Over the course of a lifetime we will most likely many stories on how wedding garters came about. Whether they are true or no, we dont know exactly. The history of the garter is quite a colorful one.
History seems to point to it coming about during the middle ages. It was of course worn by the bride during her wedding ceremony. It is said that its original use was actually for the bride and grooms families.
Both of their families followed them after their wedding to see to it that they indeed consummated things. Once it was over the garter was taken by the family. It was done so to prove that the couple had consummated their union.
After a while, couples grew tired of the lack of privacy during consummation and began fighting back against their families. Rather than have their family follow them after the wedding, the groom would remove the garter from his new wifes leg and toss it to the family so they could have their souvenir. This became traditional after a while.
Some people believe that tossing the garter actually began during a reception. During this reception, some drunken males tried to take it from the leg of the bride themselves. The groom did not approve of course.
Thus came forth that the groom would remove the garter from his bride and toss it to the men before they had a chance to touch his wife. Some believed that if they caught the garter, that they would be next to be married. This belief has held up ever-since.
It was not always the groom who threw the garter. In history their are records of the bride doing it as well. This came about because some used to believe that if they had a piece of the attire the bride was wearing that it was good luck. They would rip off pieces of the brides outfit as she passed by. Brides did not like the idea of their beautiful gowns being torn apart and started throwing items to the crowd including the garter.
The garter is still worn today by many brides with other wedding accessories. It is used to symbolize purity and is still removed during the reception by the groom to be thrown to the single men. It is still believed today to be a good luck charm. If caught, many still believe that they will be the next to wed.
In some cases two garters are worn. One is to throw to single men at the reception and the other is normally kept by the bride and groom as a keepsake of their wedding day. Some families even choose to pass them down to their children on their wedding days.
Whatever the reason may be for wearing them, whether you wear one or two, or if you plan to have it thrown to the crowd or not is entirely your choice. There are many reasons why brides wear wedding garters. The garter has and will always remain part of traditional weddings.