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

The bridal 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 version. Flowers were not used at all, the bride went to the altar with three spikelets of wheat. The bouquet served as a talisman. He served as a kind of protection of the bride from negative energy, and it was never allowed to pass it on to anyone. The tradition of throwing the bride's bouquet to her unmarried girlfriends appeared relatively recently.

No one knows how the tradition of throwing a bridal bouquet to unmarried women began, but there were a lot of speculations. 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 get it. Subsequently, it acquired a completely different meaning, which is familiar to us all: the definition of the future bride.

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

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

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

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

If there are no single ladies at the celebration, the bride should give a bouquet to the first unmarried girl on the way to the banquet. Or you can do more romantic and let the wedding bouquet along the river. If there is one unmarried girl at the party, the bride should just give her the wedding bouquet, saying a few warm 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 was registered, goes to the temple with the bridegroom and gives flowers to one of the saints. This is done as a sign of gratitude for the fact that the heavenly angels allowed the two earthly lovers to meet and unite in a lasting union. In the UK there is another tradition, according to which the wedding bouquet should be laid to one of the monuments.

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

• The first alternative tradition is to use tapes. Wedding bouquet is still involved in this action. Beautiful satin ribbons, which were chosen in the same color scheme as the wedding decorations, are tied to the bouquet. The highlight of this method is that only one ribbon is tied, the bride holds the rest. She and all unmarried ladies are in a circle. Stretching her hand with a bouquet, the bride gives participants the opportunity to choose a ribbon for themselves. At the signal of the presenter, all the participants are pulling at the ribbon, and the one whose ribbon will remain in the hand of the bride becomes the winner of this competition. According to tradition, she is the next to be married.

• An interesting and quite original alternative to the traditional throwing of a wedding bouquet by the bride is the way using the chest. It contains a wedding bouquet and is locked with a key. Then the key is put in a satin pouch or some beautiful container and mixed with keys that are not suitable for the lock. Each of the single girls takes one and tries to get a wedding bouquet. The one that succeeds wins the competition.

• In modern wedding celebrations there was a place for Old Russian traditions, namely: round dance bouquet of the bride. All unmarried, present at the holiday, form a circle in which the bride stands in the middle. Then rhythmic music is turned on, and participants begin to dance. Meanwhile, the bride is spinning in the opposite direction. This method is one of the most competitive, since, anticipating the transfer of the bouquet, some bridesmaids begin to move faster or slower, thereby creating a cheerful and joyful atmosphere. Turning off the music will be a signal that all participants in the process need to stop. The girl, in front of which will be the outstretched hand of the bride with a bouquet, wins the competition.

• The following method is extremely touching., he will show the warm attitude of the bride to all the ladies present at the celebration. However, you must know in advance the exact number of participants. 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 the wedding bouquet, it will be divided into several parts, and each of the participants will come out the winner.

• According to the following method, all responsibility is transferred to the side of luck or chance. Each of the unmarried girls are given the opportunity to write their name on paper. Then the paper is mixed in a glass jar. The task of the bride is only to pull out a piece of paper and hand a bouquet to the one whose name is indicated on it.
• An extremely original way of delivering the flower arrangement to the hands of the bridesmaid is use a big slingshot. Despite the seeming danger of the process, everything is pretty harmless. Two of the men invited to the wedding hold a large slingshot made in advance, while the bride pulls the elastic and throws flowers. This moment will definitely become a vivid and memorable event that guests will remember for a very long time. Do not forget to take some colorful photos.
• An interesting alternative is creating an intellectual task. Each girl will be asked to answer some humorous questions about family life. The very active girl is given a bouquet with warm wishes.

• The following method has not yet gained wide popularity, but you can surprise those present with an original approach. On the sole of the bride's shoes, the names of all the girls participating in the contest are written with a marker. During the entire celebration, all guests and the bride herself are not allowed to look at the back of the shoes. At the end of the celebration, the presenter and the bride decide which name will be chosen: that which has faded more or less. The winner sends the bride flowers.

Arguing about the alternative methods of transferring the flower arrangement from the bride to the unmarried girl, it is worth mentioning the original types of wedding bouquets. For example, very few people know, but for the competition, a doubler bouquet is often used to replace the original. He is completely identical to what the bride holds during the entire marriage ceremony.

As a rule, such a bouquet weighs much lighter than the original. This is due to the fact that the doubler bouquet looks the same as the original one, but it is much smaller in size. Florists try to make it as easy as possible to make it easier for the bride to throw him.

According to another tradition, the bride, in order to remain happily married, throughout the entire celebration should not part with the flowers that were with her during the marriage ceremony. It is believed that the flowers absorb the positive energy emanating from two hearts in love, and should not be passed on to anyone.

Bouquet design is limited only by the bride's fantasy. But traditionally, it is customary to tie a bag of small size into the flowers, in 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 her. However, this tradition is completely optional for execution and is only a whim of the bride herself. And also it is possible to add a flower composition with any decorative ornaments.

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