Wedding traditions. Take them or leave them, but New Beginnings Bridal Studio in Puyallup became curious about the garter…what, when, where, WHY! We came up with quite a few “legends”, but here’s two of our favorites.
Angie Mitchell Photography
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Sometime in the early 14th century England (the Dark Ages), it was considered to be lucky if one was able to obtain a piece of the bride’s attire. Well, as imagined, this quickly turned into a frightening scenario for the couple. The sweet little bride would be mobbed by their wedding guests, very possibly ending up scantily clothed if her groom and attendants could not fend off the excited guests. Thank goodness someone sensible cleverly thought that if the groom removed a piece of his bride’s wedding dress and tossed it out to a random man after the ceremony, it would save the wedding couple much stress, embarrassment and possible injury. The lucky guest would then wear it on his hat for the duration of the celebration, and later give it to a woman for luck.
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In France, a “garter game” took place between the groom and groomsmen. After the groom removed his bride’s garter (which was used to hold up her stockings), he would emerge from the bridal suite and give it to his attendants to see who could toss and land it on his nose. The man who succeeded in the task would be the next to marry. Insert “rolling eyes” emoji.
Angie Mitchell Photography
Thankfully, today it stands strictly as a fun custom. There are no longer etiquette guidelines for what a garter should look like or be made of, so have fun and be creative! Here’s a friendly suggestion: Your fiancé has most likely not considered the process he will go through during his collection of the garter. Some brides have been, although unintended, publicly exposed during the “garter gathering”, so maybe some pre-thought and direction on how the wedding dress gets lifted wouldn’t be a bad idea!
