Wedding Receptions: The Garter Toss

     This has been separated from the main text because there are some conservative people who might be offended. At the risk of sounding prudish, if your officiant (especially your priest, minister or rabbi) has been invited to the reception and are in attendance, you might want to alert them in advance, and think twice about doing it until they have already left.

The garter toss has its origins in days of yore in England, when wedding guests would throw stockings into the nuptial chamber: the men at the groom and the women at the bride. It has now become the male equivalent of the bouquet toss.

     The seated bride raises her skirt to reveal a white garter on her thigh. To the amusement of the guests, the groom kneels and removes the garter, then tosses it to the assembled men; the man who catches it is said to be the next to be married.

Variations:

1) For more bawdy humor, the groom may have his hands tied behind his back and have to remove the garter with his teeth.

2) The groom is blindfolded, and before he can approach the bride, a man takes her place and reveals that he is wearing a spare garter on his leg.

     By the way, “rigging” the toss is OK: the groom can throw a bullet pass to the guy he wants to catch the garter (this is especially diplomatic if the fiancé of the recipient of a “private” bouquet handoff is present).