Tossing Traditions—The Bouquet and the Garter
Know one knows for sure where the custom of the bride tossing her bouquet to the waiting single women began, but some believe it dates back to the 1300s and a tradition of France. The French believed that leaving the wedding with a piece of the bride’s gown was good luck, and would tear at her dress in order to get a piece. Unhappy brides started throwing other personal articles to the guests to save their gowns. This eventually evolved into tossing the bridal bouquet.
Tossing the garter evolved from several garter traditions. It was believed to be good luck for a groomsman to capture the garter from the bride during the reception. As receptions usually involve a decent amount of drinking, this process often became rowdy and sometimes the bride was injured when the eager groomsmen tried to capture the garter. Wary brides began to leave a garter hanging below their gowns to make it easier for the men to reach. Eventually, the groom began to fling the garter, and the bride would leave a garter well below her knee specifically for this purpose.
Today, many brides choose a garter that is made of blue. This is because of the tradition that a bride should wear “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue” for good luck on her wedding day. This perhaps dates back to an ancient order of knights called the Order of the Garter. These knights swore to protect women, and royal grooms would wear their emblem on their wedding days.
Today, tossing the garter and the bouquet are traditions that most brides have at their weddings. First the single young men gather, and the groom removes the bride’s garter. He will toss it to the men, and whoever catches it is supposed to be the next one to marry. The same is true for the single young woman who catches the bride’s bouquet. Some brides choose to have a special bouquet made to throw so that they do not have to ruin their wedding bouquet.
Some couples are doing away with the tossing traditions, as they feel it unfairly singles out the single guests at their wedding. There are many alternatives to bouquet and garter tossing. Some couples throw an object that is not intended to be caught by anyone, like rose petals or confetti. A relatively new twist on bouquet throwing is having the bride buy a break apart bouquet that separates into several pieces. When this is thrown, several young women are able to catch it, and often the bride will ensure that it is caught by several of her bridesmaids, as a way to honor them for their part in the wedding.
Some couples choose to honor married couples instead. They have all of the married couples stand, and have them sit down as they call out numbers of years of marriage. They continue this until the longest married couple is the only one standing, and then the bride and groom present this couple with the bouquet and garter. This is a very elegant way to honor those in attendance at the wedding ceremony.