A wedding is not just a happy event, but a holiday filled with many special rituals. One of them is associated with the tradition of throwing a garter of the bride into the crowd of bachelors. But what does the accessory promise to the guest who caught him? Why is this element of the wedding toilet needed?
Order of the Garter
To begin acquaintance with an integral part of the bride’s wedding wardrobe, one should begin with an interesting legend about how King Edward III, a talented politician and military leader, father of twelve children and just a gallant gentleman, established the Order of the Garter in England. The Countess of Salisbury used the monarch’s special location - not surprisingly, because she was beautiful, smart, gifted with various talents. Numerous court ladies did not like her, so it is easy to imagine how difficult it was to get out of the awkward situation that happened at one of the royal balls in honor of the next British military victory. Edward III invited Salisbury to perform a dance. During one of the steps, the garter supporting the stocking slid from her thigh and fell right at the king’s feet. Hearing the laughs of court gentlemen and ladies, Eduard picked up the “fallen” accessory from the floor and tied it on his leg (or neck - there are various interpretations), shouting out a phrase that turned into an aphorism: “Shame on someone who thinks about it badly.”
The king established the Order of the Garter, whose members were worthy knights led by the ruler himself. The patron saint of the association is St. George, and his motto is the words spoken by Edward III at the ball.
The Order of the Garter, established April 23, 1348, exists today. His cavaliers can be no more than 25 people at a time, including the monarch himself, who personally elects the remaining knights (often aristocrats with an impeccable reputation). The garter with the motto of the order written on it in the form of a strap encircling the shield is even an element of the country's Royal coat of arms at the moment.
Custom history
There are several interpretations of the emergence of the tradition of putting on a garter on the bride’s leg.
First option
The history of this interesting phenomenon originates in medieval France. Garters in this country were a necessary attribute of a woman’s wardrobe, since without them stockings simply could not stay on the lady’s foot. Of course, the wedding looked much more solemn and festive than everyday. However, after some time, garters ceased to be used in France as before. The revival of custom took place on the American continent, where the tradition was introduced by French emigrants. It was the garter fashion in the United States that laid the foundation for their wild popularity around the globe. Years go by, and the principles of spreading popular trends still remain the same: America today is the main power in the mass-market.
Second option
Garter of the bride is a detail of the wedding image of a medieval Englishwoman. Of course, in the 14th century it was impossible to imagine that the groom threw this intimate part of the wardrobe narrowed into the crowd of his friends, but the inhabitants of the British Isles approached the wedding celebration with even more radical decisions. In those days in Europe, among the guests, the custom was to tear the bride’s wedding outfit into small pieces. According to the deep conviction of the participants of this truly barbaric action, even a small piece of a wedding dress was supposed to bring great happiness to its owner.
Original abduction and wedding races
If we assume that the second version of the appearance of the wedding custom is correct, as a result of which the intimate detail of the bride’s outfit is in the crowd, then in our time it has taken a much more acceptable form. However, in different countries there were different ways to get rid of the garter of the bride. For example, in Northern England, one of the male guests abducted a newly-made spouse right at the altar at the end of the wedding and tore off that very secret detail from her feet. However, later to remove the garter from the bride’s feet became the direct responsibility of the groom, not immediately after the wedding, but at the very end of the festival. In this form, this custom has come down to our time.
However, there were other interesting variations of this tradition. So, in the 19th century, among the men invited to the festival as guests, a kind of "wedding race" was organized. Competed in who will quickly reach the bride's house. The prize for the winner, in fact, was the wedding garter, which he kept for himself.
Why garter to the bride?
How does a wedding accessory live today? Why does the bride need a garter on her leg? The custom of "absorption" of a garter by a crowd of single guests finally formed at the end of the twentieth century. It is interesting that today there can be two garter on the right thigh of the bride. The first is called “happy,” and heralds one of the groom's friends an early safe marriage; the second is called “sweet” or “honey,” her bridegroom takes off her beloved not in front of all the guests of the celebration, but in an intimate atmosphere of solitude of the newlyweds before their wedding night. It is customary to keep the "honey" dressing the whole life together as a reminder of the sweetness of the first night of love, as well as a talisman and guarantee of a happy marriage.
The show begins
By tradition, the bride’s bouquet and garter with her beautiful legs are sent to the crowd of guests eager for happiness at the end of the festival, when the wedding cake has already been cut and all the congratulations have sounded. The only question is, how is it better to “free” the garter from under the multilayer skirt of a wedding dress? As mentioned above, this should be done by none other than the groom. A newly-married spouse can arrange a real performance out of this usual for any wedding event by turning on a slow dubstep or ripping off an intimate detail with his teeth (in general, add a degree to an already hot celebration).
However, you must admit that representatives of the older generation are unlikely to appreciate this truly showmanish move. If you do not want to shock guests who have lived a good half (or even more) of their lives in the twentieth century by slowly raising the hem of the dress to the very edge of the stocking, the groom can remove the accessory “blindly” by feeling for the garter under the skirt, or even entrust this ritual to the bride. But if you decide to organize a real youth party, do not be quiet and show your full potential!
What should be the garter of the bride?
Previously, the garter on the bride’s leg must have been blue, personifying the purity and integrity of the girl entering into marriage. Currently, she is most often white or beige, in harmony with the delicate image of the bride. However, the bravest girls can add peppercorns in the form of, say, a bright red ribbon or some volumetric elements.
Traditionally, it is customary to hide a garter under the long skirt of a white wedding dress, but today, outrageous brides, on the contrary, use the garter as a bright accent to complement the image, and deliberately flaunt it by putting on a short dress or inventing an image with a high-low skirt.
DIY wedding garter
Why do I need a garter of the bride, bought in an expensive store, if you can easily sew it with your own hands? To make a wedding garter yourself, you will need a satin, guipure or nylon ribbon, elastic band and decorative elements with which you want to decorate your small masterpiece. It is important to note that the tape should be twice as long as the thigh volume, and the elastic should be of medium width (so that its edges do not protrude beyond the tape, but remember that too narrow elastic bands also will not work).
The tape needs to be assembled into an "accordion" and carefully flashed with folds (so that something like a pleating effect is obtained), and then stitched onto an elastic band. A variant is possible in which the elastic is inserted into the “tube” of satin ribbon, and lace pleated fabric is sewn on top. Decorate the garter with beads, bows, butterflies, beads, flowers or any other decorative elements. At the final stage, you can give your imagination absolute freedom!
Your attention is presented with a photo of a garter of the bride, made by hand. By the way, the seductive element of a wedding toilet can be sewn not only for yourself, but also for your beloved girlfriend-bride. It is customary to make such a gift at a bachelorette party before the celebration.
Frequently Asked Questions
A wedding is one of the most exciting events in the life of every person. It is no wonder that the newlyweds are worried that everything went at the highest level. They have a lot of questions on a variety of occasions.
- On which foot should a wedding garter be worn?
- Usually, the accessory is put on the right leg just above the knee.
- What color should be the garter of the bride?
- The most common variations are white and beige, but if you want to add brightness, decorate the wardrobe detail with decor, for example, a red ribbon or a pink flower.
- Should a garter be worn on a bare leg or preferred tights / stockings?
- The choice is yours, but if you decide to choose the second option, make sure that the elastic is tight enough, otherwise the accessory may “appear” to guests ahead of time.
- Should the garter be worn on the leg all day or can it be worn immediately before the “bachelor” ceremony?
- This question also remains at your personal discretion, a single standard does not exist.