What started as a clever distraction has become one of the most debated wedding traditions—embraced, skipped, or reimagined entirely.
Today, many Canadian couples treat the bouquet toss as a lighthearted moment—or avoid it altogether. But the tradition’s origins are far more intense. Rooted in superstition, class, and gender norms, the bouquet toss has morphed from a desperate scramble for good luck to a symbolic gesture about who’s “next.”
Here’s how this floral tradition evolved—and how couples today are choosing whether to keep, ditch, or reinvent it.
The Original Toss: Escaping the Crowd
In medieval and Renaissance Europe, wedding guests often believed that touching the bride—or tearing a piece of her gown—would bring good luck.
- Guests would literally grab at the bride’s dress, veil, or accessories as she left the ceremony.
- To escape, brides began tossing items—flowers, gloves, or garters—to distract the crowd and make a run for it.
- Over time, this evolved into the more orderly (but still competitive) bouquet toss.
What began as chaotic crowd control became a staged moment.
The Symbolism Takes Shape: Who’s Next?
By the Victorian era, the bouquet toss became a more formalized tradition, tied to ideas of romantic fate and purity:
- The woman who caught the bouquet was believed to be the next to marry.
- The act reinforced gender roles—casting single women as “waiting in line” for their turn.
- It was also a way to acknowledge and engage unmarried female guests, especially when marriage was still seen as a defining milestone.
This tradition spread across Western weddings, becoming a mainstay of 20th-century receptions.
The Modern Bouquet Toss: Ritual or Relic?
In recent decades, the bouquet toss has been re-evaluated:
- Some see it as fun, nostalgic, and crowd-pleasing.
- Others view it as awkward, outdated, or heteronormative, especially in weddings that challenge traditional roles.
- Many brides feel uncomfortable singling out single guests, especially if they don’t want to marry—or already have.
As values shift, so too does the way this tradition is approached.
Modern Alternatives and Creative Twists
Canadian couples today are reinventing the bouquet toss in ways that reflect personal meaning and inclusivity:
- Dedicating the bouquet to someone meaningful (like a grandmother, best friend, or sibling)
- Inviting all guests to participate, not just single women
- Using a “breakaway bouquet” that splits into smaller ones for multiple recipients
- Skipping the toss and doing a bouquet preservation (drying, pressing, or displaying)
These adaptations allow couples to honour tradition without reinforcing outdated assumptions.
What About the Garter Toss?
Often paired with the bouquet toss, the garter toss has similarly controversial origins and meanings. Like the bouquet toss, it’s now frequently skipped—or reworked—to suit modern sensibilities. (Read: The History of the Garter Toss).
Through the Photographer’s Lens: High Energy or Intimate Moments
When couples do include the bouquet toss, it creates high-energy visuals:
- Guests laughing, reaching, or diving for the bouquet
- The bride in mid-throw, flowers mid-air
- Reactions from the person who catches it—joy, surprise, or even embarrassment
If skipped, the bouquet still plays a central role in portraits and ceremony details.
Related Reading in the History of Weddings Series:
- The History of the Garter Toss
- The History of Wedding Superstitions and Rituals
- The History of Wedding Roles for Children
- The History of the Wedding Reception
Continue Planning Your Wedding
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