A wedding bouquet is the main and important attribute, which the bride, if she breaks up with, does so only in the case when she does not want to upset her unmarried girlfriends. So in ancient times, the newlywed kept flowers for a long time, along with all her wedding attire, as a touching memory of the wedding. The very tradition of throwing the bride’s bouquet is familiar to us thanks to American women; it was they who gave us this mischievous and emotional wedding idea, which is still popular today.
How to throw a bouquet, classic version
The ritual with a bouquet is not just fun, girlish dreams and dreams are involved here. It is believed that by giving her bouquet to her friend, the newlywed conveys a grain of her happiness, which will subsequently give the lucky woman a faithful marriage. Therefore, if it does not go against your principles, you should not deprive others of hope.
This is not only a classic, but more an American version. The bride should turn her back to the girls who are not yet married and, without looking, throw her wedding bouquet to them, throwing it over her head. The one who, by chance or due to her own dexterity, catches the thrown symbol of marriage will become the first contender for quick family happiness. Tradition says: if you want to get married, keep the talisman you catch in a safe place.
Today's bridal bouquets are so chic and often amaze with their bizarre shape. Throwing away such a masterpiece, even with good intentions, can harm it. Therefore, often at such ceremonies, the bride throws a plush toy or an artificial bouquet to the company of unmarried girls, and subsequently grandly presents her wedding bouquet to the applicant.
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It also happens that the bride does not want to give her flowers, because of other views, or she plans to take the fiance’s fiery gift with her on her honeymoon, the second bouquet of twins helps out. To do this, someone who organizes a wedding, in particular, orders bouquets for the bride, needs to order two of them, duplicating each other.
Wedding traditions: the bride throws a bouquet
A little about the tradition itself
The bride's bouquet is given to her by the groom the moment they see each other for the first time on their wedding day.
This is a symbolic and touching gesture. Therefore, a bouquet is a kind of symbol of love and wedding, which the bride gives to one of her friends. By the way, before, instead of a bouquet, the bride threw a wreath of flowers to her bridesmaids. Usually towards the end of the evening, when the entertainment program comes to an end, the bride is invited to throw a bouquet, giving good luck to one of her unmarried friends to be the next to get married. You can add a little variety to this tradition by making some adjustments to it.
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Author of the photo: Tatyana Tsvetkova | Wedding of Alexander and Elena
Bouquet-understudy
If you want to save the bouquet after the wedding, then it is better to prepare a backup for “throwing”, then your friend will also have a memory of your wedding, and you will be pleased with the most important and favorite bouquet for a few more days (which can then be dried).
The double is usually made either exactly the same as the bride’s bouquet, or in a similar style. If you don’t have many unmarried friends, then you can please them all by throwing a duplicate bouquet that will scatter into several small bouquets.
Bridesmaid Gifts
You can also, before throwing the bouquet, or instead, give each friend a gift with your wishes and pleasant words. These could be just boxes with cute or humorous notes, understandable only to them, or there could be small bouquets for each friend. It all depends on your imagination.
You can add a little fun by organizing a kind of auction for the bouquet. Assignments or competitions are at your discretion. But you shouldn’t drag out this event so that the guests don’t get bored.
Alternative to throwing
If you have a fairly heavy and massive bouquet, we advise you not to throw it, but to conduct an alternative “presentation of the bouquet”. The friends stand in a circle, in the center of which is the blindfolded bride. Then the bride is unwound and she hands the bouquet to one of her bridesmaids. No one is fighting for the bouquet, but rather they surround you with their care.
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Photo by: Artem and Anna Kozionov | Wedding of Vsevolod and Anna
A few recommendations
- • If there will be only one unmarried friend at the wedding, then you can simply symbolically give her a bouquet, saying pleasant words and good wishes.
- • Don't throw the bouquet too heavy. Although the flowers themselves are very delicate, throwing a massive bouquet can slightly spoil the impression of such a beautiful tradition. In this case, a double is needed.
- • You can throw the bouquet immediately after the ceremony or, as is usually done, at the end of the evening.
- • If the bouquet was standing in water, be sure to dry it before throwing it so that it does not fly away wet.
- • If the bouquet is decorated with a brooch or long ribbons, it is advisable to remove them in advance so that it is convenient for your girlfriends to catch it.
- • When throwing a bouquet, be sure to mentally wish the girl who catches it love and happiness, because your wish will definitely come true!
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Author of the photo: Lyuba Chulyaeva | Wedding of Polina and Andrey
There are so many beautiful wedding traditions! Don't miss our article "9 Essential Wedding Traditions"
If you have a lot of girlfriends
More typical for a purely Russian wedding. The girlfriends, to the sound of the melody, stand in a circle and, holding hands, begin to move to the beat of the music. In the center of the circle with her eyes tied with a beautiful ribbon, in the opposite direction and with a bouquet in her hands, the bride is spinning. At a pre-agreed signal, for example, stop the music or a signal from the groom, who stands with his back to the round dance, all the girls, together with the bride, stop. The one who happens to be opposite the newlywed will receive the wedding bouquet.
An alternative to throwing the bridal bouquet: what to replace the ritual with?
