Essential Bridal Bouquet Ergonomics

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My Personal Experience With Bridal Bouquets

I’ve been a bride and I have photographed hundreds of brides on their wedding day. For over ten years I have made hand-tied bouquets for many of the brides I photograph. It’s from watching the brides over the years that I offer you this information for your wedding day. It’s always helpful to have the information before hand rather than after your wedding day.

The Essential Bridal Bouquet Ergonomics

The ergonomics of a bridal bouquet make all the difference in the comfort of the day for the bride. Make the bouquet too heavy and the bride will find ways to lay it down or pass it off. Most brides would like their wedding photography to include their flowers but when they are too heavy they are usually not around. Here are the essential things to consider for the ergonomic comfort of your bridal bouquet on your wedding day.

Essential Ergonomics For Your Bridal Bouquet

1. Weight
2. Size
3. Length Of Stems
4. Hand-Tied

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Ergonomic Weight Of Your Bridal Bouquet

To keep your bouquet as light as possible will indeed keep you happy on your wedding day. One way to do this is to have the flowers opening rather than closed. Softly opened buds weight less in the hand than buds. I specialize in rose bridal bouquets and usually get four dozen roses to make a bridal bouquet. Flowers don’t open on command but with a little planning they often do. I get the flowers two to three days before the wedding, hoping they will softly open. When they do softly open the flowers used are lightweight and very comfortable for the bride to hold, usually resulting in about three dozen roses in the bridal bouquet.

The Perfect Bouquet

Ergonomic Size Of Your Bridal Bouquet

Brides are often asked if they want 8 – 12″ round bouquets. Hard to image unless you get out a tape measure and see for yourself. I would advise to always error on the side of smaller. A bridal bouquet can hide your silhouette…your waistline. Most brides have gone to great lengths to find the perfect gown and most really don’t want to hide the whole front of the gown with flowers. If the bride is petite and 8″ bouquet is large enough. Small is better, the eye should go to you…not your flowers. The flowers are just an accent of color.

Ergonomic Length Of Your Bridal Bouquet Stems

Here is where inches matter. When the stems are left too long they are difficult to hold and they often extend the length of the torso, once again covering up the bride rather than offering an accent of color. Keep the stems under 12″ for the best look. Bouquets that sit lay in the arm like a child rather than being able to be held in your hand often get in the way in photography. Any bouquet that streams down is also not very ergonomic to hold. It hurts the wrist in short order.

Long Stems Or Short Stems?

Ergonomics Of Holding Your Bouquet 

If a holder is used, it is weighted with water and the handle can be too narrow for a nice ergonomic fit. The most perfect fit I have seen and I use is the hand-tied bouquet without a water weighted holder. When the bouquet is made fresh on your wedding day this should not be an issue with roses. Other flowers can wilt very quickly and show bruising on the petals. I have not seen a more comfortable fit for the bride than a hand-tied bouquet. As long as the bouquet is not too big and heavy. If the bride has a ring size of 5, the stems need to be tied tight and small for comfort.

Click Here For Bridal Bouquet Color Tips

Wedding bouquets were originally made of strong herbs like thyme and garlic to frighten away evil spirits.