Garter (translated from French) means “popliteal cavity,” that is, an elastic band that performs the function of supporting the stocking. Initially, silk ribbons or braid were used as garters, which were tied in the shape of a bow on stockings, slightly above the knee. Later, the Marquise de Pompadour improved the design of this small but necessary detail of the women's toilet.
Subsequently, the design of garters became more and more sophisticated, and the popularity of this item only grew. Nowadays, the garter has become an indispensable element of the bride's wedding dress.
A little history
The history of the beautiful tradition of throwing a bouquet has its roots in the distant past. In Rus', newlyweds, at the end of the holiday, handed over wedding wreaths to unmarried girls and unmarried guys, and also carried out such a beautiful custom: unmarried girls blindfolded their newly-made wife and danced around her, and she randomly gave her wedding bouquet to the future lucky girl.
The custom of throwing a bouquet behind your back, rather than passing it in a round dance, came to us from Medieval Europe or the USA - there is no consensus. This tradition became popular after its widespread appearance at American weddings, which most likely borrowed it from medieval brides.
In the Middle Ages in Europe, it was believed that if an unmarried woman touched or even tore off a piece of her wedding dress, she would certainly be happy and get married soon. Brides, fearing for their wedding dress, began to come up with alternative options: for example, French women began to decorate the hem of their wedding dress with flowers that guests could pick out. It was not very convenient to pin flowers to an outfit, so brides began to take a bouquet with them to the wedding and throw it to their single girlfriends. In other European countries, instead of a bouquet, girls threw garters, chains or pendants to lonely people, and this is how the tradition of throwing a bride's garter to unmarried guys arose.
Over time, the tradition of throwing a wedding bouquet to your unmarried friends has become popular all over the world and to this day not a single wedding is complete without it.
If an unmarried girl caught the bride’s bouquet at a wedding, what should she do with it next according to the signs?
A folk sign says that if a girl catches the bride’s bouquet at a wedding, this means that soon, no more than a year, she will get married . Therefore, at any wedding, unmarried guests eagerly await the traditional throwing of the bouquet.
was left with the treasured flower arrangement in her hands . According to the signs, what should you do with a caught bridal bouquet after the wedding, how to store the trophy? What should the person who caught the flowers do next: put the bouquet in a vase and wait for the betrothed to show up? After all, in reality, not everything is so simple .
Living flowers retain their freshness for only a short time, so sooner or later you will have to decide what to do with them. Even if the flowers have been treated with a special product or placed in a porta bouquet holder with a damp sponge, over time they will still lose their former attractiveness .
According to signs, the caught bouquet should not be thrown away, but kept in dried form. You can only throw it away one day before your own wedding.
Therefore, in order to store a caught bouquet, you need to dry . How to do it right:
- disassemble the composition;
- hang the flowers on a thread with the bud down so that it does not even touch the wall;
- place flowers in a dry, warm room without bright sunny colors.
After one and a half to two weeks, the flowers will dry out, almost without losing their shape. From them you can assemble a beautiful composition and decorate the interior with it .
Panel of dried flowers
If suddenly a married woman catches the bride’s bouquet, then she should do with it the same way as the bride herself would do with her flowers. They need to be placed in the bedroom , so the bouquet will become a symbol of the unity of hearts and love, a kind of amulet of family happiness.
Should we keep the tradition?
Whether to throw a bouquet or not is your personal decision, as there are both pros and cons to this tradition.
Pros: Throwing a bouquet is a fun event that will entertain guests and especially delight unmarried girls who are looking forward to this ceremony.
Cons: some girls take this ritual very seriously, which can lead to offense or even quarrels; therefore, if such persons will be present at your wedding, it is better to either abandon the traditional throwing of the bouquet altogether, or replace it with a beautiful transfer of bouquets to all unmarried girls.
When and how do you throw the bridal bouquet?
A girl can think through the scenario of throwing a bouquet to the bride herself, because there are no strict rules about exactly when and how to throw a bouquet to her bridesmaids. The ritual can be performed at any time. Several variants:
- after the wedding ceremony in the registry office;
- during a walk and photo shoot;
- at the very beginning of the banquet;
- at the end of the holiday.
It is only important to remember that this event should be bright and memorable.
To ensure that the ritual turns out beautiful, it is better to plan it for the beginning or middle of the holiday, so that guests after strong drinks cannot disturb the solemnity of the moment
Many guests anticipate the intriguing ceremony of throwing a bouquet from the very beginning, so you need to be able to organize it correctly . It is better to entrust this matter to the presenter , who will find the right moment and gather all the unmarried girls so that no one misses the action.
