Wedding Bouquet Toss Ideas & Alternatives
The bouquet toss is an age old tradition, but is it going out of style? This is a great question and there are a lot of opinions. Here’s what I found.
So, should I skip the bouquet toss? The bouquet toss is still commonly done but is going out of style because single women either are happy being single or don’t want to be reminded of their singleness and seen as desperate.
While participation in bouquet tosses has decreased over the past several years, many brides still choose to do it at their wedding reception. Here’s what you need to know and ideas for bouquet toss alternatives.
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Why Does the Bride Throw the Bouquet, anyway?
When the tradition started hundreds of years ago because it was thought that having a piece of the bride’s attire was good luck. This often brought much discomfort to the bride as attendants would try to rip off her dress. Initially, it was a superstition that guests took very seriously and therefore put the bride in an akward position.
The tradition then changed to where the bride would quickly throw her bouquet to the ladies and run away with her groom to the bridal chamber. Once inside, the groom would open the door and throw out her garter to the awaiting guys. The garter toss superstition for the guys was viewed the same way as for the ladies, whoever caught it was believed to be the next to be wed.
In modern times, the bouquet toss has been a traditional part of the reception festivities. The emcee asks all the single ladies to gather on the dance floor and get the best spot and angle to catch the bouquet.
Sometimes the groom will spin the bride around a few times to make it interesting and she tosses the bouquet with her back to the single ladies. As tradition has it, whoever catches the bouquet is the next in line to marry.
What once was a very serious part of the wedding events has now become a light-hearted and often very humorous part of the reception.
I can see why some brides choose not to have the bouquet toss and why some single ladies choose not to participate. It can seem a little ridiculous that women would clamor and fight for a bouquet (especially since it really doesn’t bring “good luck”). Additionally, single women don’t want to appear “desperate” before the whole crowd. However, it is a fun tradition and it’s completely up to the bride if she wants to do it.
Which Bouquet Does the Bride Throw?
Most brides want to keep their bouquet as a keepsake. Whether the flowers are real or fake, she’ll most likely want to preserve them for years to come.
For real flowers, the bouquet can be freeze-dried and displayed in a shadow box or ass a centerpiece on their table. This will make a beautiful memory piece that the new couple can display in their house.
Additionally, the brides bouquet will like have been the most expensive bouquet purchased for the wedding. It could also be very heavy. It would like likely be very difficult and damaging.
Therefore, most brides will purchase a second bouquet, called a throw bouquet, to use for the wedding toss. The throw-away bouquet can be made out of a few flowers and some greens (either real or silk). Another idea for the bouquet toss is to simply toss one of the bridesmaid’s bouquets.
Throw bouquets are really simple to make yourself too. Just pick up a few silk flowers from the store. Using some pretty ribbon that matches your theme and colors, you’ll be able to create a beautiful, yet inexpensive toss bouquet.
If you want a throw bouquet made with real flowers, you can ask your florist to make a small bouquet with a few of your flowers and some greens. This will look so nice since it will match your wedding colors and theme.
Great Bouquet Toss Songs
The music for your bouquet toss can make a huge difference in getting your group engaged in the fun. Here are some great bouquet toss songs from various genres:
Cosmic Girl by Jamiroquai
Oh Pretty Woman by Roy Orbison
Just a Girl by No Doubt
All I Wanna Do by Sheryl Crow
Ladies Night by Kool & the Gang
Dear Future Husband by Meghan Trainor
Only Girl (In the World) by Rihanna
Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It) by Beyoncé
Glamorous by Fergie and Ludacris
Wannabe by Spice Girls
Girls Just Want to Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper
Hit Me with Your Best Shot by Pat Benatar
Eye of the Tiger by Survivor
American Woman by Lenny Kravitz
Another One Bites the Dust by Queen
Isn’t She Lovely by Stevie Wonder
It’s Raining Men by the Weather Girls
P.Y.T (Pretty Young Thing) by Michael Jackson
Uptown Girl by Billy Joel
Love Shack by The B-52’s
Man! I Feel Like a Woman! by Shania Twain
Stuck Like Glue by Sugarland
This One’s for the Girls by Martina McBride
These Boots are Made for Walking by Nancy Sinatra
Findin’ A Good Man by Danielle Peck
Brick House by The Commodores
Big Girls Don’t Cry by The Four Seasons
Alternatives to Throwing the Bouquet
A lot of women are choosing not to have a traditional bouquet toss. They choose to skip it simply because they don’t want their single friends and family to feel awkward. Others skip it because they know don’t have very many single women on their guest list. There are some great alternatives for brides to still want to have fun with it!
If you choose one of the alternative ideas below, be sure that you communicate with your DJ exactly what you plan to do. It might be a little awkward if he/she announce a traditional bouquet toss that in didn’t intend on having!
Get a breakaway bouquet. A breakaway bouquet is meant to break apart when it’s thrown so that more than one lady has a chance to catch something.
Have an anniversary dance. Ask all married couples to the dance floor for a sentimental dance song. Throughout the song, the emcee will start counting up, asking couples to stay on the dance floor if they have been married longer than five years, ten years, fifteen years and so on. Give the bouquet to the last couple who remains since they are the longest married couple there.
Toss to the married ladies. Since the bouquet toss makes some single women feel awkward, you could toss the bouquet to all the married women instead. Whoever catches it starts the open dance floor with her husband.
Have a girls-only dance. Instead of throwing the bouquet, invite all women (single or married) to the dance floor to dance to a fun song. If you’re skipping the garter toss as well, follow with a guys-only dance.
Give flowers to all of the single ladies. For some women, being single is not what they wanted in life. The bride could give each single lady a flower and share encouraging words with them.
Give flowers to special women in your life. You can take flowers from your own bouquet or have a separate bouquet made and give a flower to women you want to honor. This could be your mother, grooms mother, a mentor, a dear friend, etc. This is a neat way to honor them and thank them for making you the woman you are today.
Give a bouquet to an engaged couple. Share the love an joy with a soon-to-be-married couple and offer a toast to their future marriage.
Include everyone. Instead of only inviting the single ladies, have everyone get on the dance floor (men, women, married, and single). Whoever catches the bouquet wins a prize. For example, you could give them a “movie night” prize that includes tickets, food, etc.
Skip it entirely. People who say they completely skipped the bouquet toss noted that their guests didn’t even miss it. It’s completely okay to skip it entirely.
Related Questions
What comes first, the garter toss or bouquet toss? The bride usually tosses the bouquet first and then the groom tosses the garter.
When is the bouquet toss during the reception? The bouquet toss usually happens during the second half of the reception after guests have already spent time dancing.
