If you are wondering whether or not to include the garter belt toss, you might be interested to know that this is not an important tradition to follow.
WedNet says, “Although you’ll hear claims that the garter toss is a tradition dating to medieval times, it’s more likely that it originated in the 20th century, about the time your grandparents got married. Aside from the fact that no Victorian maiden would have carried on a tradition that involved showing her bare legs to a crowd, it’s notable that, although every wedding etiquette book of the first half of the 20th century mentions the bouquet toss, none mentions the garter toss…”
So if baring your thigh in front of 200 people is just not your style, much less having the groom do something silly and awkward like trying to remove the garter with his teeth, have no fear. You don’t need to do the garter belt toss.
WedNet mentions this sweet little ceremony that can be performed instead:
“A side benefit of the garter toss was that, by supposedly indicating the next man to marry, it implied that men might look forward to marriage as much as women. If you like this aspect of the garter toss but don’t like the garter toss itself, there are other ways to end your reception by celebrating marriage. An increasingly popular choice is to present the bouquet to the longest married couple present. [One way to do this is to] announces a couples dance for all married couples. As the couples dance, he asks couples married five years to sit down, then couples married 10 years, and so on, until only one elderly but devoted couple remains, surrounded by the applauding multitude.”
Now that’s sweet!