Garter Disasters to Avoid

A wedding is a wondrous time in a woman's life. It is the finale of years of dreaming, wishing and thinking of this special day. No wedding goes perfectly without a hitch. There is always something that doesn't quite go as planned. Sometimes, no matter how much you've planned, things can go wrong.

Don't let anything go wrong in regards to the garter. I know it is just a little lacey accessory but there are two opportunities for disaster: the walk down the aisle and the garter toss ceremony. How hard can it be to walk down the aisle wearing a garter? What's the big deal about the garter toss ceremony? Take heed and check out these tips to help you gingerly skip across the minefield of garter related disasters.

1. Try on your garter before the wedding. You don't want to know the day of the wedding that the pretty little blue garter you bought is so tight it is cutting off the blood supply to your leg. Nor do you want to find out on your big day that the garter is so large that you could fit two of your legs in it. You need to do a try on. The best thing is to do this and recreate the conditions of the wedding. You'll most likely be wearing pantyhose. So, get out your pantyhose and a skirt and try that garter on. Walk around the house in it for a while. You'll get a good feel for how high up the garter needs to be for it not to fall off and for it to still be comfortable on your thigh. If you're too paranoid to wear the garter during the church ceremony, just put it on later before the garter toss ceremony. Assign one trusted bridesmaid to be the keeper of the garter.

2. Do not flash your unmentionables during the garter toss. There will be a crowd gathered around to witness the garter toss. The best man or one of the groomsmen should gather all the men and make sure they are grouped together ready for the toss. The bride will be seated in a chair and turned away from the crowd. This way when the groom digs under all her ruffles and the wedding dress, he won't flash anyone too much leg or any panties.

3. Discuss the garter toss with the groom before the ceremony. I once went to a wedding where a drunken groom removed the garter with his teeth! I was so embarrassed for the bride. She was beet red. It was horrible. A lot of people were laughing but I didn't see the bride or her mom thinking it was very funny. You know the bride and groom had a huge argument about that on the way to the honeymoon. Prior to the wedding, the groom should do a dry run of removing the garter. The bride typically presents the leg the garter is on towards the groom so that he knows to start his climb to the top and get that garter goal. The last thing the bride wants to do is have the groom digging around for 15 minutes searching for the garter. Girls, get this over with so you can move onto something else! Do the groom a favor and when you sit down, adjust the garter (through your dress) and slide it down a bit so the poor guy doesn't have to go up too far. You'll save both of you a little blushing.

4. Do you have a throwaway garter? Many times brides want to keep the garter that they wore when walking down the aisle. They don't want to throw away this cherished keepsake to a pack of drooling single men. In order to achieve this, the bride sometimes switches to a toss garter prior to the garter ceremony. This way she passes the one she wants to one of the bridesmaids to save for her and she tosses a lesser value garter to the boys. If you forgot to get an extra garter, the best man can announce prior to the garter toss that the bride would like to have the garter back as a keepsake. None of the guys should have a problem with complying with a request from the bride.

As with any wedding-related or important event in your life, practice makes perfect. Do a dry run of wearing the garter and go through a practice garter removal so that you get it right on the wedding day.

Lisa Gunther is co-owner of Gunther Gifts Inc., an engraving superstore that ships personalized gifts nationwide. 100's of cool, affordable groomsmen gifts, bridesmaid gifts and wedding favors for your upcoming wedding. Flasks are especially popular for the wedding party. Nice gift ideas for both men and women. Gunther Gifts has served 200,000 online customers since 1999. Trust your special gift purchase to the pros.