Finding out who, among your single guests, will be the ones getting married next is the underlying purpose and tradition of the bouquet and garter toss events. Nowhere are the stark differences between men and women more apparent than during this event. Single Ladies often are eager and excited to participate, while single men come up begrudgingly and can be seen with their hands in their pockets, or holding a beer, thus limiting their chances to catch the garter. On rare occasions, the gathered Bachelors have been seen parting down the middle as if the guard was Moses and they were the Red Sea. In this chapter, we will discuss some creative ideas that can make these events more memorable, including some ideas that will make the single guys want to scramble for the garter.

​

THE TEDDY BEAR TOSS

​

     If you have several small children in attendance, try holding a separate test event for the kids first. Toss a teddy bear or a large stuffed animal and take a photo with a child who catches it.

​

THE CANDY TOSS

​

     Building on the teddy bear toss, have your Entertainment play a song that has something to do with candy or sugar has the young children are invited together on the dance floor. Then, the bride and groom can dig into a sack of candy treats and start taking them out for the children to enjoy.

​

THE BOUQUET PRESENTATION

​

     Why not do a bouquet presentation to someone you appreciate? Perhaps you might want to present it to one of your female friends who recently became engaged? Maybe you could present it to the longest married couple? Be creative.

​

INVOLVE THE MARRIED PEOPLE INSTEAD

​

     If you have a limited number of single friends and attendance, but still want to present your bouquet and garter to someone, try bringing all of the married ladies up to one corner of the dance floor. Have them cross to the opposite corner by ascending years of marriage. Upon revealing the identity of the longest married woman, have the bride present her with the task okay. Repeat this process with a married man, but call them over to the groom in descending years of marriage to reveal the man who has been married the shortest amount of time. Have the groom present him with the garter.

​

BOUQUET AND GARTER SWITCH

​

     Play a trick on your guests by arranging for your MC to stop the music just before the bouquet toss is about to occur. The bride will then drag the groom out and seat him in a chair as she begins pulling up his pant leg while some sexy music is playing. The guests will hoot and holler when it is revealed that the groom is wearing the garter. The bride then removes the garter and tosses it to the single ladies,  and then the groom tosses the bouquet to the single men.

​

KEEP THE DANCING GOING

​

     If the dancing is going strong and everyone is having fun, there is really no reason to stop it just to toss the bouquet and garter. Why not have the bride and groom do the tosses from the fully packed dance floor? The MC can instruct the single ladies and single guys to raise their hands, or you can let go of that tradition and make it a fair game for anyone to catch them.

​

BEST MAN AS A HUMAN CHAIR

​

     Ask the best man to serve as a human chair for the bride to sit on while the groom room goes for the garter. The best man can get down on all fours while the bride sits on his back, or he can get down on one knee why the bride is seated on his leg.

​

HANDCUFFED GROOM

​

     Before the garter removal begins, have the best man put the groom in handcuffs, with his hands behind his back, so he can't use his hands to remove the gutter. Your entertainment can play an appropriate song to really set the mood. This creates some great comic relief and lasting memories.

​

THE MARY POPPINS TRICK

​

     Remember the movie Mary Poppins? The main character wows the kids in her care by pulling oversized items out of her satchel. Have the bride sit on a chair with a cloth chair cover on it. Place the chair  with its back to a table covered with a tablecloth. Have an accomplice feed oversized items to the groom from under the table and the chair. Golf clubs, large stuffed animals, lamps, you name it. The guests will hardly be able to contain themselves.

​

GARTER TOSS WITH A BRIBE

​

     Use a safety pin to attach a $20, $50, maybe even $100 bill to the garter. Play a money themed song, and watch as the single men push and shove each other as they try to catch the garter, along with the cash.

​

GARTER PLACEMENT WITH A SWITCH

​

     Sometimes it can be highly uncomfortable for participants in the tradition of having the man who caught the garter put it on the leg of the lady who caught the bouquet. However, this idea can create some good laughs if the man putting the garter on is blindfolded and the single lady's leg is then secretly replaced with the groom's hairy leg.

​

GARTER PLACEMENT WITH A TWIST

​

     Have the lady who caught the bouquet place the garter on the leg of the gentleman who caught it. After all, he caught it, it's his garter now, isn't it? This option can create a humorous twist on and idea that can cause some awkward and uncomfortable feelings. Nobody feels uncomfortable for the guy having the garter placed on his leg. Also, watching a guy place a garter on the leg of a lady he most likely doesn't know can cause a lot of your guests to feel a bit uneasy.  This will take care of all that stuff.​

    

    There are almost infinite ways that you can make the bouquet/garter toss more memorable and exciting for everyone, instead of just calling out the single people.  With some advanced planning, this can be turned form a prospectively embarrassing moment to a fun and memorable one.

​