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'Under the supervision of The Council of Orthodox Rabbis

Some Traditions Best
Left Off The List

- y

CHRISTINE HUARD
Special to The Jewish News

our wedding day is fast
approaching and cherubs all
but fill the air with poetry
as you and your beloved
prepare to become "two souls with but
a single thought, two hearts that beat
as one.
As you get ready to enter marriage
with a ceremony
full of customs as
4.4
old as the rite
itself, consider the
wedding tradi-
tions to which
you'll say, "I do,"
and those to
which you'll say, •
"I don't."•Or, bet-
ter still, "I won't."
Some brides
blush at the
thought of having
their garter
removed in an
indecorous man-
ner, while others
boil at the notion
of having their
first bite of cake
smashed against
their lips.
What to do?
Don't fret. Ms.
Matrimony is
here to help.
Dear Ms. Mat-
rimony,
I want my
wedding day to
be perfect, but I
am disturbed by
one thought:
How can I avoid
a brawl when it comes time to toss my
bouquet? - Troubled
Dear Troubled,
So you want your wedding day to
be perfect? Girlfriend, Ms. Matrimony
has two words for you: E-lope.
Not wishing to be unkind but,
honey, what are you planning — a
wedding or a Mentos commercial?
Snap out of it. And be glad you're get-
ting married in the 1990s rather than,
say, the 1690s when a woman on her

Christine Huard writs for Copley
News Service.

wedding day was considered to be
quite fortuitous. Symbolic of fertility
and everlasting love, carrying flowers
has long been a bridal tradition. And,
it seems, a pretty good tool of self-
defense.
In order to escape after the mar-
riage ceremony, the custom of tossing
a bouquet of flowers came about to
allow a bride a means of distracting a
mob of "well-wishing" villagers eager
to tear away bits of her clothing, hair
ribbons or flow-
ers to keep as
good luck
charms.
Today, it's
thought that
whomever catch-
es the bouquet
will be the next
to marry. So, as
for avoiding an
ugly scene
among brides-
maids wishing to
be the next
bride, take some
simple advice
from Beverly
Clark, wedding
expert and
author of the
best-selling wed-
ding guidebook
Planning a Wed-
ding to Remem-
ber.
The bouquet
toss is an event
for women of
marrying age,
says Clark. If the
toss is going to
be staged, Clark
suggests that an
announcement be made beforehand
inviting single ladies only to partici-
pate. Or think about some other
options.
-
"As you're going out the door or as
you're running out to the car, toss it
whimsically behind you," Clark says.
"I'm a firm believer in taking tradi-
tions and making them your own with
your own style and personal touch."
Dear Ms. Matrimony,
My fiance, Bob, and I just attended
a friend's wedding where her new
spouse removed her garter with his
teeth and tossed it to a slathering

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