What are the boutonnieres and corsages?

Many times during consultations, I see confused brides about boutonnieres and corsages.
Boutonnieres are the flowers for the groom and other men. Corsages are flowers for women. There are two types of corsages; a pin on, and more and more popular, wrist type. I use pearl bracelets that adds a lot of charm and is soft for the hand, while creating wrist corsages. Typically, corsages are bigger than the boutonnieres and are made out of flowers used in the bridal party bouquets.

When it comes to wedding flowers, the bridal bouquet usually gets the most attention. While a great deal of thought needs to be given to this most important bouquet, the flowers worn by the groom and his attendants are equally significant.

A boutonniere, named after the French word for buttonhole; oh, I know a lovely English wedding planner who uses the term buttonhole and she sounds so sweet, is a single flower, or grouping of flowers worn on the lapel. The flowers often coordinate with the blooms used in the bride's bouquet and are chosen to suit the colour scheme of the wedding. A boutonniere, perhaps even more than a bouquet, must be sturdy enough to last for hours, through the ceremony, photographs, dinner, and dancing. The boutonniere doesn't have to be limited to only flowers. It can be made out of herbs, feathers or crystal flowers.

The biggest challenge, as I see it, is how to attach the boutonniere or to pin on a corsage. I supply 2 corsage pins. Some attention should be paid as to what is the front of the boutonniere. When it is delivered, with pins in it, it’s most likely that that part with pins should be worn outwards.
Also, please give some consideration to the size and think how it will look on the photographs. Once I have seen a fabulous boutonniere, however, when the bride and groom were together, the boutonniere was on the same level as the bride's face and it competed with her. So as you can see sometimes such small details play a role. Talk to your flower designer or decorator and always think how the flowers will look on the pictures.


You can find more examples in our website gallery
http://mwflowerdesign.com/MWFlowerDesign/gallery-arrangements.aspx