When we think of weddings there are a few images that come automatically to our minds. We may think of churches decorated with beautiful flowers or of groomsmen looking somehow uncomfortable and debonair at the same time in their rented tuxedos. We may think of bridesmaids adorned in dresses that they would never be caught dead in elsewhere or of adorable small children acting as ring bearers and flower girls, thrilled to be the focus of attention for those few moments that they spend walking down the aisle. One image that invariably comes to mind is that of the bride in her white dress and veil carrying a beautiful bouquet of flowers. For some reason, when we think of a wedding, we always think of the wedding bouquet.
The wedding bouquet is a tradition that goes back almost as far as weddings themselves. While it’s obvious that the flowers are a symbol of fertility, the origins of the wedding bouquet and the tradition of throwing the bouquet (thus passing on that fertility) to another available young lady are less clear. Suffice to say that the wedding bouquet is now a time-honored tradition that is observed in most weddings today.
Once just a simple and small collection of flowers, the wedding bouquet has evolved over time to the point where literally hundreds of dollars are now spent on beautifully designed and arranged ornate wedding bouquets. Most modern brides, in fact, will often have two bouquets. One elaborate wedding bouquet is designed to be carried down the aisle during the ceremony and used in photographs while the other is typically smaller and designed to be thrown into the throng of the bride’s available girlfriends who will then proceed to scramble and claw at one another in an attempt to be the lucky girl who “catches” the bouquet and thus becomes the next woman destined to be married.
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