Photography: Digio Bridal
If you're a Chinese residing in Asia, or live next to one, I'm sure you've been privy to the rowdiness of a customary 'gate-crashing' where the groom and his merry band of groomsmen endure a series of challenges to gain entry into the bride's home. Sometimes the proceedings are dealt calmly and quietly where an exchange of cash will automatically open the doors, but more often than not, there's lots of singing, dancing, consuming unidentifiable substances, cross-dressing and so on.
This Teochew tradition is believed to stem from a father's reluctance to part with his daughter. So for the groom to prove his sincerity, he had to overcome several obstacles to show his worth as a dutiful son-in-law. To prepare the groom and his buddies for the inevitable, here's a checklist of things to do before the gate-crashing:
1.Standby dollar bills and coins. Bridesmaids may demand for $888 or $88.88 as eight has the same sound as "fa" for a prosperous marriage. Or $999 or $99.99, as nine sounds like "jiu" for a long marriage.
2.Prepare a list of love songs and poems – preferably ones that the bride and groom have a fondness for.
3.Remember what the proposal was like because you may be asked to re-enact it!
4.Have a list of Chinese proverbs that praise a woman's virtue.
5.Have ready list of possible questions and answers relating to the couple's courtship or the bride.
6.Lace your stomach with oil or butter in preparation for the consumption of alcohol or other nasty concoctions (very often containing chili and wasabi!)
7.Do inform the bridesmaids of the groom's physical limitations and food allergies before-hand.
8.Get lots of rest because there will be numerous physical tasks such as push-ups, jumps etc.
9.Have spare clothes on standby for the groom in case he's drenched in his own sweat.
10.Finally, remind yourselves that this is all in good fun, so be a good sport and represent. Don't get mad when the challenges are too much to handle.
