May 2014 Weddings

reception activities - traditions or twists?

I've been against the bouquet and the garter toss since the beginning.  I understand why people do them and I do respect the tradition, but they aren't things I want to do.  

So I'm trying to think of alternate things we can do that are fun and different. The only ones I can think of are: 
1. The trivia game where the bride and the groom use shoes to answer questions, which I feel kind of meh about
2. The married couples dance where the last couple standing has been married the longest and they get a prize (bottle of champs/bouquet, etc), which I definitely want to do.

I'm curious if you all have been to any weddings where they did something unusual (either instead of or in addition to the bouquet/garter toss).  Are you planning on going the traditional route or are you going to do something different?

Re: reception activities - traditions or twists?

  • I'm with you too! I really don't want to do the garter toss and stuff but FI really wants to ("that's what you do at weddings!".... like he's been to a bunch of them and is the expert lol). Also my one Bridesmaid wants me to throw the bouquet so that she can meet a guy and get married next lol. I haven't been a wedding where they did something different, but I was, and still am, considering doing the bouquet and garter toss but with a twist: I saw on Pinterest some "flowers" made out of scratch-off lotto tickets and thought it would be cute to make a small bunch, and then have the DJ say something like "Anyone who wants to get lucky tonight come on up to catch the bouquet!" and I would also attach some lotto tickets around a cheap garter for the guys too. I just always hated being "singled out" with the bouquet toss at other weddings (and I also cringe at the concept of my FI going under my dress in front of our families!!), and being that most of the people who will be at our wedding are already in relationships (married, engaged, serious dating, and the like) as well as bunch of children who will be there, that there'd be a small group of single men & women to do those 2 "traditions" with.
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  • I'm with you too! I really don't want to do the garter toss and stuff but FI really wants to ("that's what you do at weddings!".... like he's been to a bunch of them and is the expert lol). Also my one Bridesmaid wants me to throw the bouquet so that she can meet a guy and get married next lol. I haven't been a wedding where they did something different, but I was, and still am, considering doing the bouquet and garter toss but with a twist: I saw on Pinterest some "flowers" made out of scratch-off lotto tickets and thought it would be cute to make a small bunch, and then have the DJ say something like "Anyone who wants to get lucky tonight come on up to catch the bouquet!" and I would also attach some lotto tickets around a cheap garter for the guys too. I just always hated being "singled out" with the bouquet toss at other weddings (and I also cringe at the concept of my FI going under my dress in front of our families!!), and being that most of the people who will be at our wedding are already in relationships (married, engaged, serious dating, and the like) as well as bunch of children who will be there, that there'd be a small group of single men & women to do those 2 "traditions" with.
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  • i cringe at the thought of my FI going under my dress, retrieveing something very close to my inner thigh and then throwing it out to someone to catch and have it be someone like my brother. In my opinion it's like throwing out a pair of my panties to the crowd! LOL. But when I told him I didnt want to do that he seemed really sad and like he was missing out, so because I love him so much I will put my feelings aside and do the garter toss...
  • We aren't doing a bouquet or garter toss either. We are a little bit older though and neither of those things are appealing to either one of us anymore. We also don't have many single friends anymore. We aren't doing anything in their place though. Just good food, booze, and music.
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  • I love both of those ideas! It's not common and I think guests will enjoy that. I do plan on doing the garter and bouquet toss but now I'm thinking about including one of those as well. We have a lot of single friends attending and I know they would love to catch it haha
  • I dislike the bouquet and garter toss, and I see it done at 99% of weddings, and it makes me feel awkward and uncomfortable the whole time, generally because the single people are pretty much forced out onto the dance floor even when they don't want to be. It's like calling out their singledom (and not everyone is pleased to be a single). I've see the shoe thing done on Four Weddings, and I wasn't really a fan. I don't get the point of holding up the shoes -- couldn't you just raise a coloured card or something? (Like white for the bride and grey/black for the groom). Sadly, I don't have any better ideas right now, but I'm sure I'll be lurking Pinterest later and may come across something :)


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  • We're doing both tosses, but FI will not be going up my dress to retrieve the garter. We're also going to have it open to everyone regardless of marital status and the toss winners will get a bottle of wine and/or liquor. 
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  • @chibiyui I like the idea of opening the tosses up to everyone.  Cause we don't have very many single people going to our wedding.  I know we are planning on doing the bouquet toss, but FI haven't talked about the garter toss.  Honestly I forgot about it.  Guess I'll be bringing it up to him today! lol
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  • I want to include both the bouquet and garter toss, but I think I'm nixing the idea of having the "winning" guy put the garter on the "winning" girl. I caught the bouquet at my aunt's wedding when I was 18, and my cousin's boyfriend caught the garter. It was one of the most awkward moments of life, and I can't think of anyone at our wedding who will want to be part of that. We might do what others have mentioned and give the winners a bottle of wine or liquor. 
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  • We're not doing the bouquet/garter toss either. When I researched where that originally came from, I was kind of horrified at the reminder that way back in the day the guests used to follow the bride & groom to the bedroom to ensure they consummated their marriage. We all know what goes down on the wedding night (or for some, doesn't, because they're too damn exhausted from the day's festivities) so I don't think we need to be reminded. I do like the idea of some sort of game that everyone can play, especially because we did something similar at my mom's surprise 50th birthday this year, and it was hysterical. Lots of fun :)

  • I talked to my FI and we have decided to nix both the bouquet toss and garter toss.  He and I are kind of the last hold outs, and at this rate bringing out the single people would just be embarrassing for all.  We very well may not do any games at all.  We will have lawn games at our wedding, so that may be enough :)
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  • FI and I were talking about the wedding the other day and out of the blue he says "We aren't throwing the stuff around or anything like that are we?". I assumed he meant the bouquet and garter and he had this horrible look on his face when he said it. LOL I assured him we wouldn't be doing that.
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