8.11.13

Catching the Bouquet: A twisted myth.


Anyone who knows me well knows that I love going for weddings. There’s a lot about weddings that make me want to keep going even if it means crashing the party (let he who hasn’t crashed a wedding cast the first laugh). From the décor, to the music, the feel of love in the air, the high earn fashion that entertains and the food of course (you didn’t think I wouldn’t mention that did you?) but most importantly, I like being part of a couples’ most beautiful and memorable day. Parts of the memories made on that day include throwing the bouquet by the bride. This is when you see ladies who are supposed to be the brides’ friends doing all the ‘effizy’ in the world. The MC can scream all he wants yet everyone still stays glued to their seats, is it because they are shy? Or they don’t want to be seen as “single ladies” as that’s usually the song the DJ plays in the background but truth is even if you come out or not, it doesn’t automatically mean you have ported from single to married.

I noticed I was getting ahead of myself so let me take it slow. Tossing the bouquet is a tradition that’s usually done by the bride, towards the end of the ceremony. It started centuries ago when people used to cut off fragments from the bride’s dress which was considered a good luck charm. Over the years, people resolved to tossing bouquets as no one wanted to be stripped (if I hear say them tear my Vera Wang dress). The bouquet is tossed to a crowd of single ladies and anyone who catches it is considered the next in line. Now this is where I am headed, the consideration of being next in line; is that a myth or reality? I always go out but have never caught the bouquet so I can’t really say. I have also seen lots of ladies who go out and catch it at every wedding yet there’s not even a jingle of a wedding bell around them. Could that be why ladies don’t answer this clarion call any longer? Or has it become ineffective because of our mindsets? Was it ever effective in the 1st place? Not minding the answers to these questions, I know that a lot of ladies still believe in this tradition, and for that reason there’s usually chaos and scuffle in catching the bouquet. People have fallen down, been stepped on or even suffered wardrobe malfunctions all in the process but it all makes up part of the fun.
There’s a wedding I have to attend towards the end of this month and this time I’m really looking forward to catching the bouquet. Do you know why? I’ll answer that with this gist. I once asked a friend of mine why she never went out to catch a bouquet and she said “I already have a human bouquet, I don’t need an artificial one to tell me I’m up next” (and by human bouquet she was referring to her fiancé). I am not yet engaged but I am in a relationship, I want to catch the bouquet so that maybe, just maybe the good luck charm will trigger him to move fast. If it turns out fine, yours truly will surely be back to clarify if indeed catching the bouquet is a myth or a reality.

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