Wedding in China cancelled after groom buys bra that was too small for bride

It was interpreted as a sign of disrespect.

Andrew Koay | January 11, 2021, 01:05 PM

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What should have been a momentous occasion in any couple’s life together has instead ended with everyone’s knickers in a knot.

According to SCMP, a woman has called it quits on her marriage one day before the wedding celebration over lingerie that her husband had bought her.

The offending piece of underwear? A bra that was two sizes too small.

Bra part of a traditional wedding gift

SCMP reported that the wedding feast was due to take place in the Guizhou province of China and that the couple had already been legally married but planned the belated event to celebrate their union with family and friends.

The undergarment was purchased for the woman — identified by her surname Luo — as part of a local custom where the groom buys the bride a new outfit.

Not wanting to waste the expensive food and bookings made for the wedding feast, the groom — surnamed Yang — and his entourage turned the reception into a casual social gathering to celebrate the new year.

A viral video circulating on Chinese social media shows the wedding reception host explaining the unfortunate circumstances to the guests in attendance, reported What’s on Weibo.

 

The wedding reception host explaining the unfortunate circumstances Image via Weibo

Image of the groom and his entourage confronting the bride and her entourage. Image via Weibo

The same video appears to show a confrontation between the groom and the bride after she called off their wedding.

A sign of disrespect

Speaking to Chinese media, Luo said that the poorly sized bra had offended her as she saw it as a sign of disrespect.

Yang had known her size but chosen to buy a bra too small regardless, she said.

He’d also responded rather curtly when Luo informed him of the gaffe.

“Do you not want to marry? If so, give my money back,” Yang had supposedly said.

According to SCMP, Yang defended himself by saying that he’d only been informed of the offensive bra at midnight on the eve of the wedding feast; at that time, he could not possibly go out to buy a new one.

However, it seems that the bra was only one of many issues the newlyweds faced.

Luo revealed that their families had been at loggerheads over a number of issues since wedding discussions began.

She added that after the wedding was cancelled, her family had returned the 88,000 yuan (S$17,988) bride price to Yang’s family.

Making life difficult

Predictably, commenters online were quick to weigh in with their thoughts on the matter.

SCMP reported that sentiment overwhelmingly favoured Luo.

What's on Weibo also wrote about one theory on why the ill-fitting bra had caused such an uproar.

The theory is based on the Chinese idiom to “wear tight shoes”, which means to “make life difficult”; giving someone tight shoes would represent giving them a hard time by abusing one’s power.

In this case, knowingly gifting Luo underwear that was two sizes too small could have been interpreted as Yang and his family asserting their dominance over his bride.

Top image from Weibo and by Maeliss Demaison via Unsplash 

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