How To Gracefully Walk Down The Aisle

bride walk down aisle

When you walk down the aisle on your wedding day, all eyes are on you. Your dress, veil, hair, makeup and accessories have been carefully planned out so that you look absolutely perfect. You’ve chosen the perfect song to set the scene and demonstrate your feelings. To ensure that your walk down the aisle goes smoothly, you’ll want to practice it at least once during the rehearsal. Follow these simple steps to make your walk down the aisle graceful and elegant.



1. Hold your bouquet low

Even if this might feel unnatural at first, holding your bouquet lower will make your arms and torso look better. This will create a slimming effect in photos and guests will also be able to see the beautiful bodice of your wedding dress. To achieve this sophisticated look, hold your bouquet low enough so that your arms are bent in a diamond shape in front of your body.

walk down aisle wedding day

Photo Credit: Love and Lavender

2. Walk at a normal pace

Some brides tend to walk quickly when they are nervous, while others tend to walk slowly. To make things seem as natural and seamless as possible, a good rule of thumb is to walk at a normal pace for you. However, depending on the song you’ve chosen for your walk, you may want to adjust your pace to match the beat. If the song is set to a moderate or slightly fast beat, it might seem more natural to follow the tempo. If it’s slow, then you’ll want to walk at your normal pace. Figuring out what pace to walk at is definitely something that you’ll learn quickly with a practice run.

how to walk down the aisle

Photo Credit: Evantine

3. Feel free to look around

It may help to calm your nerves to stare directly forward and avoid all eye contact with your guests, but this creates a stiff, unnatural presence that ultimately looks and feels awkward. Feel free to look around at the crowd at all of the guests who have shown up to support you and your love. You may find that your aunt is beaming back at you, or your uncle is sending you a comforting gaze. If eye contact is something that will cause more fear than reassurance, then glancing around at the tops of guests’ heads in the crowd is a simple trick that will help you achieve this natural presence.

walk down the aisle

Photo Credit: John Li Photography

4. Stand up straight

Your dress and bouquet may be heavy, and you might not be used to wearing your wedding heels, but the easiest way to instantly appear more graceful and elegant is to stand up straight. Having good posture while you walk down the aisle will make you look tall, lean and more beautiful. Hunching over will look especially obvious in photos, and something as simple as rolling your shoulders down your back will you help you avoid this unappealing look.

walking down the aisle

Photo Credit: Kevin Weinstein

5. Be mindful of your dress

Perhaps the most common fear brides have of their walks down the aisle is tripping over their wedding dresses. These gorgeous gowns are typically floor length, and oftentimes have long trains too. Most brides probably don’t have much experience walking in floor length ball gowns, so a helpful trick to help you glide down the aisle is to be mindful of your dress as you take each step. As you put your foot forward to take a step, your dress will move against the back of your leg. If you wait until the hem of your dress grazes your ankle, you will never step on your dress. This is something that may require a few practice runs, so if you still aren’t comfortable with this process then you can also ask your seamstress to hem your dress slightly shorter.

bride father walking down aisle

Photo Credit: Afloral

6. Smile

We know you’re nervous on one of the most important days of your life, but sometimes we let it show in our faces. Remember to smile and try to enjoy yourself as you  gracefully float down the aisle. Everyone in that room is there to support you and celebrate your love, and smiling throughout your walk will let your guests know that you’re happy they came and there’s nowhere else you’d rather be.

bride walk down aisle

Photo Credit: WeddingBee

Your wedding rehearsal is the ideal time to have everyone in your wedding party practice their duties at least once before the big day. Walking down the aisle on your wedding day may seem like a huge deal, but remember that all you’re doing is walking! Smile, stand up straight and be mindful of your dress and bouquet. When looking around the room, you can lock eyes with your partner to be reminded of all of the reasons why you’re doing this. In the end, the most important thing is that you’re marrying the love of your life and your friends and family are there for the two of you.



Share this article

Quick Picks

Claim your profile

Fill the form below to claim your profile. We will email you back with next steps.

  •  
    Strength indicator
  •  
  •  
    Log In | Lost Password