To make the process more interesting, you need to slightly delay the throwing of the bouquet by counting down the time. The host commands the start, and the guests count together: when the number “three” is pronounced, the bride throws flowers.
The ritual can be performed in a completely original way. Place the composition in a transparent box and lock it. After this, each friend will take a key from several prepared in advance and try to open the box. The one with the key will approach the lock and take the bouquet for herself.
Bride's bouquet in a cage
Throwing a bouquet: from classic to creative
For your celebration, you can choose either the traditional option of throwing a bouquet over your shoulder or more original options. It all depends on your personal preferences and wedding style:
- for a classic celebration, you can choose the traditional option of throwing a bouquet over your shoulder,
- for a folk wedding - round dance,
- in the case of a pirate wedding, you can lock the bouquet in a chest,
- For a Greek style wedding, the ideal option would be to write the girls' names on the bride's shoe.
Recommendations for the bride who is going to throw the bouquet
It would seem that it’s so difficult to go out to your girlfriends and throw a bouquet over your back - but in fact this is not an entirely ordinary task. There are several nuances that you should familiarize yourself with in advance so that the ceremony goes smoothly.
Recommendations on how to throw a wedding bouquet correctly:
- The bride should stand at a distance of 2-3 meters from her bridesmaids, no more.
- The bouquet should not be too massive. A heavy composition may injure one of your girlfriends.
- If the bouquet is decorated with ribbons or brooches, then these elements must be removed before throwing it. The brooch can scratch the skin, and the ribbons can get tangled and interfere during the flight.
- If during the holiday the bouquet intended for the ceremony was in a vase, then before the competition its stems need to be dried with napkins.
For the ceremony, you need to choose a wide place, not crowded with tables or other furniture.
A dance area is perfect, but you need to pay attention so that the bouquet cannot get on the DJ equipment
You should also be wary of low-hanging chandeliers , since the bouquet can catch them while flying and break them. You also need to take care of vases with flowers and dishes. In addition, a bouquet landing on someone's dish will not be the most pleasant surprise.
The bride is preparing to throw a bouquet
Competitions, auctions, lots
The delivery of the bride's bouquet can be carried out in the form of a competition, quest or lot. There are many options here:
- Unmarried girls are invited to a competition, during which the owner of the wedding bouquet is determined.
- You can draw lots: write the names of the girls on pieces of paper and put the pieces of paper in a beautiful bowl; the girl with whose name the piece of paper is drawn will become the owner of the bouquet.
- A similar option: wrap pieces of paper in candy wrappers and draw a bouquet on one of them. The girl who receives the candy wrapper with the coveted piece of paper will become the owner of the bouquet.
- Come up with a quest for the girls to find a bouquet; they will have to solve simple tasks in order to find the treasured item.
Lottery
Lottery at a wedding
Tips on how to catch the bride's bouquet at a wedding
The ceremony of throwing a bouquet can be classified as mystical. But it often happens that girls only remember why they should catch the bride’s bouquet, but they forget how to do it. Therefore, often caught bouquets “do not work.”
When the girls, while waiting for the bouquet, start a real fight and snatch it from each other, it looks funny from the outside, but unfortunately, all the magic of the ceremony disappears in this case. For the sign to be effective, the bridesmaids must stand behind her so as not to jostle or interfere with each other.
When the bride throws a bouquet, she does not see what trajectory it is flying along, so the flowers fall into the power of the Higher Powers. Only the girl into whose hands the bouquet flies itself can catch it.
Throwing a bouquet is not the easiest task, but catching it is even more difficult. There are several tricks that you can follow to increase your chances:
- stand in the first row in the center, approximately opposite the bride;
- when the countdown starts, start raising your hands;
- think not only about the treasured bouquet, but also about the girls standing nearby, so as not to hit them with your elbows.
Girls catch a bouquet from the hands of the bride
Original drawing options
The “raffle” of the newlywed’s flower arrangement can be carried out in an original form . Moreover, in many cases, the throwing process itself is replaced by an alternative method of presenting flowers to an unmarried girl.
