Believe it or not, there's a small science to how you hold your bouquet on your wedding day! Your florist or photographer may have their own tips and tricks to throw in, but I wanted to give you a brief glimpse into the age-old question of what to do with your hands when picture and video time arrives on your wedding day!

Photo credit: @atriaphotography

The traditional bouquet position

The average bride will hold her bouquet with two hands, just below her belly button when walking down the aisle. For more casual shots, you may be asked to hold your bouquet with one hand, near your hip or above your head. Some brides will also get pictures with their bouquet held closer to their face, highlighting both the flowers and your gorgeous hair and makeup! There are many poses you can strike during your wedding photos, but keep in mind that the standard "walking down the aisle" pose is with the bouquet just in front of your belly button

Don't tone; just hold your bouquet lower!

Some brides are terribly concerned with how their arms will look in their wedding photos. So, in addition to some cardio and other exercises to lose weight for their dress, they'll also add in an arm workout to tone their arms. This is especially true for brides who choose sleeveless dresses. Whether you want to work out to tone your arms or not, here's a tip to make your arms look "more appealing" in photos: hold your bouquet just a tad lower than the traditional position we just talked about. By holding your flowers lower, you'll seemingly elongate your arms and mitigate the arm fat woes you're worrying about.

An untraditional option: Hold the bouquet higher

Sometimes, holding your bouquet above your head or out to the side can also elongate your arms in photos. The goal here is to keep your arms farther out from your body, which creates a visual effect of lengthening and toning your arms. This tactic may not work so well for walking down the aisle, but there are many ways to be artistic with your after-ceremony photos. Ask your photographer to help brainstorm the kinds of photos you want and try to write down a list for the day of the wedding so you get what you want out of your photos.