The personnel responsible for escorting the bride have their own standards. Sending off the bride refers to the process where the bride's relatives are required to escort the bride to the groom's home during the wedding ceremony. There are specific requirements for the number and selection of people to send off relatives. Generally speaking, parents, aunts, uncles, and pregnant women are not allowed to send off relatives.
1. Number of escorts
The number of people the female party can send for the wedding usually ranges from 5 to 15, depending on how many people the male party accepts. For example, if the man accepts the bride with 5 people, the woman can send her with 5 or 7 people, which can be rounded up to a whole number of 10 or 12 people, reflecting the concept of "returning the single to the double", symbolizing the harmony between husband and wife, and pairing them up.
2. Sending off candidates
The person who will send the bride off should not be widowed, divorced, or remarried. It is best to choose a respected male elder or the bride's peers to go together, such as uncles, aunts, uncles, brothers, etc. When the number of people is not enough, bridesmaids can be invited to help with the wedding.
3. Parents do not send off their relatives
Parents are the closest people to the bride from childhood to adulthood. When getting married, they will feel sad in each other's hearts, which can easily affect the mood and state of the marriage. Therefore, it is best for parents not to participate in the wedding procession and to escort the bride to her doorstep.
4. Auntie doesn't send her off
In many regions, there is a traditional custom of "aunt does not receive or send off", because aunt sounds "lonely" and aunt sounds "doubtful", which has a bad connotation. Therefore, aunt and aunt basically do not participate in sending off relatives.
5. Pregnant women do not send their babies
Pregnant women are generally not recommended to send their babies off because there may be bumps and bruises during the process, which is unsafe for both the mother and the baby. Moreover, in some regions, there is a saying that pregnant women may clash with the happiness of the newlyweds, so it is better for pregnant women to wait quietly for the wedding to begin.