The groom’s retrieving and throwing of the bridal garter is an old tradition that is quite fun and light-hearted. In centuries past, the wedding guests would accompany the bride and groom to their bedroom for the safety of the couple. Once the newlyweds were tucked safely into their new bed by their guests, the guests [...]

The groom’s retrieving and throwing of the bridal garter is an old tradition that is quite fun and light-hearted. In centuries past, the wedding guests would accompany the bride and groom to their bedroom for the safety of the couple. Once the newlyweds were tucked safely into their new bed by their guests, the guests would playfully try to grab a piece of the bride’s attire for the same kind of ‘good luck’ that the groom was about to experience. Often, the piece of clothing that they seized was the garter that held her pantyhose up.

As the tradition progressed through the years, these wedding guests tended to be increasingly determined to grab the garter for the perceived good luck and fertility that it implied to them. Men and women would start snatching at her clothing, sometimes even flipping her over and grabbing for it themselves. This often resulted in them tearing her beautiful wedding dress and causing her to stumble or even fall. To prevent this ambush, brides of old began to throw their garters to the guests at the end of the ceremony before they could try to take it from her. This is how the tradition of tossing the garter began.

Over time, the garters became easier to remove so that the bride or her guests could get it off easily and quickly, preventing injury to her. The man who got it from her (whether he snatched it from her thigh or caught it in the air) would then wear the garter in his hat until he found a girl at the wedding reception to whom he wished to give it.

Today, this tradition has evolved even more (fortunately). Brides seldom wear pantyhose with garters these days, so they usually just don a garter specifically for tossing to the single gents. This is usually made of satin, lace and ribbon and is elasticized to stay on the leg. The garter should be worn on the left leg, on the same side of the body as the bride’s heart. The groom now removes the garter from his bride’s thigh and throws it into a group of all of the single men at the wedding. They dive for it, often causing quite a flurry of excitement. Whoever catches it is thought to be the next to marry.

Wedding garters are currently available in an endless array of colours and styles. Some brides take advantage of the abundance by having two garters – one to keep for themselves and one to throw into the crowd. Some brides do not choose to have a garter at all. It is a personal decision.

Garters are widely available at bridal boutiques and fabric shops. The makers of wedding dresses often include a generic or custom-made garter as part of the outfit. Here are some great ideas for a unique wedding garter:

• Embroider the initials of you and your partner onto the garter.
• Embroider your wedding date and initials so that you and / or the person who catches your garter can remember this important date.
• Include a blue horse shoe or diamond-style intertwined hearts as embellishments on the garter.
• Use stones, pearls and lace to decorate your garter to resemble the wedding gown.
• Include a personal message from you, as the couple, to the person who catches the garter.