January Meme: A German Folk Tradition

[selenak]

Wedding kidnappings. At least in my part of Germany. During the festivities after the wedding, the challenge is to separate the bride from the groom, whisk her away to some restaurant or pub and there, together with any other guests involved in the enterprise, drink as many drinks as you can (as long as you're not the driver, I suppose) until the groom has tracked you down, for he has to pay for them.

I was told the family legend of how my father deduced where my mother was taken to. He grabed one of the friends who he knew would know, and drove with him up and down one of the seven Bamberg hills (we're not called the Franconian Rome for nothing). My not yet Aged Parent - my parents married at age 20 and 22 respectively - didn't drink alcohol, most of their friends did, so by this fiendish method the friend got sick and ready to confess very quickly.

The first wedding kidnapping I witnessed, as a teenager, also involved my AP, this time as the kidnapper, because none of the bride's other friends managed to get a hold of the bride independentlyl from the groom. My Dad just asked her to dance and discreetly waltzed her away. Yours truly and my mother were with the groom and the other pursuers later.

Since then, I've witnessed some more bride-nappings, but not recently. Maybe the habit is dying out, and yes, obvious gender roles are obvious, why not kidnap the groom for a change, etc., but those bride-nappings I witnessed were always playful fun for everyone concerned.

The Other Days

Comments

[legionseagle]

It strikes me as a fabulous tradition (and presumably a budget allocation is made when wedding planning for "A dozen of sekt, two bottles of aquavit and at least fourteen of those cocktails which are basically fruit salad with added umbrellas.")

[selenak]

Yes, definitely. And there's a certain tacit consensus - there are all drinks the bride-nappers would order, but no one is a jerk and goes for some hideously expense once in a life time Ultra rare wine, especially if the groom and bride aren't too wealthy.

[musesfool]

What a fun tradition! I hope it continues in some form for many years to come!

[selenak]

Same here!

[ratcreature]

Admittedly I haven't been to very many weddings, but I've never encountered this.

[selenak]

Well, you're a northerner. (Observe I do not say: Prussian. Never would I slander a Hanseate thus.) No seriously, I do think it's a southern German thing, hence my saying "in my part of Germany", since my Schleswig-Holstein Relations didn't practice the habit, either, when a Cousin got married there.

[moon_custafer]

I once overheard a young woman on a bus explaining her Macedonian family’s pre-wedding tradition – the younger members of one family (can’t recall which side) “burgles” the other’s house (generally a door has been conveniently left unlocked for the purpose, although subsequent chasing of the thieves is encouraged) and makes off with whatever they can carry, the items being subsequently ransomed back and the money given to the couple as their wedding gift.

[selenak]

Fascinating! I hadn't heard about this one before.

[rachelmanija]

That sounds delightful.

[selenak]

It was all the times I witnessed!

[yhlee]

Korean wedding traditions are mostly boring but there is the piggyback ride:

The Piggyback Ride
The ceremony concludes with the groom giving his bride and a piggyback ride around the table, a gesture of his everlasting devotion and love for her throughout their life. The groom may also give his mother and mother-in-law piggyback rides.

I am dying of curiosity as to whether my parents did this but they're acrimoniously divorced so I suppose I'll never find out!

I missed my chance to make Joe give me a piggyback ride almost 20 years ago, LOL.

[selenak]

That sounds adorable! The next time a friend of mine gets married, I must suggest this.

[sovay]

Wedding kidnappings. At least in my part of Germany.

I am delighted that this tradition is still practiced.

[selenak]

It is great fun, and so I hope it won't die out.

[avrelia]

How interesting! in Russia there is (or there was? not sure how popular it is now) also a "stealing of the bride" custom.

The one wedding I remember (not counting my own) the bride was stolen dutifully, but it was a rather boring affair. No cool places to go, and I was bride's only friend there...

[selenak]

That does sound depressing. The one sad bride-napping I heard of - didn't witness it myself - was when the jerk husband deliberately did not bother to search for her but just went on with the party, and the poor bride and the robbers were sitting elsehwere and it became cringingly obvious he wouldn't show. The marriage didn't last beyond a year, unsurprisingly.

[goodbyebird]

I've never heard of this, but it sounds like a lot of fun! (assuming it occurs after the wedding pictures are taken that is *g*)

[trobadora]

and drove with him up and down one of the seven Bamberg hills

Hee! I can imagine this working very well indeed.

(Makes me regret that the only wedding I've ever been to wasn't locals!)