Tossing The Bouquet & Garter

With our first anniversary quickly approaching in June, I’m determined to get through a few more fun wedding recaps before then! While I know some bloggers prefer to post their recaps chronologically, going through them all at once, I’ve really enjoyed jumping around, sharing a piece here and there, remembering and reliving our amazing wedding each time.

Today, I want to share a couple stories and photos from our garter and bouquet tosses, one of which didn’t go exactly as planned, and the other which we almost skipped altogether!



Those of you who have been reading for a while may remember that Stephen and I went back and forth about whether or not to do a garter toss, especially since neither of us was comfortable with the whole over-the-top groom-removes-garter-with-his-teeth idea.

In the end, rather than skip it altogether, we toned things down and did it in a way that worked for us. While our DJ played the Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love,” which is one of our favorites, Stephen kneeled down, kissed my hand, and removed my garter by hand. After that, he tossed it to all the eligible guys at the party, who got so into it that one of them even tripped and went tumbling to the ground!



The bouquet toss was just as fun, although my original plan of doing it as a “good luck” toss for all the ladies at the party went awry when the DJ announced that only the single ladies should head to the floor. I was having too much fun to care, though, and it actually worked out great, since one of my bridesmaids was incredibly excited to snag the bouquet, allowing for lots of fun pictures, hugs and laughter!



Are you doing a bouquet or garter toss? How will you make them unique?

(Photo Credits: Alex Neumann Photography & Personal Library)

Ask the Bridesmaids: Bouquet Toss

Over the years, I’ve enjoyed being one of the single ladies called to the dance floor during weddings for the classic bouquet jostle. But while I thought it was fun, other friends always told me they found it downright silly or embarrassing to be singled out for being, well, single.

To help me figure out how to handle this tradition at my own wedding – whether I should include it, call up only the unmarried women, invite all the ladies to take part, or even give the bouquet away as a prize during the anniversary dance – I turned to my most treasured confidants in all things wedding-related and in many areas of my life overall – my bridesmaids.

I guess I should have known that a couple of the things I love most about my girls – their uniqueness and strong opinions – would result in very different views! Here’s what they each had to say.

I love the bouquet toss! It gives single women like myself that magical, fairytale hope that someone is out there for us, and that one day, we will be able to feel how the bride feels at her wedding. It symbolizes “our turn,” and since the married women have already had their “turn,” they should step back and let us single ladies have a chance. I definitely don’t feel uncomfortable during the toss.

– Pooneh

I love the bouquet toss, and like it even better when people fight. (Maybe not “fight,” but at least a good-natured tussle.) I like that it’s tradition. I like the sheepish grins and bad jokes everybody makes as they stand around. I like the very little girls who take it so seriously. I love it when the bride throws the bouquet so hard it hits the ceiling and misses the crowd. For your bouquet toss, I think it should be open to all women and be “for good luck.” That keeps enough of the original meaning, but makes it less embarrassing.

– Ellen

Of the tosses I’ve seen, young girls seem to be the most excited about catching the flowers, while young women in their teens and twenties seem especially shy. And single middle-aged and older women sometimes refuse to participate. I, for one, have avoided catching the bouquet by allowing a hyper 6-year-old to jump in my way.

– Bridget

From my understanding, the tradition is that the woman who catches the bouquet is the next woman to get married. So, I think it makes sense for only non-married women to participate.

– Gianna

As for me, I’m leaning toward taking Ellen’s advice and doing a “good luck” toss that includes all the ladies at the party, whether young or old, as Martina MacBride’s uplifting song “This One’s for the Girls” plays in the background.

What do you think? Are you doing a bouquet toss or giveaway at your wedding? How will you do it, and who will you include? Let me know, because I’m still open to more fun ideas!

(Photo Credits: Wedding Aces & Jennifer S Rau Photography)