THE BOUQUET & GARTER EVENT

Some Questions To Consider:
1. Do you want to have a Bouquet & Garter Event?
2. When do you want to do the Bouquet & Garter Event?
3. How do you want to do the Bouquet & Garter Event?
4. What type of music do you want for the Bouquet & Garter Event?
5. How can you modify the Bouquet & Garter Event to make it different?


1. Do you want to have a Bouquet & Garter Event?
Why you might want to do this:
A. You will have a lot of single people at your reception.
B. It’s tradition, and you’re having a very traditional wedding reception.

Why you might not want to do this:
A. There are not going to be a lot of single people there.
B. It’s tradition, and you’re having an untraditional wedding reception.

What most couples do:
Outside of the issue of the number of single people at your reception, the Bouquet & Garter Event is mostly a matter of taste. Some couples like it, some don’t. We guess that around 60% of couples will have some kind of Bouquet & Garter Event.


2. When do you want to do the Bouquet & Garter Event?
Some possible choices:
a. After the first course of dinner.
b. Immediately after dinner.
c. Later in the reception, during the open dance floor portion.

a. After the first course of dinner.
This option is for those couples who want everything done as soon as possible. The Bouquet & Garter Event sometimes follows the Cake Cutting and/or Parent Dances in this time slot. Also, as mentioned previously, there may be a considerable time gap between the first course or salad, and the time the main meal comes out. You can, if you choose, move the Bouquet & Garter Event up to this time slot so that you can keep the guests entertained while they wait for the meal.

b. Immediately after dinner.
If done at this time, the Bouquet & Garter Event will usually follow whatever events are left. In other words, it is usually one of the last events before opening the dance floor.

c. Later in the reception, during the open dance floor portion.
If you don’t want to place all your special events up front in the reception, and would like to save one for later, the Bouquet & Garter is probably the one to pick. There are really no time restraints with the Bouquet & Garter Event - It’s not like the First Dance, which must be done early in order to officially open the dance floor; it’s not like the Parent Dances which are a sentimental favorite that grandparents and other older guests like to see before they sometimes need to leave early; and, it’s not like the Cake Cutting, which must be done early if it is to be used as dessert. Also, the Bouquet & Garter Event is usually festive, fun, and sometimes a bit rowdy, so it often fits in well with the open dance portion of the reception.

What most couples do:
Most couples do the Bouquet & Garter Event later in the reception, during the open dance floor portion.


3. How do you want to do the Bouquet & Garter Event ?
Some choices to consider:
a. The traditional toss
b. Toss the bouquet or garter only
c. Toss the bouquet and garter together
d. Do the toss and have the garter placed on the bouquet catcher’s leg
e. Do the toss and have the garter placed on the garter catcher’s leg

a. The traditional toss.
Traditionally, the bride tosses the bouquet to all of the single women in the audience. Then the groom tosses the garter to the single men.

b. Toss the bouquet or garter only.
You don’t have to toss both the bouquet and garter. You can toss just the bouquet, or just the garter.

c. Toss the bouquet and garter together.
This is a little different, but perfectly acceptable. You may want to do this especially if there will not be many single people, and you’d like to have at least a small crowd on the dance floor.

d. Do the toss and have the garter placed on the bouquet catcher’s leg.
The man who caught the garter would place it on the leg of the woman who caught the bouquet.

e. Do the toss and have the garter placed on the garter catcher’s leg.
After the man places the garter on the woman’s leg, the roles would be reversed and the woman who caught the bouquet would place the garter on the leg of the man who caught the garter.

What most couples do:
Most couples will toss the bouquet and garter. If they are going to toss one or the other, 95% of the time it is the bouquet. About half of those who toss the bouquet and garter will have it placed on the bouquet catcher’s leg, and maybe a quarter of those couples choose to then reverse the roles and have the garter placed on the garter catcher’s leg.


4. What type of music do you want for the bouquet & garter event?
Mainly, you want fun music. There are several selections that fit that description and that can be used effectively for the bouquet & garter event. Ask your DJ or MC for some suggestions.


