subject: Playing games with the bride [print this page] It is quite common at Austrian weddings to play games at the wedding party. In fact, these games are what everybody expects and looks forward to when they are invited to a wedding party. Some types of games are destined for hen-nights while others such as reciting poems for wedding are quite legitimate to be "played" at a wedding celebration.
Games for hen-nights usually involve selling things to strangers, such as little bottles of liquor, kisses, hugs, or useless bits and bobs that nobody would usually buy. The idea behind these games is that the bride-to-be should get into contact with strangers, and have a last chance to flirt with guys that she likes, since that is something that she cannot do once she is married. It is also quite popular that special t-shirts for the occasion are made, for example with prints such as "bride-to-be" and "bridesmaid".
At wedding parties the most popular games include "stealing the bride" which includes asking the groom to find her, and several games that test the bride's or groom's knowledge about their spouse. A very well-liked version of the second game is "stand by your man": the bride, whose eyes are blindfolded, has to find out whose leg belongs to her husband by feeling the legs of several men from among the wedding guests. If she is wrong, she has to face some kind of "punishment" such as reciting a wedding poem, singing a song, or dancing the "Macarena-dance".
Another common wedding game is a question and answer type of show where bride and groom sit next to each other facing their guests. They are separated by some kind of partition wall such as a piece of cardboard, a linen, or a windbreak so they cannot see what the other answers. Bride and groom get one "yes" and one "no" sign each and are asked intimate questions concerning their personalities, their wishes for the future, sex life and likings. The goal of the game is to give as many equal answers as possible. This game is a particular favourite with wedding guests, since it is highly entertaining to see how the couple's answers, and therefore their views, differ.
It is also an entertaining idea to ask the newlyweds to compose one or more wedding poems in front of their guests. The couple has to enter the stage and is given five minutes preparation time to gather some ideas. They will then start to recite the beginning of their wedding poem in front of the audience. Once they have finished their first verse, a member of the audience has to start another verse that the couple will then have to finish. Another wedding guest starts the next verse of the marriage poem and the bride and groom have to finish it again. This goes on as long as people come up with new ideas. It is advisable for the guests to prepare a few verses of wedding poems they know beforehand, so the game can go on longer. The longer the wedding poem, the more fun for the wedding company!
