History of the Garter Belt

Ever wonder how the tradition of brides wearing a garter belt came into play? 

From Etsy: The Little White Dress, Yande Bridal, Lucy Bridal Boutique, Make This Day Special and Lovely Garters

There are a few different answers and some may surprise you!

1. The wedding garter began when the belief that taking an article of the bride's  wedding dress would bring good luck. As you can imagine this would often result in the wedding dress being destroyed (and I can only imagine that causing a cranky bride)! Brides began to toss unattached articles of clothing to the wedding guests including the garter from her stockings.
2. Traditionally garters were worn in pairs but one garter on the wedding day is thought to date back to England and France at the beginning of the 14th century. To ensure the bride and groom had consummated their marriage the groomsmen would sneak into the bridal suite and steal something that belonged to the bride (gross!) Garters some how became the popular choice.Over time, the tradition changed into the single male wedding guests trying to remove the bride's garter at the reception (super gross!) because it was considered lucky as it would indicate that the single man would be the next to get married. I can only assume that it quickly changed to the bride throwing her garter at the bachelors to avoid any unpleasant mishaps!

I even found articles about people throwing the garter and/or stockings at the groom while him and his bride were in their marriage bed to see who could get it on his nose and that would indicate good luck! Can you imagine?

While I'm sure that both the main stories about how the tradition of the garter began have some truth to it, the garter today represents all different things: tradition, completing the bridal look, using the garter as a 'something blue', to feel sexy, and just because. I think a garter can be another perfect addition to making you feel extra special on your wedding day! What did or does your garter represent to you? 

xo Mikayla