At my aunts' wedding (which was in my uncle's backyard), there was a carefully pre-selected mix of songs that was TOTALLY THWARTED when someone pullled out a "Favorite Group Dances" or something CD. A group of like 8 of us did the Chicken Dance, the Electric Slide, the Cha-Cha Step or whatever, on and on, with lessons from a 12 year-old when necessary. It was hilarious.

Even worse than the garter toss itself -- when he who catches the garter has to put it on she who catches the bouquet. IOW, follow up "The groom is removing the bride's underwear," which at least has the feeble justification that they're married to each other, with "And now a man is putting underwear on a woman who may be a complete stranger."

The last wedding I was at a 75 year old Italian widow caught the bouquet and then her son caught the garter! Although it sounds sick, it actually ended up being quite funny.

OK, here's a dilemma: Someone I don't like very much asked me for professional advice, and offered to take me to lunch. Should I do it? Or just talk to her on the phone, which will likely be a shorter conversation. But, free food!

TOTALLY THWARTED when someone pullled out a "Favorite Group Dances" or something CD.

what is wrong with people? if it is not their wedding, they have no business. honestly.

It was fun, and the aunts really didn't care.

Take the lunch, Jesse.

Most of the Jamaican-influenced weddings I've been to involved happy jolly bumping and grinding on the dancefloor, so the garter thing was hardly isolated in tone, and by the time all was said and done, less raunchy that some of the less ritualised stuff going on.

No, it was here. You crave an omelet as a cheese conveyance.

Oh dear. The lack of cheese has caused the brain fever.

Allyson, what are you detoxing from, and why, and how? I have the strong impression that I missed something.

I am detoxing from Too Much Coffee, which is giving me bellyaches, too much sugar, and too much bread.

I'm at odds with the dairy thing. My dairy tends to be low fat/fat free. But it's just ten days, so WHATEV.

It's like dietary bootcamp, where I'm getting all the crappy food habits out of my system, and once I'm broken down, I'll rebuild with a few things like honey, my usual Splenda sweetener, black tea, fat free milk, low fat cheese, and just a serving of either good healthy cereal or whole wheat bread.

And then I'll make oatmeal cookies with chocolate chips, as god intended.

I have been to more than one wedding that had both bouquet and garter toss, but no garter putting on. I was a wee horrified when I saw it the first time.

I refused to do the garter toss at my wedding. I'd never heard of it before, and was completely dumbfounded that they wanted me to do something so stupid.

An hour or so ago my sister was walking down the road on a call with me when a stranger stopped her to ask her for directions. Her response was "Can't you see I'm on the phone???"

I have no idea why that cracks me up so.

I apparently have never seen the entire garter toss ritual played out because I'm just reading for the first time here today about the whole "put the garter on the woman who caught the bouquet." I must say that I was already sufficiently freaked out about the groom being all up under the dress in mixed company, but this other thing. Does the garter-catcher get all up under the dress of the bouquet catcher? Cause ew.