How did the tradition of bride throwing a bouquet come about and is there an alternative to it?

The bride’s bouquet, perhaps, delights those present at the wedding no less than a wedding dress. Few people know, but many years ago the wedding bouquet was completely different from the modern design. Flowers were not used at all, the bride walked to the altar with three ears of wheat. The bouquet served as a mascot. It served as a kind of protection for the bride from negative energy, and in no case was it allowed to transfer it to anyone. The tradition of throwing a bridal bouquet to unmarried friends has appeared relatively recently.

No one knows how the tradition of throwing a wedding bouquet to unmarried women came about, but a lot of assumptions have accumulated. According to one of them, in many countries, a wedding bouquet was a symbol of a happy life and success. Naturally, all those present at the celebration sought to receive it. Subsequently, it acquired a completely different meaning, which is familiar to all of us: the definition of a future bride.

Today, the tradition of throwing a bouquet is used as an innocent entertainment. There are no definite rules, and this can be done at any time convenient for the bride and groom. For example, after leaving the registry office, during a photo shoot or walk, at the beginning of the banquet or when the celebration comes to an end.

As a rule, most of the invited hosts try to plan a tradition before the banquet is completed in order to avoid possible embarrassment with already intoxicated guests. In addition, this moment is a kind of culmination of the whole evening, and therefore should be well organized.

The host should make sure that all participants are in place to catch the bouquet. Therefore, it is advisable to announce the upcoming contest a couple of minutes before its start and explain the rules in detail to others. First of all, a bride is invited to demonstrate to her guests her beautiful bouquet and answer the tricky question about who will catch the bouquet this evening. Then all female representatives who have not yet been married are invited.

For unmarried friends of the groom, there is a similar entertainment with throwing the garter, which is previously removed from the graceful legs of the bride. A man who caught a garter, according to tradition, will soon meet his soul mate and marry her.

In the event that there are no unmarried ladies at the celebration, the bride must give the bouquet to the first unmarried girl she meets on the way to the banquet. Or you can act more romantically and start a wedding bouquet along the river. If one unmarried girl is present at the celebration, then the bride should simply give her a wedding bouquet, saying a few kind words.

The tradition of throwing a wedding bouquet came to us from the west, and appeared in America. In France, for example, the bride after her marriage has been registered, together with the groom goes to the temple and gives flowers to one of the saints. This is done as a token of gratitude that the heavenly angels allowed the two earthly lovers to meet and unite in a strong union. In the UK, there is another tradition, according to which a wedding bouquet should be laid at one of the monuments.

When planning a wedding, newlyweds are increasingly moving away from this tradition, choosing in favor of more original solutions. In this regard, over the past few years, many variations have appeared. Among them, there are successful ones, and they are widely used.

• The first alternative tradition is to use ribbons. The bridal bouquet is still involved in this action. Beautiful satin ribbons that were chosen in the same color scheme as the wedding decorations are tied to a bouquet. The highlight of this method is that only one ribbon is tied, the bride holds the rest with her hand. She and all unmarried ladies become in a circle. Stretching out a hand with a bouquet, the bride allows the participants to choose a ribbon. At the signal of the host, all the participants are pulled by the ribbon, and the one whose ribbon will remain in the bride’s hand becomes the winner of this contest. It is she, according to tradition, who will next get married.

• An interesting and rather original alternative to the traditional bride throwing a wedding bouquet is method using a chest. A wedding bouquet is placed in it and locked with a key. Then the key is placed in a satin bag or some beautiful container and mixed with unsuitable keys. Each of the unmarried girls takes one and tries to get a wedding bouquet. The one who succeeds wins the competition.

• In modern weddings, there was a place for ancient Russian traditions, namely: Round dance of a bride's bouquet. All unmarried people present at the celebration form a circle in which the bride stands in the middle. Then rhythmic music is turned on, and the participants begin to dance. Meanwhile, the bride spins in the opposite direction. This method is one of the most competitive, since, anticipating the delivery of the bouquet, some bridesmaids begin to move faster or slower, thereby creating a fun and joyful atmosphere. Turning off the music will be a signal that all participants in the process need to stop. The girl, opposite which there will be an outstretched hand of the bride with a bouquet, wins the competition.

• The next method is extremely touching., he will show the bride’s warm attitude to all the ladies present at the celebration. However, you need to know the exact number of participants in advance. The essence of this method is to create several identical flower arrangements and combine them into one so that it looks like a whole bouquet. When the bride will throw a wedding bouquet, it will be divided into several parts, and each of the participants will be the winner.

• According to the following method, all responsibility passes to the side of luck or chance. Each of the unmarried girls is given the opportunity to write their name on paper. Then the pieces of paper are mixed in a glass jar. The task of the bride is only to pull out a piece of paper and give the bouquet to the one whose name is indicated on it.
• An extremely original way of delivering a flower arrangement to the hands of a bridesmaid is the use of a big slingshot. Despite the apparent danger of the process, everything is quite harmless. Two of the men invited to the wedding hold a prefabricated large slingshot, while the bride pulls on an elastic band and throws flowers. This moment will definitely become a vivid and memorable event that guests will remember for a very long time. Remember to take some colorful photos.
• An interesting alternative is creation of an intellectual task. Each girl will be asked to answer a few humorous questions about family life. The most active girl is given a bouquet with warm parting words.

• The next method has not yet gained wide popularity, but you can surprise those present with an original approach. The names of all the girls participating in the competition are written on the sole of the bride’s shoes with a felt-tip pen. Throughout the celebration, all guests and the bride herself are forbidden to look at the back of the shoes. At the end of the celebration, the host and the bride decide which name will be chosen: what has been erased most or least. The winner of the bride passes flowers.

Speaking about alternative methods of transferring a flower arrangement from a bride to an unmarried girl, it is worth mentioning about the original types of wedding bouquets. For example, few people know, but for a contest, a bouquet-understudy is often used to replace the original. It is completely identical to what the bride holds during the entire wedding ceremony.

As a rule, such a bouquet weighs much lighter than the original. This is due to the fact that the bouquet-understudy, although it looks the same as the original, but in size it is much smaller. Florists try to make it as easy as possible, so that it would be easier for the bride to plant him.

According to another tradition, the bride, in order to remain happy in marriage, throughout the celebration should not part with the flowers that were with her during the wedding ceremony. There is a belief that flowers absorb the positive energy emanating from two hearts in love, and should not be transferred to anyone.

The decoration of the bouquet is limited only by the bride’s imagination. But it is traditionally customary to tie a small bag to flowers, into which coffee beans, tea or the bride’s favorite sweets will be poured. This is a kind of hint that the future bride would invite her friend to visit. However, this tradition is completely non-binding and is only a whim of the bride herself. And also it is possible to supplement a flower arrangement with any decorative jewelry.

On the Slavic version of the origin of the wedding bouquet, see below.