Vykup nevesty
The Russian game in which the groom must pay or perform tasks to win the bride from her family and friends.
Also: bride ransom, vykup
Vykup nevesty, ransom of the bride, is a playful custom in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and neighbouring countries. On the morning of the wedding the groom and his friends arrive at the bride's home or the entrance of her building, where her friends and family have blocked the way with riddles, tasks, quizzes and requests for money, sweets or drink. The groom pays or performs, and finally the bride is brought out. It stands for the old bargain over the bride, but is done today as a joke and a way for the families to meet.
Region: Europe