{Wedding Tips & Tricks} Traditions, Take 3! Bouquet and Garter Toss - Sound Wave Events - Boise Wedding DJ

Whew! We've made it to part 3 of our walk through wedding traditions! You can check out parts one and two here and here, if you missed them! Today we'll take a look at just why we do a Bouquet and Garter Toss! With Christmas just a few days away, I'll keep it short and sweet so you can get back to shopping, baking, and decorating!

Two Bird Studio

Bouquet Toss - Kind of a silly tradition, unmarried women would chase the bride to her bridal suite after the wedding, and try to rip off pieces of her wedding gown, in hopes that the bride's good luck in finding a groom would be torn off with it, and the women would soon find her own groom. Kind of creepy! The bride started throwing her bouquet behind her to distract the women, so she could run away! 

Thankfully, we know that the wedding gown isn't really a token of good luck, but the bridal bouquet is still a fun event at a wedding. Newer traditions suggest that whichever woman catches the bouquet will be the next to marry. Instead of throwing the actual bouquet that the bride carries, some brides have opted for a toss bouquet, so she can keep her own.

Tesar Photography

Garter Toss - This one is, um...a little more risque. The bride and grooms family and friends thought of the garter as a symbol of the consummation of the marriage. The family would come into the bridal suite with the couple to ensure that the marriage was consummated, and therefore a valid union, and they would take the garter as proof.

Again, I'm so grateful that this isn't still a thing. That's just...no. Anyway, these days, the garter toss is similar to the bouquet toss, where the groom will remove the garter and toss is behind him to the unmarried men in attendance. Whichever lucky man catches the garter is said to be the next to marry. Some people believe that the catcher of the bouquet and garter toss may marry each other, and some couples have a special bouquet/garter catcher dance, where the two can get to know each other better.  

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The bouquet and garter toss are events that your DJ will help coordinate between other activites happening during your wedding and reception. If you need help determining which song to play, or alternatives for each toss, let us know! You can also check out this blog post from a few months ago for some fun ideas! Our starlight dance floor is a great place to gather around for these tosses, too, and is gorgeous in photos. 

Happy Wedding Planning, and Merry Christmas! 

Stephanie Scotton
Sound Wave Events
208.891.0094
www.soundwaveevents.com
[email protected]
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