It's the big day, you're up earlier than usual and you're about to get married. Let's hear about what's happening in the hours leading up to you walking down that aisle. I've heard of girls staying in the same room the night before. Guys tend to have their own moment the morning of while getting ready. For those with video, I've seen brides and grooms reading notes written for each other on camera. The bridal party is usually decked up in nice robes and sipping on champagne while getting hair and makeup ready. Is the first public outfit you're wearing THE wedding dress before you head out the door? Any prayers and special ceremonies with family before the aisle walk? Maybe some of you are doing a first look to avoid the ceremonial jitters while others are not seeing each other at all until the ceremony.
In our culture, there's quite a bit happening prior to our ceremony. The morning of, the guys and I will arrive to where the bride is and it's my mission to get access to the bride (who's likely in her suite) while her bridal party will have a number of games and obstacles that my team of groomsmen will have to get through in order to gain access (or we try to talk them out of it, which almost never works lol). The idea is that these obstacles "prove my worth" to the bride.
Obstacles can be action-oriented like the guys having to put on makeup and lingerie (the idea being so we know how the bride feels during her morning routine) - don't worry, we get to take it off and wash our face prior to the ceremony 
or endure eating something from each of the five tastes like sweet, sour, bitter, spicy, and salty (it represents the experience of the full spectrum of life's journey). Other times it's trivia based and answering wrong can mean physical punishment like having to do pushups or getting our leg waxed. While all this is happening, we try to "bribe" the bridesmaids to let us through by offering them food or money (when I was a groomsmen for a friend, I managed to bribe a bridesmaid to let us pass with $800...worth of savings in the form of fast food coupons 
). Bride will likely be watching and laughing at all of this through a live video feed lol.
When I do reach her, she won't be in her wedding dress but a cultural outfit of red and gold that symbolizes prosperity and luck in our marriage. We then perform a tea ceremony for both our parents where we kneel on fancy pillows and serve them a cup of tea as symbol of our respect for them and the joining of families. We then "pray" to our ancestors asking for their blessing before having lunch. After, the bride is walked under a red umbrella towards the car that we'll be driving to the ceremony in. The red umbrella is carried by the MOH and her bridesmaids will throw rice on it to keep evil spirits away. We drive to the ceremony together where bride will change into her wedding dress in her bridal suite at the venue and I won't see her again until we walk down the aisle.
So that'll be my day. Let's hear you dish on where you'll be getting ready and what you'll be doing right before you walk down that aisle!
