For the garter toss tradition, the groom removes the garter from the bride's leg during the wedding reception on the dance floor. The groom usually goes under her dress to find the band, removing it with his hands or teeth.
During the reception, the groom will remove the garter from underneath the bride's gown (with his hands or teeth) and toss it into the crowd. The garter toss is very similar to the bouquet toss. The bachelor that catches the garter is believed to be married next.
What is the Garter Toss? In a nutshell, the garter toss is a wedding tradition where the bride's garter is removed and thrown out to a crowd of single men. It's the groom's equivalent of the bouquet toss and is meant to symbolize good luck to the eligible bachelors in attendance.
Way back before elastic was invented, garters served an important purpose: keeping stockings up. So, the bride wore one on each leg. Now though, you'll see garters worn on their own as fun accessories, not necessities. There's no rule about which leg to put yours on, so do what feels the most comfortable.
The removal of the garter is one of those wedding traditions that you either love or hate. Many brides are opting out of the garter toss these days, while others think it's funny. If you're on the fence about the garter tradition, here are four ways to make it a little less awkward.
Luck: The garter toss tradition also stems from the Medieval superstition that wedding guests taking a piece of the bride's dress was good luck. A garter was a simple item a bride could give as a good luck charm instead of guests tearing apart the wedding attire.
Traditionally, the person who catches the wedding garter at the reception is supposed to be the next person to be married. It is typically all of the singles that get together to catch the garter and then whoever catches it is supposed to pass it onto their future partner.
The purpose of the ritual was to establish the consummation of the marriage, either by actually witnessing the couple's first sexual intercourse, or symbolically, by leaving before consummation. It symbolized the community's involvement in the marriage.
Who Buys the Bride's Garter? Anyone - there's no set tradition when it comes to who buys the garter. If you buy your own, you can make sure you get the style you want, and even have it customised so it's unique to you.
Specifically, “something borrowed” was preferably the undergarment from a woman who already had children, and “something blue” was typically a garter belt under the bride's dress, ideally sourced from a married woman or mother. The sixpence was traditionally given to the bride by her father to be placed in her shoe.
Do brides still wear garters? Although for the most part they're unnecessary, yes, many modern brides do still wear garters. Today, this is as much up to the couple as is which knee the groom proposes on and what happens when someone objects at the wedding.
Throwing rose petals
Rose petals, which are traditionally red, represent fertility, and because they're thrown by the flower girl, they are also a symbol of the transition the bride is making from an innocent girl to a woman and, soon, mother.
In Medieval Europe, grooms carried brides across the threshold to avoid onlookers seeing the bride as scandalously eager to consummate the marriage. In the later days of Europe, some believed that if the bride tripped on her way into the new home, it would cast bad luck on the marriage and home.
The History of Wedding Veils
But most experts can agree on one narrative: "You can trace its roots back to Rome, where a bride used to walk down the aisle with a veil over her face in order to disguise herself from any evil spirits who wanted to stand in the way of her happiness," she explains.
The custom of having a bridal bouquet dates back to ancient times when woman would carry strong herbs and spices from reasons such as warding off evil spirits to creating lust and fertility. Flower girls and brides maids would carry sheaves of wheat which symbolized growth.
Tradition says
The tradition of grooms not seeing brides in their wedding dresses started because of arranged marriages. The parents of the bride were afraid that if the groom saw her before the wedding, he would break the arrangement.
You can pass your garter on to a friend or family member, creating an special wedding heirloom, a new family tradition or the bride's something borrowed. (If your garter was blue, it could be her something blue too!)
: a band worn to hold up a stocking or sock. b. : a band worn to hold up a shirt sleeve. c. : a strap hanging from a girdle or corset to support a stocking.
The wedding night, also most popularly known as 'suhaag raat', is when newly-weds are expected to consummate their marriage and for many couples, who had never had a physical relationship before, this night might be the first time they would be having sex with the partner.
However, in most of Europe, unless you were the heir to the throne, no one watched the consummation itself! Instead, the bedding ritual symbolised the consummation and the community's investment in that consummation.
Suhag Raat is a significant ritual in the life of a newly wedded couple in the Indian subcontinent, and refers to the first night when the marriage is consummated. The bed of the newlywed couple is decorated with flowers, which are believed to bring sweetness to their relationship.
"These days, removing the garter is basically the male equivalent to the bride's bouquet toss. The bride sits on a chair so her new husband can take her garter belt off her leg and toss it to a crowd of bachelors. Supposedly, whoever is lucky enough to catch it will be next to get married. "
If the person who catches the bouquet wants to keep it (and the bride wants to give it up), they totally can.
It means that no one caught the flowers and nothing more. It's only a tradition, you know, for fun. Just like if someone had caught the flowers, it wouldn't have meant that that person would necessarily have soon be married, but since it's within the realm of reality, they might have been.
It really is entirely up to you. There isn't a rule that says you have to but here's what's most important: that you relax. You'll want to rest up so you're totally prepared for your wedding.