I haven’t seen that done every time-my daughter and I both gave the free liquor but I’ve seen it done without, too.
I’ve always wondered where the custom came from in the first place-it seems common to most cultures...
MrT5 said he’d been to a couple of weddings of people from islands where it was the custom for the groom to kidnap/carry off the bride, her family to chase after, and his family and hers get into a drunken brawl, and call it great fun-it sounded more like a plot to a mindless comedy to me...
The shot of whiskey or peach schnapps ( for girls) is integral to the occasion
I have heard of, but not seen, where the groom has had to fight through a protective layer of relatives in order to claim his bride.