Wedding garters

Garter girl…

When it came to writ­ing a piece about the wed­ding garter, I didn’t quite know where to start. The only ideas I had about garters were the Moulin Rouge and a lovely mem­ory of my aunt flash­ing hers at a wed­ding some ten years ago.

Wed­ding garter inspi­ra­tion board by Hollie-Anne Brooks

The his­tory of the wed­ding garter

I began research­ing the his­tory of the garter. If you’re going to wear a garter on your wed­ding day, have you con­sid­ered why? We all know the his­tory and tra­di­tion behind the veil and the bou­quet but I’m unsure if most peo­ple know where the idea of the wed­ding garter comes from.

Of course, the garter is a sym­bol of love, pas­sion and the wed­ding night. But did you know that the whole idea was for the fam­ily to escort the bride and groom to the mar­i­tal bed, and before leav­ing to take the garter as proof of a mar­riage con­sum­mated? How crazy is that?

In other tra­di­tions (and one that is occa­sion­ally still car­ried on today), the wed­ding garter is tossed for the men to catch. Much like the bou­quet is thrown for the ladies, a bride will slip off her garter and men will either catch it or com­pete for it in a whole host of silly games. Now that sounds like more fun than the first tra­di­tion! How­ever, to me, the garter sym­bol­ises the first ner­vous moment of your wed­ding night. The garter is one of the first things your new hus­band will take off your body and what’s more spe­cial than that?

If you don’t like the idea of flash­ing your upper thigh and show­ing the world your bloomers, keep­ing the spe­cial treat just for the man you’re going to spend the rest of your life with is ter­ri­bly sweet.

So, whether you’re a shy girl or a show off, it’s now time to pick your wed­ding garter. Here’s our top tips!

Sim­ple white wed­ding garters epit­o­mize old fash­ioned inno­cence and the con­cept of sav­ing your­self for your hus­band. Go for an unfussy, sim­ple white lace ver­sion and let your man find it!

Match­ing your wed­ding garter with your colour scheme is a really classy way to go. Opt for a cream garter with bows and detail­ing that com­pli­ment your bouquet.

Are you the cheeky sort? There’s plenty of quirky wed­ding garters out there includ­ing those with naughty say­ings, lip­stick kisses and fluffy frills!

Give your guests a real delight and do a can-can kick to show off your garter. The only suit­able type of garter for this? Some­thing red, of course! Go on, you know you’ve always wanted to be in the Moulin Rouge!

Take vin­tage inspi­ra­tion and make your own wed­ding garter or ask your wed­ding dress designer to come up with one espe­cially made for you. Vin­tage lace, but­tons, tiny cor­sages and bows can eas­ily be sought at vin­tage fairs or your local haberdashery.

Are you the more tra­di­tional sort or a bride who is more likely to give the guests a cheeky flash? Let us know!

by Hollie-Anne Brooks

Bridal fash­ion and beauty expert Hollie-Anne Brooks is cur­rently the free­lance social media assis­tant for Eng­lish wed­ding dress design­ers Kula Tsur­diu , home to some of the most inspir­ing bridal fash­ion col­lec­tions you’ll ever see! We love her writ­ing and we’re proud to have her on board here at Eng­lish Wedding!