The tradition with the garter, which is thrown like a bride's bouquet, is borrowed from Western culture. This custom leads its history from France, but especially successfully he settled down in the United States. Nevertheless, it is impossible not to notice the popularity of this kind of entertainment in European countries.
Traditions
According to tradition, unmarried young people gather behind the groom, who had previously removed the garter from his bride's right leg. He can do it with his hands, but some prefer to add “peppercorns” and pull off the accessory with his teeth.
By the way, the garters on the brides' legs are not at the same height. The left garter is slightly closer to the upper thigh. After the wedding, it can serve as a family heirloom, and an amusing souvenir.
The removal process itself is done by hand, but some prefer to do it with their teeth. It would be useful to say that this is not always going smoothly and often the bride has to help her chosen one.
As they say, tastes are not argued, but not every environment can accept it with approval. If older relatives are present at the festival, then the young ones may not avoid discomfort and embarrassing situations.
After that, the young man, without looking, throws the garter over his head, and single men try to catch it.
Meaning of ritual
A particularly interesting feature of this ritual is its sacred meaning. It is believed that the guy who caught the garter or the man will soon find his love, and if he is in a relationship, it is nearing the time of pre-wedding unrest.
In other cases, such lucky can be considered successful in women, which is what the resulting accessory says. The lucky one can even tie up his hand with such an ornament and so go through the whole festival, and then either return the garter to the bride or keep it as a souvenir.
What does an accessory look like?
Such a souvenir, although it is nowadays purely decorative, has previously served quite practical purposes. Stockings were attached to the garters, not allowing them to leave their carrier.
Of course, the garter made now by hand is valued especially. In addition, it can be decorated to your own taste and, adding a little imagination, turn into a real masterpiece.
No less interesting are the garters that passed as a relic from one bride to another, because once the accessory was caught, it was supposed to be put on the bride of a man who was once lucky enough to catch her.
But not every girl can agree to the reuse of someone else's underwear, which, by the way, is the garter, despite the signs. Therefore, it is rather difficult to find such options and these traditions gradually go down in history, although they linger in the sideboards of some women.
Do not forget that the west of these traditions is more liberated, which means that one should not expect widespread use of this custom in the post-Soviet space.
On how to play friends at the wedding when throwing a garter, see below.
