Wedding 101: How to Hold Your Bouquet
Posted by Jolene on Jun 11, 2008. Filed under Ceremony, Expert Advice, Flowers
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You would think the right way to hold a wedding bouquet would be obvious. “Uh, in two hands?” But no, it isn’t. I’ve endured countless clueless TV weddings, where the bride botched the bouquet thing. One of the more memorable flubs was the wedding of Karen Darling on ABC’s Dirty, Sexy, Money. This was like her 5th time down the aisle or something Elizabeth-Taylorish. This chick is super high-society (think Ivanka Trump), with the crème de la crème of wedding vendors in attendance (who should have done something with her hair!), along with a host of paparazzi.
What really rankled me was that this oh-so-experienced fictional bride (who had the nerve to wear white) carried her bouquet all wrong. I’d like to think her lack of attention to her most important accessory was a bit of directorial foreshadowing—by the time dessert was served, Karen Darling had said “I don’t anymore.” Well, “That’s TV,” I tell myself. “They don’t have the time to focus on details.” But you would think a major film hit, a film hit about weddings no less, would be able to get it right.
Sadly, that isn’t so. Last night, while my husband was deep into the NBA finals, I finally got a chance to pop in the DVD for 27 Dresses. Yes, it was adorable, funny, heartwarming, (predictable)… But to my shock and awe, in the grand finale, the moment we’ve all been waiting for…Jane walked down the aisle with her bouquet held chest-high, obscuring the bodice of her mother’s heirloom wedding gown over which she’d had such conniptions.
“No, Jane, No!” I yelled at the TV. Look, this gal had supposedly been to more weddings than, well, her fiancé who (spoiler alert) writes the wedding column for the local fictional newspaper. She should know how to hold her bouquet!
Which brings me to my point, oh brides-to-be. As you make your dramatic entrance down the wedding aisle, hold your bouquet just below your waist. Simple, elegant, and the best way to show off the décolletage on your Lazaro gown. This goes for bridesmaids, too, by the way.
Got it? Bouquets beneath your waist. Now let’s see how many future prime-time brides will follow my advice.
UPDATE: This just in from my Real Simple.com Weddings newsletter:
“In full-length shots, be sure that you and your bridesmaids hold your flowers below waist level. This creates a more flattering silhouette, ensures that the flowers don’t compete with faces or dress bodices, and lengthens arms, which makes them look leaner. In close-ups, hold the flowers above the waist, so they are captured in the frame.”
I hate to say I told you so, but if the white satin Grazia wedding pumps fit…!
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Comments
Hm, I wonder if I unwittingly held my bouquet too high at the last wedding I was in…
But I wonder, do second (or third, or fourth) time brides really avoid white nowadays? I figured anything goes!
Well, Lisa, you’re right—anything goes color-wise for the gown…except when you’re a well-known tramp, like that Karen Darling!
This never would have occured to me!
Holding your flowers at your chest is just a more natural position for your arms to be in. You have to really think about holding the bouquet lower.
I am tring to pair the queen of the night tulip(black looking flower)...with flowers that are red, which shouldnt be a probelm but what do i do to incorporate silver? are there any flowers that look silver? Also does anyone have any ideas about other things to do in the whole black silver red concept.Flowers
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Jo, this is such a good tip. I didn’t even know about this! Thank goodness I do, now. That’s such a flub I’d commit, too.