Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Tossing the Garter


Tossing the Garter, this tradition traces back more than 500 years to England and a ritual called "flinging the stocking". Today the groom usually removes the garter from the brides leg and tosses it to the unmarried men in attendance.

Most of the weddings today skip both the bouquet and garter toss. Some couples feel it is highlighting that their friends are not married, and would prefer to not make them feel uncomfortable regarding these traditions.

Traditions, Tossing the Bouquet


Tossing the Bouquet

Tradition traces to the early 1800's in the United States, when the bride would toss small bouquets at each of her bridesmaids. A ring was hidden in one and the bridesmaid that caught that bouquet would be the next to marry. Today the bride gathers all the unmarried ladies and tosses her bouquet, often the florist makes a special bouquet to toss so the brides bouquet can be preserved or saved for drying.

Wedding Vows

Some brides today delete the word "obey" from the traditional vows, often substituting the word "cherish". They might be surprised to learn as early as 1848 Elizabeth Cady, defied her father, a judge to marry Harry Stanton and as an expression of her independence she omitted the word obey from her vows.

Tradition of Wedding Flowers







The groom used to pick flowers for the bride, she in turn would give him some back for his boutonniere. That is the reason today many florists use some of the same flowers in the bouqet and the boutonniere. Special flowers, "stephanotis" is used only in the bride, groom and parents floral pieces.