diff --git a/sol/stack.hpp b/sol/stack.hpp
index be7907bd..5d4f67c5 100644
--- a/sol/stack.hpp
+++ b/sol/stack.hpp
@@ -84,6 +84,18 @@ inline void push_arithmetic(lua_State* L, T x, std::false_type) {
     // T is an floating point type
     lua_pushnumber(L, x);
 }
+
+template<typename T>
+inline void push_helper(lua_State* L, T& x, std::true_type) {
+    // T  is a reference type
+    x.push();
+}
+
+template<typename T>
+inline void push_helper(lua_State* L, T& x, std::false_type) {
+    // T  is a reference type
+    push_arithmetic<T>(L, x, std::is_integral<T>{});
+}
 } // detail
 
 template<typename T>
@@ -116,8 +128,8 @@ inline const char* pop<const char*>(lua_State* L) {
 }
 
 template<typename T>
-inline void push(lua_State* L, T arithmetic) {
-    detail::push_arithmetic(L, arithmetic, std::is_integral<T>{});
+inline void push(lua_State* L, T& t) {
+    detail::push_helper(L, t, std::is_base_of<reference, T>{});
 }
 
 inline void push(lua_State* L, bool boolean) {