What is the bouquet and garter toss?

When it comes to wedding traditions, the one that every wedding guest looks forward to is the bouquet toss and the garter toss. Near the end of the night, the bouquet toss and garter toss tradition is where all the bachelorettes and bachelors line up to catch the bouquet and garter. The single guest who catches the bouquet or garter are up next to get married!

You’re probably thinking…where did this tradition come from? Hundreds of years ago, a bride was known to carry romantic luck to anyone who touched her. This meant that single ladies would try to tear off pieces of the bride’s dress or the bride would toss petals of her bouquet into the crowd to escape to the bridal suite.

What does this mean for you?

The bouquet toss and garter toss are just one of those must-do wedding traditions. In order to make sure the bouquet toss and garter toss go without a hitch, it is essential to select the best garter toss song and best bouquet toss song ever to get the masses to line up. 

How do you select the best? Our advice is to visualize all of your single guests at the wedding and select the song that best fits your friends and family. If all of your single guests are country lovers, than try some Shania Twain. If you remember taking long road trips with your friends jamming to Queen, then pick one of their songs! 

How should I plan for the bouquet and garter toss?

Although selecting the best bouquet toss song and garter toss song is important, make sure:

• When: the DJ will announce the bouquet and garter toss (after the first dance or near the end of the reception?)
• Who: you have designated from the bridal party to rally the eligible ladies and gents (pick someone who has an energetic and influential personality!)

• Where: Location! Location! Location!
  • Make sure you know where your bouquet and garter is prior to the DJ announcing the bouquet and garter toss. I’ve been to a wedding where the bride completely forgot to bring the garter! Her maid of honor had to improvise and use the grooms tie as the garter. Since the dance floor was pretty dark, the guests were not able to tell the difference.
  • Make sure you know where you will do the bouquet and garter toss. Before the DJ plays the bouquet and garter toss song, you will want to have identified the location of where you will be throwing the bouquet and garter. Will it be at the beach? On the dance floor? Check to see if there is a ceiling fan directly above you. You don’t want to accidentally throw your bouquet into the ceiling fan and shred your bouquet to pieces!
  • As you decide where you will sit when the groom removes the garter from underneath your dress,  be aware of the direction you are sitting. If your dress is not fluffy, you don’t want to accidentally give guests more of a show than they were expecting!

• How: If you get a chance, practice throwing the bouquet or garter. The worst thing that happens during the bouquet or garter toss is when it is thrown too short or too far. We  know it is not your fault that you’re so athletic, but this is not the time to show off your great throwing skills. You’ll want to launch the bouquet or garter perfectly into the crowd of single guests for the perfect experience.
• What: Select the bouquet toss song and garter toss song that works best for your wedding guests and review the wedding song list (all activities) with your DJ.

What bouquet and garter toss song is a top pick?

We will have to say that Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It) and Another One Bites the Dust on each of the bouquet toss song and garter toss song list are the most popular from our wedding experiences. These songs definitely let guests know that it is time to do the bouquet and garter toss. As you go through these song options, pick the one that best suits you and your partners personality. Have fun with picking a song and know that you can’t go wrong. It’s your wedding!

Here are 10 bouquet and garter toss song options you can pick from to tell your DJ to play. Enjoy!

5 Bouquet Toss Songs

Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It) by Beyoncé

Man! I Feel Like a Woman! by Shania Twain

Wannabe by Spice Girls

 

Gimme More by Britney Spears

 

Girls Just Want to Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper

 

Garter Removal

Before we get to the 5 garter toss songs, it would be remiss if we didn’t briefly go over a song for the removal of the garter. The garter removal is a wedding tradition that goes hand in hand with the bouquet and garter toss. For the garter removal to work, the groom really has to own it (an extra shot or two before this doesn’t hurt).  If you want to really put on a show for your guests, a funny option is to have the groom pretend to remove the garter, but actually have in his pocket a pair of granny panties!

Some couples are conservative or uncomfortable engaging in the garter removal, as it is supposed to give guests a glimpse of the wedding night…in front of all their friends and family (for example, soon to be in laws). An option is to forgo the garter removal and skip straight to the garter toss, due to the shyness of the groom or the awkwardness of the whole situation. If you are on the fence about the garter removal…just remember you only you do this once and it will be a great memory for you and your guests.

Let’s Get It On by Marvin Gaye

 

5 Garter Toss Songs

Another One Bites the Dust by Queen

 

Mission: Impossible Theme Song by Lalo Schifrin

James Bond Theme Song by John Barry and the London Symphony Orchestra 

Who Let the Dogs Out by Baha Men

 

SexyBack by Justin Timberlake

Funny Garter Toss Song

Depending on what kind of crowd you have, a super fun option is to actually play Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It) for the garter toss song. This works really well when you have a “bro” guy crowd because all the guests will laugh at the irony.

If you haven’t seen the full SNL skit, here’s a brief spoiler

Beyonce: I’m confused because this song is called “Single Ladies”, so I imagined the dancer would be strong beautiful women.

Paul Rudd: People are expecting that. Instead of using beautiful women. We use guys. These guys.

Now what? Have fun and be married!

I hope you share this list with your fiancé and pick a bouquet and garter toss song together!

If you’re looking for more songs for your wedding, check out this post for father-daughter, bridal party, entrance songs and more. Comment below to let us all know which song you picked and what made this part of your wedding go smoothly! As always, don’t forget to like and subscribe 🙂