Garter toss?

From my understanding there are a few basic steps to a garter toss: 1) groom removes garter from bride; 2) groom tosses garter to single men; 3) single guy who catches garter puts it on the girl who caught the bouquet.

You don't have to do the last part if its too uncomfortable of course. A lot of brides skip it because its easily uncomfortable. I was tempted to skip it too, but FH got so sad at the idea lol, so I'll just have to get a few drinks in me beforehand lol.

You don't have to do it if you don't want to. Your FH will go up your skirt, pull the garter off and then toss it to one if the single guys. We passed on the tradition ourselves just because it would make us feel uncomfortable. Also, if you don't have many single male guests, it could make them feel awkward.

Thanks! Very helpful

FH is very traditional. Personally I would skip it but he wants to do it. I have children from a previous marriage and well I will have to explain that one!

I've been to some weddings that still do it. But I'm passing. It makes me feel incredibly uncomfortable.

I've seen it done once and I've been attending weddings for 15 years. A very plump gal caught the bouquet, and sadly, none of the men wanted to catch the garter. They let it fall and the ring bearer picked it up. They made him put it on the gal's ankle. It was really off-putting. It soured me to the whole idea.

My parents tossed nothing and they were married in the late 1970s. I've rarely seen a bouquet tossed, either. What other people have done, sometimes decades ago, does not equate something that HAS TO be done,

FH thinks it's awkward and uncomfortable so we are just doing the bouquet toss.

@FutureMrsWelch is right in her description. We're not doing this because I don't feel comfortable with it, but it's a fun tradition if both the bride and groom are into it and the guests that catch it are tasteful. Be forewarned that it can get a little raunchy depending on how boozed up people are...I've seen the garter be taken off the bride with the groom's teeth, so you have to know your crowd. The last few weddings I've been to have just done the bouquet toss, no garter.

We are not doing one

We didn't. I don't need my husband going up my dress in front of friends and family to sexy music. I find it weird and awkward, but that's just my opinion.

We are doing it for fun, but it is not necessary. It's totally up to you.

Nearly everyone did a garter toss when I was a girl. It went like this:

After cake was cut and served (and a couple of dances, if dancing was being held) the bride and groom retired to change into their going-away clothes. On the way out of the reception room, the bride tossed away her bouquet as a symbol of relinquishing the last symbol of her spinsterhood.

When they were changed, the bride handed one of her garters to the groom, and they returned to the reception hall together to say good-bye. Then, as they were leaving, the groom threw the garter at the gathered bachelors, so that they would be distracted grabbing for the garter and not throw shoes and rice at the departing couple (a vain ploy that never worked.) There was no public removal of undergarments, no groping up under the bride's dress before the assembled society, and certainly no teeth. The man who caught the garter tucked it into his sock drawer when he got home: it was not a license to grope some unsuspecting lady's leg.

The first time I saw a wedding where the garter was removed in public, in the early 1980s, I was terribly embarrassed for the poor bride. The DJ found it amusing to play burlesque riffs to accompany the scene. The first time I saw the groom remove the garter with his teeth, I left the room. I've never seen the garter then put onto some other young lady, so at least there are some limits to what people will do for the shock effect.

Frankly, there's something sweet about the mild suggestive shock inherent in tossing a not-too-intimate undergarment to a few innocent bachelors. There's nothing sweet about groping women in public.

Following! I'm having a hard time deciding on this :/

Is it a southern thing? I'm from Texas, and every wedding I've ever been to had one! However, I've never seen it put on the girl who caught the bouquet. Usually they just take a picture together. I feel a little weird about my FH taking it off of me, but I think it will be fun.

I've seen it done, but FH and I aren't big fans of it so we're going to skip it.

@andreya I'm from FL and it's pretty 50/50 from the ones I've attended.

We did it, it was super fun for us! It takes less than a minute but I Love our pics and video from that.