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| The bouquet from the Johnson wedding:) |
It's been a few weeks since my last post but now I'm back! Today, I'd like to address one of the oldest of wedding traditions, the tossing of the bridal bouquet. For centuries brides have been throwing their bouquets with the hope that their marital happiness would be spread to the lucky single lady who caught it. Even today, in modern weddings, single ladies still fight over the charmed item.
The tradition of the bridal bouquet supposedly started in France in the 14th century. It was considered lucky if a wedding guest got a piece of the bride's clothing or wedding paraphernalia. Of course that got pretty unorganized and fairly dangerous for the bride (imagine everyone at your wedding running toward you like you were the last golden ticket) so they decided to take one item, call it lucky and set up a time where it could be open game for all. They even decided to go as far as to split the groups into guys and girls by including a garter catching contest. (Yay for organized fun!) But the question remains, does the bouquet really bring love and marriage to the catcher?
In my experience, the answer is no. In the past 10 or 11 years, I have caught nine bridal bouquets. Let me repeat that number, NINE. I don't remember specifics of the weddings at which I caught these bouquets but I can definitely name a few of the couples: Brandey and Dino Fine, Amber and Dustin Coble, Tasha and Ephraim Mathis and Becka and Dustin Johnson. (Those are just a few, it's been a long decade;) Seeing as how I am still a single woman, and I have quite a few bouquets under my belt, I would definitely say the legend of the bouquet is a...MYTH!
Now, it has been suggested to me by quite a few people that the legend might be overthrown or even reversed by the amount of times I've caught bouquets. That is, once I've passed a certain number, the luck actually becomes a curse, and I will remain single longer. I'm not sure how true that is, but I do know the bouquet doesn't always come with a husband, at least in my experience.
Before readers start throwing rocks at me and claiming that I'm a Scrooge, let me clarify. I'm only telling of my experiences with the bouquet legend. I'm not trying to crush dreams like running around telling kids there's no Santa, or pulling a Joe Montana and debunking America's favorite Cinderella story (Rudy!). The tradition of throwing the bridal bouquet is fun and I enjoy the "what ifs" and competition of it. (Why do you think I kept participating?) And who knows? Maybe 10 will be my lucky number. All I'm saying is don't get too down hearted over a supposed tradition. If it's God's will that you get married, it'll happen. And no floral decor is going to influence Him either way!
I will now answer the question that follows when telling people about all my bouquets, "What the heck do you do with all those bouquets?!" The answer's pretty simple. If they're real, I either give them away (there's always a flower girl who would love to have flowers:), or I take them home and use them as decorations til they die. For the others, the fake ones, I usually give them away or eventually toss em. I do, however, still have one bouquet in my room that I use for decoration, the one in the picture above. Flowers make everything a little better. So even if you don't get a husband, your day's still a little brighter by getting to witness one of God's greatest expressions of love, His beauty reflected in His creation. So ladies, play on! Next time you go to a wedding, compete. And when you catch a bouquet, think of me and imagine me patting you on the back saying, "Well done!" Maybe I'll be competing for YOUR bouquet not long after, God willing ;)
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