Creating Wedding Boutonnieres: A Step-By-Step Guide For Beginners

Wedding planning can be expensive, so it's worth considering making your own boutonnière. It's a simple project that allows you to save money and create a cohesive floral design for your wedding. A traditional boutonnière consists of a statement bloom and smaller flowers, wrapped in floral tape and ribbon. You can choose any flowers you like, but it's best to use hearty blooms that can hold up without a water source, such as spray roses, pansies, or carnations. Making your own boutonnière is an easy way to save money and add a unique, personal touch to your wedding.

Choosing flowers and colours

When it comes to choosing flowers and colours for your wedding boutonnieres, there are a few key things to keep in mind. Firstly, it's important to select flowers that are hearty and can hold up without a water source. This is crucial as you want the boutonnieres to stay fresh and vibrant throughout the wedding day. Flowers such as spray roses, ranunculus, pansies, tulips, carnations, and calla lilies are all great options that tick these boxes. You can also add some greenery to complement the flowers, such as baby's breath, ivy, eucalyptus, or Italian ruscus.

Another factor to consider is the overall floral design of your wedding. If you want a cohesive look, choose flowers and colours that complement your bridal bouquet, centrepieces, and other floral arrangements. This doesn't mean everything has to be matchy-matchy, but having a similar colour palette or flower type can help bring the whole aesthetic together. For example, if you're having a rustic wedding with lots of greenery and white flowers, you could create boutonnieres with a single white flower and a sprig of greenery. Or, if you're having a bright and colourful celebration, you might opt for a bolder flower like a tulip or rose in your wedding colours.

The size of the flowers is also something to keep in mind. Generally, smaller blooms with a dainty face work best for boutonnieres. This is because they are less likely to overwhelm the lapel of the jacket and will be more comfortable for the wearer. Larger blooms can also be used, but it's important to consider the overall size and weight of the boutonniere so as not to damage the fabric of the jacket.

When choosing flowers, it's also essential to think about the time of year and what is in season. This will ensure that your chosen flowers are available and at their best. For example, peonies are a popular choice for weddings in the spring and early summer when they are in season. If you're having a winter wedding, you might opt for something heartier like berries or pinecones, or even dried flowers, which will last longer without water.

Finally, don't be afraid to get creative and add some personal touches. Boutonnieres are a great way to showcase your style and can be customised to reflect the personality of the groom and groomsmen. For example, if the groom loves gardening, you could include a sprig of rosemary in the boutonniere, or if they're a fan of something more unique, you could add a small succulent or air plant.

Materials needed

The materials you will need to make boutonnieres for a wedding include flowers and foliage, as well as some tools and accessories.

For the flowers, you will need to select a statement bloom, and then choose some smaller accent blooms and greenery to accompany it. Hearty flowers that can hold up without a water source are best. Good options for statement blooms include roses, pansies, ranunculus, tulips, carnations, and calla lilies. For greenery and smaller flowers, you can use baby's breath, ivy, eucalyptus, heather, or wax flowers. You can also add some flat green leaves and sprigs of rosemary for extra colour and texture.

In terms of tools and accessories, you will need floral scissors or stem cutters to trim the stems of your flowers and greenery to the desired length. You will also need floral tape to wrap around and seal the stems, preventing wilting. Ribbon can be used to cover the floral tape, and you will also need pins to affix the boutonnieres to the lapels of the jackets.

Step-by-step guide to making a boutonniere

A step-by-step guide to making a boutonniere:

• Preparation: Before you start, decide how many boutonnieres you will need and source your materials. You will need flowers, floral scissors or stem cutters, pins, floral tape, and ribbon (optional). Choose flowers that are hearty and can hold up without a water source, such as spray roses, pansies, or carnations. You can also add some greenery, such as baby's breath or ivy.
• Gather your flowers and greenery. You will want to have one or two statement blooms and two to four smaller accent blooms and pieces of greenery.
• Cut all the stems to your desired length, leaving about one to three inches of stem to work with. Make sure the stems are clean and remove any leaves from the lower parts.
• Create your arrangement. Start with the statement bloom and add the additional accents and greenery behind it. Play around with the arrangement until you are happy with how it looks.
• Wrap and trim: Once you have settled on your design, wrap all the stems tightly with floral tape. Then, neatly trim the stems to about one inch in length. If you want to cover the floral tape, you can wrap a ribbon around it, starting at the bottom and working up to the base of the flowers. Secure the ribbon with a knot and a pin.
• Attach the boutonniere to the lapel of the jacket, and you're done!

If you are making the boutonnieres in advance, it is best to make them on the morning of the ceremony and store them in a cool, dry place. If you need to make them the night before, leave the stems exposed and place the boutonnieres in a shallow cup of water. Do not put them in the fridge.

When to make your boutonniere

When making your own boutonniere, timing is crucial to ensure your creation looks fresh for the wedding. Ideally, you should make the boutonniere on the morning of the ceremony and store it in a cool, dry place. Avoid putting it in the fridge, as the gases emitted by produce can cause the blooms to wilt.

If you need to make the boutonniere the night before, leave the stems exposed and place it in a shallow cup of water. Again, store it in a cool, dry place, avoiding the fridge. Some flowers will hold up better than others without water for 24 hours, so this is something to consider when planning your timing. More delicate flowers may need to be prepared on the day itself.

If you are making multiple boutonnieres, you may want to enlist the help of a family member to ensure they are all prepared in time for the wedding.

How to store your boutonniere

If you've made your own boutonnieres for a wedding, you'll want to make sure they stay fresh before they're pinned on. Here are some tips to keep your boutonnieres looking their best:

Firstly, check the tape around the base of the flower is snug. Then, lightly mist the boutonniere with cool water and place it on a tissue. Put the tissue and boutonniere into a box with a lid or a corsage bag. Keep the box in a portable cooler to maintain a cool temperature. You can also store the boutonniere in the refrigerator, but be sure to keep it away from fruit, especially apples, as they release a gas that shortens the life of flowers. If you're storing multiple boutonnieres together, keep them in a refrigerator drawer by themselves to avoid the gases from food.

Do not store your boutonnieres in the freezer, as this will kill the flowers. If you're making the boutonnieres the night before, leave the stems exposed and place them in a shallow cup of water, leaving them in a cool, dry place.

Frequently asked questions