Why do brides throw their bouquets at weddings?

Laura Hampson
Updated ·2-min read
Brides throw their bouquets at weddings
Brides have been throwing their bouquets at wedding since the 1800s. (Getty Images)

When you stop to think about it, there are many wedding ‘traditions’ that still take place today that are rather … random.

Outdated or not, some traditions that many couples still follow on their big day include the bride being walked up the aisle by her father, adhering to the ‘something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue’ saying, wearing a white dress, having a first dance and cutting the cake.

Yet, one tradition that is starting to fall more and more out of favour is the bridal toss - when the bride throws her bouquet.

According to a study from wedding planning website The Knot, the bridal toss decreased in popularity from 54% in 2016 to 45% in 2018, with more and more newlyweds choosing not to do it.

What is a bridal bouquet toss?

A bridal toss is, traditionally, when a bride will gather all of the single women at her wedding and ask them to stand behind her.

She will then toss her bouquet and whoever catches it is said to be the next person to get married.

The male equivalent is the garter toss. Which sees the groom take the bride’s garter off of her leg with his teeth before throwing it to the single men at the wedding.

The bridal bouquet toss is declining in popularity. (Getty Images)
The bridal bouquet toss is declining in popularity. (Getty Images)

History of the wedding bouquet toss

According to Brides, the tradition of a bride throwing her bouquet at a wedding dates back to England in the 1800s. Yet, the origins behind this can be traced back even further.

Before the 1800s, it was considered good luck to touch the bride on her wedding day, which saw single women flocking the newlywed to try and get some of her luck in love.

Some women would even try and take home keepsakes from the bride’s wedding dress as she walked by, so the bride would often toss her bouquet and run to escape the women.

This eventually evolved into the bridal bouquet toss we now know today, which allowed the bride to bestow good luck onto an individual without being mobbed.

Now, a bouquet toss often occurs after the wedding breakfast and before the dancing ensues, sometimes just after the cake has been cut.

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