One of the most popular traditions at any wedding ceremony is the tossing of the garter belt to the unmarried men present. But how did this tradition come about?
One of the more popular theories that you will see on the internet is that it all started in the middle ages. The theory goes that having apiece of the lucky bride's clothing would bring good fortune, so guests would tear pieces of clothing from the wedding dress while the bride was still in it. This eventually evolved to the tradition of the groom providing the piece of clothing to keep his new bride from being mobbed.
It's more likely that the tradition of tossing the garter evolved much more recently as a way to give the groom something to do when the bride tossed her bouquet. At some point during the wedding reception, after the bridal bouquet toss, the bride is seated in a chair with the groom kneeling before her. With all the single men in attendance (and many others!) gathered behind and cheering him on, he removes the first garter from his brides leg (sometimes with his teeth!) and tosses it to the single men who, as tradition says, are the next to be married. Sometimes, the lucky man places the garter on the leg of the lucky lady who caught the bridal bouquet.
Unfortunately for many of the men in attendance, many women don't care for the idea of having someone under their skirt and tossing bits of her clothing about on her special day. Here are a few alternative options for those occasions.
- The groom could toss sleeve garters that are used to adjust the length of a man's shirt sleeve. The groom could wear several under his jacket and begin tossing them about during the reception after the bride tosses the bouquet.
- The groom could toss his bow tie.
- The bride might even wear a sleeve garter herself that can be tossed.
- Or you could just skip this sometimes embarrassing tradition entirely.
While the garter toss has become standard, and even funny (I've seen some doozies), it is by no means a requirement at a wedding. Allow the bride to decide how she wants to handle this particular tradition.
Steve Gerencser
Images Jewelrs
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