Even in today’s incredibly modern society, hundreds upon hundreds of extremely old wedding traditions continue to be practiced by people all over the world. The tradition of tossing the bride’s wedding garter is a great example of this, seeing as though its origination dates back to the Dark Ages, but it is just as popular now as it was then.

Besides being worn to hold up a bride’s stockings, the wedding garter is used for a fun and quite historic activity. During the Dark Ages, this activity required all of the attending bridesmaids to try and toss the garter at the groom’s nose after after receiving it from the bride in the couple’s bedroom. Whichever bridesmaid managed to successfully throw the garter and hit the groom’s nose, would then be deemed next in line to marry. As the years passed though, the tradition evolved. It became common for the not only the bridesmaids, but all the attending guests as well to stampede towards the bride while she was still at the altar in hopes of getting the garter first. Throwing the garter to the mob of people prevented the bride from being trampled, and so this became customary. The person who caught the garter would again, be deemed next in line to marry. Nowadays, the latest version of the tradition continues to be practiced all over the world. No matter how barbaric it may seem to be, it is quite fun and manages to gets everyone laughing.

By Julia Dankov