I’ve been a UK wedding photographer for over 10 years now, and after some reflection, there’s 3 things that have become a common theme at weddings. No-one wants to spend their wedding morning running around like a headless chicken, and - love you guys - but you grooms need a bit of direction before your wedding day to ensure smooth sailing.

So here’s 3 must-know wedding day tips for grooms. Let’s get into it:

Buttonholes

Ah, the buttonhole. Also known as a boutonniere in the US. No, it’s not the little hole in your jacket lapel (although also, confusingly, called a buttonhole), I’m talking about the little flower you (or your partner) have painstakingly picked out for you and your wedding party. These little beauties don’t just sellotape onto your jacket y’know, so you may want to find out how - and where - they go on, before your wedding day. Keep reading!

I’m sorry to say that frequently at weddings, folk don’t know a) what a buttonhole is, b) that you should be wearing a buttonhole and c) how to put on a buttonhole. And that’s OK! For the most part, you’ve never been asked to do this before, and you probably won’t ever again. So to avoid butchering the precious flower (lovingly curated by your florist) that’s going to hang off your jacket for 12 hours while you hug and chest-bump thousands of guests, let’s make sure you have all the facts before the big day.

“Where does it go? How do we put this thing on?”

Sometimes your florist will leave instructions, but just to be safe, I’m going to tell you how.

Answer: on the left lapel of a suit jacket or waistcoat (or if you are looking at your jacket directly, on the right hand lapel), just above the breast pocket, not too high so it will tickle your chin all day, but not too low so it’s next to your breast pocket.

Each buttonhole is usually provided with a pin, and this pin is meant to go through the stem so the flower sits nicely on top of your lapel. This isn’t like wearing a poppy, which is a common mistake, the stem is not meant to be trapped behind the pin and the pin is super visible. Ideally your pin starts behind your lapel, it comes out and through the stem of the buttonhole one side, holding it firmly, then out the other side of the stem and back into the material of your lapel, making it virtually invisible.

Confused? Here’s a Youtube vid for you visual learners:

How To Put On a Buttonhole

Tip 2: Ties and pocket squares

Possibly the most Googled-search on a Saturday morning in English summertime (“how to tie a tie”) - who doesn’t know how to put on a tie, eh? Well most grooms, it seems (sorry).

I know it’s been a while since we were at school and even work doesn’t always require a tie now, so I understand if you’re a bit rusty. But please don’t leave it until 5 mins before your ceremony to try and figure how to tie your wedding tie!

Decide in advance what you want (Windsor? Half Windsor? Something else?) and practice practice practice. The same for bow ties. Do the hard yards before the big day, and if you need help, get on YouTube for wedding tie tutorials.

The same for pocket squares - yes, the fancy little handkerchiefs that sit in the breast pocket of your jacket. They’re meant to be visible, and attractive. Make sure all the people who are meant to have one, have got one, and practice folding that, too. Here’s previous bride Lucy with some real talk:

“From a guide, Hubby-to-be selected a style which involves folding the pocket square 3 times. On the morning, I passed the directions on to my mum and she did my Dad’s for him, no problem. However I heard that it took the guys about 40 minutes to do four pocket squares, and when they arrived one of their girlfriends took one look at them and had to re-do them all so that they looked the same! The lesson is, practice before the big day! I wish I’d folded them in to the suit jacket pockets the day before.”

Tip 3: Mobile phones

Big bulges in tailored trousers is never aesthetically pleasing, so folks, don’t carry your brick-like mobiles around with you all day in your trouser pockets please! Surely everyone meaningful to you is already at the wedding, so there’s no need to have a mobile the size of Luxembourg in your trousers. It makes for a noticeable chunky rectangular bulge in all your photos and it’s just not necessary. If it doesn’t fit in your jacket pocket, please give it to someone trustworthy or, better still, leave it securely somewhere else.

If you enjoyed reading these tips, why not check out my other blog posts for more inside information on wedding days!