- With ribbons. Beautiful long ribbons surround the bouquet, but only one of them is tied to the flowers; the rest of the ribbons are discreetly held by the bride with her hands. Girlfriends choose any ribbon and pull it. The one who pulls out the ribbon tied to the bouquet becomes its owner;
- Keys. The bouquet is hidden in a beautiful chest and locked. The key to it is hidden among several bags or glass jars, which are offered to the girlfriends to choose from. Each must take out her key and try to open the chest with it. The one whose key matches wins the treasured flowers;
- Round dance. This method is a memory of wedding festivities in Ancient Rus'. The girlfriends stand in a circle, in the center of which stands the young woman with a bouquet. To the music, everyone begins to spin and dance, but in opposite directions: the round dance in one direction, and the bride in the other. As soon as the music stops, everyone stops, and the girl opposite the newlywed receives a bouquet;
- Several bouquets. If you know the exact number of unmarried girlfriends, then you can prepare several identical compositions at once and combine them into one. When thrown, the bouquets will scatter in different directions and each end up with its owner;
- Lot. This option is a real lottery. The names of all unmarried girls are written on beautiful pieces of paper. The pieces of paper are placed in a bowl and the bride chooses one of them. The one whose name is written on the lot will become the next bride;
- Slingshot. Two of the groom's friends are holding a large slingshot with a wide elastic band, and the young woman is aiming a bouquet from it. This method looks very original and is a lot of fun. In addition, colorful photographs will be guaranteed;
- With humor. A fun way to beat the throwing procedure is by resorting to a false start. It can be asked by the host or the bride herself. The movements of girls rushing towards a bouquet that is not yet flying will be very eloquent;
- Just donate. It happens that only one or two unmarried friends are present at a wedding. In this case, flowers can be given by saying warm words and wishes;
- An intellectual quest is a difficult task for girls who dream of getting married. Of course, you need to prepare for it in advance, think through the questions and tasks that will be offered to your friends. You can make a puzzle diagram and give each girl a card with clues. Questions and tasks can relate to the bride and groom, family and love topics, or have a humorous nature. The girl who completes the tasks the fastest receives the coveted flowers;
- Greek version. The names of the bridesmaids are written on the sole of the newlywed's shoes with a felt-tip pen, after which they begin to dance together. Whose name is erased faster (or, conversely, not erased), wins.
All news
It is impossible to imagine a wedding celebration without such an irreplaceable attribute as flowers. They make the event colorful, emotional, lift the spirits, and add sophistication and luxury to the celebration. They decorate a car procession, decorate a festive wedding table, and make up a bride’s bouquet from them. Recently, it has become fashionable, following Western trends, to use flower arrangements for bridesmaids at weddings.
Now many are abandoning traditional witnesses at a wedding, replacing them with bridesmaids on the young wife’s side, and on the groom’s side inviting his friends as best men. Today this fashion is no longer surprising. What is the role of a flower bouquet, and what flowers should you choose for the bridesmaid?
Sometimes newly married young women, when according to tradition it is necessary to throw a bouquet in order for one of the unmarried girls to catch it, do not want to part with their gorgeous flowers. In this case, the bride's flowers can be replaced with her bridesmaid's flowers.
The queen of wedding bouquets is the rose. It serves as the basis of a flower arrangement. It can be complemented by various flower plants - orchids, carnations, callas. hydrangeas, etc. If the bouquet is cascading, greenery is needed in the design. It emphasizes the beauty of the flower plants included in the composition, but there should not be a lot of it. Peonies, lilies of the valley, daisies, and freesias are used in bouquets. A composition of any plants created by the hands of an experienced florist will look good. Flowers must be freshly cut to last in the bouquet all day. The choice of bouquet also depends on the time of year.
This wedding attribute in the hands of a girl playing the role of a bridesmaid will help her cope with the excitement that is invariably present during the painting and in subsequent actions. Here it plays the role of an antidepressant.
The best man and bridesmaid are the second people at the wedding after the bride and groom. A bouquet of flowers from the bridesmaid and a boutonniere from the best man will make these two young people stand out from other guests. Ribbons with inscriptions of honorary witnesses are now out of fashion. It's better not to use them.
What should be the flower arrangement for the bridesmaid? Naturally, the bouquet should not look better than the bridal bouquet
Still, the young woman is the first person at the wedding, all the attention of the guests should be drawn to her. There is a simple, proven solution to this issue - order smaller copies of the bride’s flower arrangement for the bridesmaids.
If you want to be original, the flowers for your friend can be different, you just need to consider how the composition will fit into the overall interior of the wedding celebration. You also need to think about the size of the composition so that your friend feels comfortable throughout the celebration.
Today, the flower attribute is often replaced by the so-called flower bracelet. Place it on the hand or forearm. The latter is more practical - since the bridesmaid is constantly busy with something. She plays the role of the bride's assistant. For the bracelet, you need to choose flower plants that will last throughout the holiday.
Sometimes a bouquet of flowers is replaced with a spherical flower arrangement with a ribbon loop. It is worn on the hand in the form of a handbag. The jewelry looks sophisticated and elegant, although it is not as practical as a bracelet. When ordering a composition for her friends, a young woman should take into account how the attribute will harmonize with their outfits, as well as the preferences of young girls.
In any case, experienced florists will tell you how to choose the right flower arrangement for your friend.