Throwing a bouquet at a wedding, although it is a beautiful tradition, has recently become increasingly abandoned. There are several obvious reasons for this:
- the ritual is constantly carried out at weddings, and has already become quite boring;
- this event can be quite traumatic - if the bouquet is heavy or has sharp protruding parts, it can accidentally injure someone;
- cases of women fighting over a bouquet are not uncommon;
- the bride may overdo it and throw the bouquet at the ceiling, wall or somewhere else: the composition itself may fall apart or damage interior items;
- In many countries, including ours, it is believed that giving your bouquet to someone is a bad wedding omen.
And if the last issue can be easily solved with the help of a stand-in bouquet, then all other problems are more difficult to deal with. Therefore, the bride can come up with a worthy alternative to throwing a bouquet. Here are a couple of them.
Ribbons instead of throwing a bouquet
If throwing a bouquet does not suit you, you can play it in another way. Several multi-colored ribbons are applied to the base of the flower arrangement according to the number of unmarried girls present. One of them is firmly tied, and the rest are only slightly fixed. The bride with the bouquet stands in the center, each of the girls takes one free end of the ribbon at random and moves a meter away from the bride. Then the teammates pull the ribbons. The one whose ribbon is tightly tied to the bouquet pulls it out of the bride’s hands and becomes its new owner.
Throwing a flower wreath
If the bride’s look includes an accessory such as a wreath made from the same flowers as the bouquet, then you can throw it. So you won’t have to part with the flower arrangement, and your friend won’t be left without a talisman for her quick marriage.
Giving bouquets to all unmarried girlfriends
To avoid competition and not offend anyone, you can make several duplicate bouquets for the bride. It is not necessary to repeat the main flower arrangement exactly; you can make simplified copies so as not to go broke. Give flowers to each friend and wish them speedy family happiness.
Flower arrangement raffle
An excellent alternative to throwing a bouquet is to draw it. Write your friends' names on pieces of paper, roll them up and put them in a beautiful jar. Then draw one at random and then give the lucky girl her prize.
So as not to offend anyone
A wedding is a joyful event not only for the newlyweds, but also for the guests. In order not to deprive all unmarried girls of playful pleasure, especially if there are only 2-3 of them left, you can give a bouquet to everyone. The situation is saved by a large, chic bouquet, which, if desired, can be easily divided into parts. Before throwing flowers, the bride just needs to untie the ribbon and she will have three bouquets in her hands at once, which she will throw without looking at her surprised and happy girlfriends. The whole beauty of this idea is its unexpectedness; don’t let anyone else know about your planned plan, and everything will go as well as possible.
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Garter toss: classic scenario
How to throw a garter at a wedding? The ritual is somewhat similar to throwing the bride’s bouquet, only it is organized for single men. The classic version looks like this: all the single guys stand in a row, and the groom, turning away, throws the garter. The one who caught it is the one who gets married next.
But first the groom must remove it from the bride’s leg. Sometimes girls don’t like this fragment of tradition. Many people find it revealing, so couples tend to replace the garter with another item. And then the bride and groom have a question: “What can you throw instead of a garter?” There are many interesting ideas!
The bride's garter: the emergence of a tradition
Since the middle of the last millennium, young ladies began to use garters to maintain stockings and pantaloons at just above the knee. After many years, the need for such a detail of clothing has disappeared, but interest in it returns again and again.
Currently, stockings are produced with a silicone strip sewn into them for a firm hold on the leg. This accessory is not only comfortable, but looks sexy. Modern women continue to use them for attractiveness, seductiveness and coquetry.
For the first time, the bride's garter began to be used as an attribute of a wedding scenario in distant America, and then the tradition began to take hold in Russia and became almost mandatory. It used to be that taking an object home with you from a wedding was a sign of further happiness and prosperity.
Therefore, some of the guests certainly tried to tear off from the bride’s outfit not only the decoration in the form of flowers, but even a piece of the dress (about wedding dresses -). Whether brides might like this is an unnecessary question. Therefore, they tried to change traditions in order to keep the wedding dress safe and sound.
This wonderful tradition appeared: the bride threw a wedding bouquet to her friends, and the groom threw the bride’s garter to his friends. The second remains for the young spouses as a memory of such a significant day in their lives and is therefore called honey.
What bouquet should the bride throw?
What kind of bouquet does the bride throw at a wedding?
Girls have a lot of questions regarding the composition itself. There are no strict rules.
There are nuances that it is advisable to observe:
- Do not use flowers that are too vulnerable. For example, violets are so delicate and thin in structure that they can crumble already in flight.
- Carefully tie the composition at the base with a thick thread. You should not lose a single branch from your bouquet. Flowers should be tightly tied.
- Remove the composition from the vase in advance so that it dries a little. No one will be pleased to catch a wet accessory, which, moreover, can slip out of their hands.
- Compositions that are too massive and bulky are completely unsuitable for use.
Nowadays, an increasing number of brides do not want to part with their wedding symbol and talisman of love. Therefore, the girls began to resort to tricks, namely the use of a double. On the one hand, the young ladies thereby preserve traditions and please their friends.
On the other hand, they manage to take their main attribute of love home in beautiful condition, where they can admire the floral creation for a long time.
