I bet you never thought this was something worth writing about. I mean, you hold the stems and smile – the end, right?!

Well, yes and no.

There are a few small, but important things to remember about how to hold your bouquet to ensure you show off the flowers and your dress in the best way possible. Let’s dive in.

The natural tendency is to hold your bouquet in a way that ends up hiding your dress and showing off the stems more than the blooms. The reason for this is two-fold: first, we tend to hold them at the bottom of the stems instead of the top and this makes them harder to hold steady and they feel heavier, sooner. Second, nerves come into play and you grip the bouquet tight and hold it high, almost in front of your face, without even realizing you’re doing it.

Here’s what you want to do instead – trust me – you’ll love the photos and your florist will be super grateful that you’re actually showing off those gorgeous blooms!

3 Tips For How To Hold Your Bouquet:

1. Hold the bouquet toward the tops of the stems, just under the flowers. This way you have more control and those heavy bouquets (big bouquets are legitimately heavy!) are easier to keep steady.
2. Lower your arms so that you aren’t at a 90-degree angle. With your arms bent at 90 degrees your bouquet will be too high and will block the neckline of your dress. Instead, extend your arms and let the blooms hit at your naval.
3. Slightly tip your bouquet toward your photographer. This is a small movement – you aren’t pointing them directly at your photographer (that would be weird) – you just tip them toward the photographer so that all of the blooms are facing more towards the camera, and less up at the sky.

And even though you know this, I promise at some point the bouquet will get heavy or nerves will set in and you’ll hoist your bouquet too high or forget to tip it towards me. No problem! I’m always scanning the photo before I take it and I will remind you and anyone else holding a bouquet too high to lower it and adjust it as needed!

Want more tips for looking your best in portraits? Check out these posts as well:

Winter Engagement Session Tips

Wedding Planning: Seasonal Tips

Wedding Hair Tips From Pro Hairstylist Maricruz Polito