5. How can you modify the Bouquet & Garter Event to make it different?
Some choices to consider:
a. Involving the Flower Girl and Ring Bearer
b. Replacing the bouquet and garter with nerf balls
c. Using a game of hot potato
d. Combining with the Anniversary Dance
e. Having a Junior Bouquet Toss
f. Using balloons and a flower
g. Spinning the Bride/Groom around

a. Involving the Flower Girl and Ring Bearer
The flower girl and ring bearer are often too young to participate in catching the bouquet and garter. If you would still like them to be involved, you can try the following: Have the Flower Girl walk out to the dance floor and hand the bouquet to the Bride just before she is to toss it. You can do the same with the Ring Bearer handing the garter to the Groom. If they are old enough, you can also have them give you a countdown to throwing it.

b. Replacing the bouquet and garter with nerf balls
Who says you have to toss a bouquet and garter? Substitute a round nerf ball for the bouquet, and a nerf football for the garter, have the Bride and Groom toss these instead, and watch the fun begin! These nerf balls have a tendency to bounce around, making both of these tosses more eventful. In fact, sometimes, the nerf football toss will resemble a fumble! 

c. Using a game of hot potato
In this variation, the Bride and Groom come out to the middle of the dance floor. All of the single women are called out to the dance floor, and asked to form a circle around the Bride and Groom. All the single men then come out and form a circle around the women. The Bride then hands the bouquet to one of the women, while the Groom hands the garter to one of the men. The DJ/MC begins a song, and the single women and men begin to pass the bouquet and garter around. The persons holding the bouquet and garter when the music stops get to keep them, or participate in whatever is next. This variation can also be done with the nerf ball and nerf football. When using the nerf balls, try to space the participants out so that they have to pass the balls around to each other rather than handing them to each other.

d. Combining with the Anniversary Dance
The Anniversary Dance is a popular event in which the longest married couple is honored at a wedding reception. If you choose not to toss the bouquet, you can give it as a prize to the longest married couple. The garter can also be given as a prize. In fact, if you choose, you can even ask the husband of the longest married couple to place the garter on his wife’s leg. If you choose to do this, just make sure that the couple is not too elderly to be able to do it. (e.g. there might be some difficulty in getting down on one knee, etc.)

e. Having a Junior Bouquet and/or a Junior Garter Toss.
If you are concerned about the ages of the participants, you can have a Junior Bouquet Toss for girls 15 years of age and under after the official bouquet toss, and even a Junior Garter Toss for boys 15 years of age and under. This will preclude a potentially embarrassing situation. (See "A word of caution" below)

f. Using balloons and a flower.
Blow up 10 - 20 small balloons. Make sure the balloons are a dark, solid color that you cannot see through easily. In one of the balloons, place a single flower (it can be real or artificial). Blow up a larger balloon, and place the small balloons in the larger one. Hang the large balloon from the ceiling. When it comes time for the Bouquet Event, have all of the single girls stand under the large balloon. The MC can then give them these instructions: “When the large balloon is popped, several small balloons will come down on you. In one of the balloons is a small flower. Your job is to pop the balloons in whatever way you want and find the flower. Whoever finds the flower will receive the bouquet.” After one of the girls has found the flower, the Bride can present the bouquet to her.

g. Spinning the Bride/Groom around
In this version the MC asks the Bride and Groom out to the dance floor and then calls all the single women to the dance floor, asking them to form a circle around the bridal couple. The Groom then blindfolds the Bride and spins her around a couple of times. When he is done, the Bride can reposition herself, or she can stay in that spot, and she tosses the bouquet from there. This process can be repeated with the Groom and single men.

h. Reverse the order of the tosses.
Instead of the Bride tossing the bouquet followed by the Groom tossing the garter, have the Groom toss first, followed by the Bride. Not dramatically different, but certainly less traditional.

What most couples do:
Although most couples still choose the old fashioned toss, many choose to combine this event with the Anniversary Dance. When they choose to combine it with the Anniversary Dance, most couples will stop at presenting the bouquet as a prize to the longest married couple. Very few will give the garter to the couple, and even fewer will choose to have the longest married couple reenact the “garter on the leg” scenario.


A word of caution:
If you are going to choose to have the garter placed on the bouquet catcher’s leg, keep in mind the ages of the participants involved. You may want to avoid a scene where the Groom’s 50 year old uncle has to put the garter on a 9 year old girl’s leg, or where your 8 year old cousin has to place the garter on your 35 year old friend’s leg. While it may look cute, all parties involved are often very uncomfortable. Here are some ways to avoid having this happen:

1. Eliminate anyone less than 16 years of age from participating in the bouquet and garter event. To do this you can have the MC call only “the single girls who are old enough to drive” out onto the dance floor, and do the same for the men. This eliminates anyone who is too young. Later have a Junior Bouquet and/or a Junior Garter Toss.

2. Allow all ages to participate, and if a youngster catches either the bouquet or garter, have the garter go on an arm instead of a leg.

3. Skip the “garter on the leg” scenario altogether.