Weddingbee Blog

For me, having a bouquet toss was always a must; my girlfriends have been talking about my wedding’s bouquet toss (and other wedding details) since way before I got engaged. Once I joked about not having one and they flipped out at me—are you out of your mind?

The bouquet toss tradition supposedly started from the 14th century European idea that brides and all that they touched were lucky. So, trying to avoid guests from tearing off parts of her gown (!), the bride tossed her bouquet. Meaning, the bouquet is supposed to be good luck, rather than an indication that the catcher is the next in line to get married.

For my friends it’s just fun—it’s a competition (and we are competitive), so they’ve been looking forward to it.

Since I’m having a wooden bouquet that I wouldn’t toss in a million years, I made a paper-flower bouquet to toss.

Be good with the paper flowers—the petals are not shaped yet. I’ll do it the day before the wedding.

Paper flower bouquet, Shania Twain’s “I Feel Like a Woman,” and eager friends—BAM! We have a bouquet toss.

The garter toss was a bit more complicated. The tradition comes from the concept of consummation of the marriage. The groom tossed the bride’s garter (meant to hold up the bride’s stockings) to the bridal party, to show them that he scored. (Pretty sure they didn’t refer to it this way back then.)

So I wasn’t exactly thrilled at the idea of Mr. Toadstool throwing my undergarments at his friends (too much for my little mind to bear), but I decided to be fair. The bouquet toss will be my thing, so I’d let Mr. Toadstool decide if he wants to do a garter toss. I asked, he said yes, end of discussion. We’re having a garter toss.

So I bought a little piece of stretchy lace from the fabric store and asked my mom for her sewing machine skills, and she gave me this:

She found a piece of blue ribbon in her sewing supplies and gave me my something blue (yeey!).

I have no idea what song we’ll use yet (I know, I know—we’re running out of time), but we’ll figure that out.

Now, we are adding a small personal touch to the tradition. Around here, it’s customary for the girl who gets the bouquet and the guy who gets the garter to dance together, just them, no one else on the dance floor, which in my opinion makes for a very awkward situation. I’ve avoided several bouquet tosses for this very reason. So we’re not having that. Catch the bouquet/garter, take a picture, and take your seat. Simple as that.

Are you having/did you have a bouquet or garter toss? What do the catchers traditionally do where you’re from?