Tossing The Bouquet. . . Or Not?

I’ll admit, I am not in love with the tradition of tossing the bouquet.  At best it’s supposed to be fun, letting guests know who is eligible and to give some single folks hope of getting married, right?

But here’s the thing.  At it’s worst tossing the bouquet stressful, aggressive, and the older your crowd gets. . . awkward!

We skipped the whole tossing the bouquet and garter removal at my wedding because there was like two single people.  Also, I’m also not the best thrower and yeah. . . embarrassment central when the bouquet hits my cake or something.  We also skipped the whole groom removing the garter thing because it is just weird. Like, seriously. I wouldn’t have been able to deal with that sort of thing in front of everyone.

However, maybe you’re thinking about tossing something?  My recommendation is to read your crowd before proceeding with the tossing the bouquet. If you have a lot of single folks, have fun with it.  Maybe skip the actual garter removal and just have one ready to throw out that the groom has hidden in his pocket.  I just recommend – proceed with caution.

ALTERNATIVES TO TOSSING THE BOUQUET

1. Ask all couples to come to the dance floor.  During the song, direct everyone who has been together less than a certain amount of time to leave the dance floor.  For example, at the 30 second mark have the MC announce “Only stay on the dance floor if you’ve been together longer than 5 years”, and 30 seconds later change that to 8 years, and so on.  At the end of the song, you’ll be left with a small group of dancers who have been together for crazy amounts of time. The couple who has been together the longest gets your bouquet.
2. Hold a raffle, game, or other contest (like a dance off) and the person with the most cheers gets the bouquet.  This could be really fun if you’re having a competitive crowd at your wedding!
3. Just pick a cherished family member in the room and thank them for being there and give them your bouquet as a gift.  I promise it’ll be a touching moment and something your guests will remember going forward. 

Whatever you do, please don’t ask your one single friend to try and catch your flowers.  I’m begging you!

More From Hummingbird Wedding Advice:

Seven Things Wedding Guests Actually Care About

How To Exit Your Wedding

11 Things Brides & Grooms Forget To Do The Morning Of Their Wedding

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