The wedding garter is one of the oldest wedding traditions. Long ago during the rough and rowdy times of kings and queens, it was customary for the wedding party to follow or even rush the bride to her marriage bed. For the most part until the excitement wore thin, many new brides found themselves sometimes even stripped naked at the alter or on the way to her wedding bed. Sometimes the bridal party may even accompany the couple to their wedding bed to make sure the marriage was consummated between the couple.
- Wedding Garter Traditions
The wedding garter is part of the wedding undergarments of a new bride. It is a symbol of fertility, consummation, pleasure, joy, happiness and fulfillment as well as a symbol of any offspring or children that may come into the family of the new bride and groom.
In some traditions, after racing to take the wedding garter from the leg of a new bride. Some traditions included a foot race by the men who wanted to grab the wedding garter and some ancient traditions made use of a horse race to retrieve the wedding garter. The man who retrieved it would wear the garter displayed upon his hat or perhaps if he had a sweetheart, he would give it to her to bring them good luck and faithfulness in their relationship.
- A Change in Wedding Garter Tradition
After so long a time of new bride’s being ransacked for a piece of clothing, some bride’s were even knocked down, turned upside down or ever trampled upon during this ritual of grabbing her wedding garter. Down through the years, women began to get smarter about how to distract those in attendance at her wedding. She began throwing her wedding garter or having the groom remove and throw the wedding garter to the crowd of men waiting to catch it. In some traditions, the men would gather in a group and try to catch the wedding garter on their noses. Traditionally, the man who caught or grabbed the wedding garter was to be the next man to get married within the next year. Throwing the wedding garter is one signal useful for letting everyone know that the wedding ceremony was completed.
- A Variation of Tossing the Wedding Garter
Eventually, bride’s began throwing their wedding bouquet, rather than throwing her garter. Throwing the wedding garter and throwing the wedding bouquet are very popular traditions in may wedding ceremonies even today. Wedding garters are generally designed to hold up stockings and many new brides consider them to be an essential wedding accessory to her bridal ensemble. Many brides may choose to use a blue wedding garter to symbolize the “something blue” to bring good luck to her and her groom. However, today you may choose any color that you prefer as well as something that matches your chosen wedding theme and wedding colors.
© 2009 Sara Valor
