Bouquet and Garter Toss Alternatives

When it comes to the wedding bouquet and garter toss, it is considered traditional to stick to tradition. Today, a lot of traditions are altered by the bride and groom to make their wedding more original. It is the new cool to incorporate some innovative and creative takes on old traditions.

The traditional bouquet toss was a simple gathering of the single women onto the dance floor and having the bride toss her bouquet behind her back. Whichever woman caught the bouquet was considered lucky and the next one to marry.

The traditional garter toss consisted of the groom reaching under the brides dress and either with his hands or teeth (depending on the comfort level of the couple) take the garter off and then toss it to the single men at the wedding.

Many of us have probably been at weddings or seen funny videos of weddings at which the bride threw her bouquet and children got trampled, the women would slip and fall over each other. Some photographers and DJs these days have the bride sign a liability release form if the bride chooses to proceed with this tradition.

In addition, many couples today get married at a later age, therefore, most of their friends at the wedding are already married and there aren't many single women and men for the bouquet and garter toss.

Since these days most couples veer away from traditions and try to incorporate their own original ideas, we've compiled a list of some ideas we have found that you may want to try if you don't want to stick to the traditional garter and bouquet toss.

Bouquet and Garter Toss Suggestions

Wedding Anniversary – There are two variations. In the first, the MC asks all the couples to stand up at their tables. He then proceeds to ask all the couples to sit down that have been married 1 year or less, then 5 years or less, then 10 years or less and so on until only one couple is left standing. The bride then gives the bouquet to that couple.

The alternate of that idea is to have all the couples on the dance floor dancing to a slow song and have the couples leave the floor accordingly. The couple left in the end will get the bouquet.

This is a great way to be inspired and show respect to couples that have been married for many many years. Although, keep in mind that in some cases you may want to do something different if there is someone that recently lost a spouse.

Break Apart Bouquet – Get a second bouquet of roses loosely tied with a ribbon so it looks like one bouquet. When you are turned backwards to the women on the floor, separate the roses as much as possible in both hands, and throw them. This way more than one woman will get a flower.

Wish Roses – Get a whole bunch of roses and tie little notes to the stems. Each note can contain a special wish from you, words of blessing, or just a charming fortune. Hand them out to all the ladies in the room. You can put different notes to your friends, younger women, and older women and you can coordinate them with different rose colors so that you know which roses have age appropriate notes. Or you can use the same rose color but different colored paper for the notes attached.

Special Person – You can give the bouquet to a very special woman that you admire for something she did or for who she is. You can even dedicate the bouquet to your grandmother or mother. If you know of someone that will be getting married in the nearest future, give them the bouquet as a wish for a great marriage. Or you can use the bouquet as a way of commemorating a loved one that passed away. Mention it in your program or at the reception.

Garter Funnies – You can make the garter toss a funny part of the wedding. Get either a VERY sexy pair or a LARGE pair of underwear and have the groom tuck it into his sleeve. He then pulls out the underwear laughing. Your guests will expect a garter so this should be a great way to get your guests laughing. The groom can then proceed to taking off the garter.

Couple Dance – If you did the garter and bouquet toss with singles, pick a slow song and have the couple that caught the bouquet and garter start the dance off together. Have the bridal party and the rest of the guests join in after a little while. Don't let them dance alone too long cause it might get awkward for them. You can even choose an upbeat song depending on the type of party and the guests.

Young and Youngest – if you know that you will have a lot of girls under the age of 18 at your wedding, make two bouquet tosses. Get all the girls under 18 and have the maid of honor toss a small bouquet. This bouquet will signify the next girl to be a maid of honor. Then have all the girls 18 and over line up for the bride's bouquet. This way the younger girls will have a lesser chance of getting trampled.

Girls in a Circle – This is taken from a Finland tradition. Have the single ladies stand in a circle around you while being blindfolded. When the DJ starts the music, the girls will turn one way and you will slowly turn the other way. When you're ready, shout "stop" and you all stop. Reach the bouquet out in front of you and whomever you are facing will receive the bouquet.

Squeeze the Buttocks – if your guests are the sort of silly everything goes guests, you may want to try this instead of tossing the garter. Have the men (married and single) stand in a line side by side. The bride should be blind folded. She will then squeeze every guys butt and rate it. The man with the highest score wins the garter.

Lifting the Lady – All the men stand in a circle facing outward. The women all stand around them facing inward. As the DJ plays the music, the men walk in a circle. When the music stops, each guy takes the closes girl to him and lifts her in his arms. All the women still standing will sit down and one or more men (depending on how fast you want the game to finish) also sits down. The concept is that of musical chairs. You continue the game until the last man lifts his last woman. The woman then receives the bouquet.