How To Choose the Best Flowers For Boutonnières & Corsages

A Flower Duet Groom when he greets his bride for first time on Wed­ding Day.

Bou­ton­nières and cor­sages fall under the cat­e­go­ry of “Per­son­al Flow­ers” since they are worn on your per­son. In order to cut down on the bulk of flower stems, we remove most of the stem of a flower and then replace it with wire and flo­ral tape to cre­ate a bou­ton­nière or cor­sage. Per­son­al Flow­ers are the ones you give to those who are rep­re­sent­ing you at your wed­ding includ­ing friends who are stand­ing up for you, par­ents, grand­par­ents, read­ers or ush­ers. Of course, grooms usu­al­ly wears a lit­tle some­thing extra spe­cial to set him apart.

 Rules for When to Wire Flowers

• Only wire a flower if it can’t be used sat­is­fac­to­ri­ly with­out it.
• Wire flow­ers to sup­port weak­ened stems.
• Wire to hold flow­ers and foliage in a desired position.
• Replace flower stems on cor­sages so the cor­sage stem is not bulky.
• Use wire to add acces­sories to cor­sages and arrangements.
• Use the best bou­ton­nière flow­ers for wiring. These are flow­ers that do well out of water.

What are the Best Boutonnière Flowers?

Cym­bid­i­um Orchids are clas­sic and hardy choic­es for bou­ton­nières flow­ers. By Flower Duet.

These days in wed­ding design, any­thing can be used as the focal fea­ture of a bou­ton­nière. The star fea­ture on some­one’s dress, lapel, vest or sus­pender is not always a flower. Some­times it can be feath­ers or suc­cu­lents or a col­lec­tion of but­tons art­ful­ly placed. What fol­lows is a list of flow­ers and green­ery that are great choic­es for any type of per­son­al flower that will be worn and need to stay fresh look­ing out of water.

Com­mon Flowers:

• Car­na­tions
• Chrysan­the­mums
• Cym­bid­ium Orchids
• Mini Calla Lily
• Stan­dard Roses
• Spray Ros­es

Unusu­al Flower & Plant Choices:

These round yel­low flow­ers are called Cras­pe­dia or “Bil­ly Balls” and make per­fect lit­tle bou­ton­nières. By Flower Duet.

• Bru­nia Berries
• Berzil­lia Berries
• Cras­pe­dia (Bil­ly Balls)
• Hyper­icum Berries
• Sea Hol­ly
• Scabiosa Pods
• Suc­cu­lents

Accent Flow­ers:

Baby’s Breath is now tak­ing cen­ter stage in bou­quets, cen­ter­pieces, gar­land and boutonnieres.

• Baby’s Breath
• Misty Blue
• Sol­ida­go
• Wax Flower

Green­ery:

• Camel­lia Leaves
• Ital­ian Ruscus
• Ivy
• Seed­ed Eucalyptus

We show you what tools you’ll need to cre­ate a bou­ton­niere and how to make one. Check out our how to wire flow­ers instruc­tions along with a how to wire flow­ers  video that demon­strates the technique.