Find: Chic and oh-so-fun wedding garters

Attention brides-to-be: you must visit Julianne Smith's website to order your wedding garter. Julianne's style is incredibly unique; she brings a new light to the tradition and adorns garters with all sorts of fabulous accoutrements like feathers and personalized ribbons!

I chatted with Julianne about her speciality:


What colors or patterns do you see most with brides today?

When it comes to garter colors, brides are all over the map! The garter is hidden, so it is a chance for brides to get sassy and mix it up. Some go with the traditional whites and something blues, and then some get wild with polka dots and animal prints. For those that match their garter to their wedding colors, I'm seeing a lot of navy with magenta, and silver with yellow - two really amazing, unexpected combos.


Can brides customize their garters to coordinate with their theme (or their fiance's favorite sports team?)?

Absolutely! I love creating new and different styles for brides. After all, I started this company because I couldn't find the garter I wanted for a friend, so I would never tell someone no - I'll try anything!What is the most outrageous garter you've designed?I did one recently with a peacock feather that was really fun: View Here


How long before her wedding should a bride order?

It usually takes me about two to three weeks to make and send a garter off to a bride. But, if someone needs it faster, I will work with them to make sure the bride gets her garter in time for the big day. Timing also depends in how much custom work is needed. I make all the garters individually for each bride, even the ones in my collection.


What does the tradition of the garter mean?

It is tough to get a straight answers on this one. But, I do know that wearing and tossing the wedding garter is one of the oldest wedding traditions, besides saying the vows, of course! In the olden days, apparently, weddings were a little kinky and wedding guests would accompany the married couple to their bedroom. Guests would help to undress the bride, as a way to celebrate. The garter, at that time, was used to hold up a woman's stockings, so as the bride was being undressed the garter would get tossed along with all of her other clothes. It was considered good fortune to whoever caught the garter. As a way to class-up weddings, the garter tradition has evolved into making it a little easier for a lucky guest to catch the garter. Today, I think garters are a way for brides to personalize their wedding attire and to have something with them that expresses who they are as and individual and as a couple - whether they do the garter toss or not!
Thank you, Julianne!
Photos by Sevan Photography and by Julianne Smith