/games to do before the groom is allowed to fetch his bride. But they have to pass all the tasks/games!
According to my uncle, this game was not commonly played during his time for his dialect (Teochew or Hokkien). It is more commonly played for Cantonese. Hence he didn’t have any photos to share with me this week.
Nowadays, it is common regardless of the bride and groom’s dialect. I was my sister’s maid of honour but did not fly back to Singapore until one week before the wedding. So her group of bridesmaids had already written a list of tasks/games to play and prepare the items to buy.
UPS AND DOWNS OF LIFE
Before the bridesmaids are willing to open the first door, the groom and their brothers have to pass their test. We had pre-cut citrus fruits like lemon and lime, cubes of sugar, a pot of bitter herbal cough ‘sweet’ and chilli. It represents the ups and downs of life – sour, sweet, bitter and hot/spicy (酸甜苦辣). So we ordered/gathered them in a row and gave them each a pot of four different ingredients.
These are a few photos I’m sharing from my friend’s wedding:
GOOD PHYSICAL/HEALTH
After they finished, we made them do a workout! They need to show us that to marry my sister, the groom has to be in good shape and health. They each had to do sit ups and press ups. We didn’t set the limit but insisted they do it.
BRIBE US
Then they have to bribe us with ‘ang bao’ to open the first gate. They must give us the amount of money we requested like $388 or $888. During this time, we negotiate a fair amount of money as it will be divided amongst the bridesmaids. So this is an opportunity for us to earn some money!
After the bridesmaids received the ang bao, we open the gate to welcome them in! But they still have another door to open before the groom can fetch his bride. So the next task is to read the Marriage Agreement outside the bride’s room.
MARRIAGE AGREEMENT
My brother-in-law read a list of things that he will carry out after the marriage. Like wife is always right, even if wife is wrong, she is always right; he will love her till death do us apart etc.
ENTERTAIN US
The groom then had to sing the bride’s favourite song to prove that he will always entertain and love what his wife loves. My brother-in-law had to sing a Hokkien song. Not because my sister like it but because it is a meaningful song. It is always a funny one!
For some other bride door games, they would asked the ‘brothers’ to dress up in skirts or undies to be the backup dancers. Some go to the extremes where they would have to put on make up or wear coconut husk over their chests. Oh and everything is film on video!
There are more games to play and it all depends on the bridesmaids. According to a schedule though, and in order not to miss the auspicious time, we had to wrap up the game and let the groom pass the bride’s door! Then he would ask the bride’s parents’ permission to ask for their daughter’s hand.
This is my sister, mum, brother-in-law and my son. They were leaving the bride’s house to the groom’s house for the next ceremony.
Hopefully you enjoy reading the whole of Chinese Wedding series that I had wrote, if you have not read them all, do take a look!
Thanks to sister & brother-in-law, Milla & Michael, Ken & Amly for sharing their wedding photos with us.
So how many best men can you have? That sounds much better than having to pick just one.
you can have as many as possible!
My brother had two. It could be awkward with a British church marriage if you had 8 best men!
This is great series. I’ve read it all. So many new information 🙂 Thank you
This sounds like a fun family tradition. Thanks for sharing x
I love the “Wife is always right” part – brilliant
What a great custom and a fun way to enter a marriage. Thanks for sharing x
Thank you for sharing these customs – so fascinating, and not something I’d know about otherwise. Looks like fun too!!
Very interestng – you all look so lovely in the photos. Love the brides dress.
Love this!!!
The entertain part is the best haha – I can’t see Rovi sing to me infront of a room full of people are wear his pants over his trousers! These men are great sports!
Thanks for sharing hun
Lotte xo
I love the sound of this, it must be so much fun to have all those men at the beck and call of the bridesmaids!
Such a fascinating series! What a fantastic idea of the groom having to prove their worth 🙂
Oh my goodness! Chinese weddings sound amazing! I love learning about traditions, I’m off to read more!
Great post, love hearing and learning more about Chinese traditions x
I love all these posts! It’s so interesting to learn of the different meanings etc!
Really interesting – love all the symbolism of it, with the food, money and everything else.
Wow this so interesting Eileen. Love the traditions great post x
I always enjoy reading your posts and getting an insight into the Chinese culture x
I’m surprised how similar it is to a russian wedding tradition!
I love these posts, so interesting as I would otherwise know nothing about Chinese culture! Thanks for the great insights x
I really enjoyed reading this its nice to learn about other traditions x
I am loving the tradition posts from you , they are so fascinating , once again fab post hun x
Such a great tradition. I really enjoy reading your posts.
There seems to be lots of tradition around the giving and receiving of money. I like the way the bridesmaids get to earn some back! Lovely photos, and your son loos so cute in his suit.
This sounds like a really fun tradition. Definitely more civilised than the traditional British stag do! Lovely photos you have shared too.
What a fun ritual! I do love reading about different traditions and read your posts with fascination. I love the purple bridesmaids dress – looks lovely on you! x