DIY Boutonnieres

(Groom's bout I made to go with this bouquet,

Image by my brother)

Though it pains me that I can't arrange all the fresh flowers I'd like for my own wedding, I fully appreciate the benefit of having the floral items done ahead of time. I'm not a big lover of silk flowers so I picked mostly textured/miscellaneous elements over imitation floral. The following is a guide to make a simple boutonnière:

Supplies:

• Floral stems
• Floral tape
• Wire cutter
• Floral wire (optional)
• Coordinating ribbon (optional)

1. Pull/cut a few small stems out and arrange to your liking. Once you decide on how it should look, begin forming the boutonnière by taping two of the main stems together with floral tape, then adding the other stems one or two at a time and secure with floral tape.

2. Optional: make ribbon stem by making multiple loops with the ribbon of your choice, then secure with wire at the bottom where the loops meet. Make sure the wire is tight (when in doubt, add a small dab of hot glue). The size and # of loops needed depends on the look you're going for and the ribbon you're using. Skinnier ribbons can usually use more loops and wider ones need less. 3. Optional: back the mini bouquet with an appropriate sized green (which you can buy or pull from the stems you bought). Though this is not required, often this helps give the boutonnière a more finished look, and provides a flatter surface for ease of pinning (plus less confusion for user when trying to figure out which side is the back). Add ribbon stem and leaf stem with floral tape.4. Back view looks something like this when everything is taped on. Now you can cut the stems where it's appropriate (judge by looking at the front). If the cut creates an ugly end, fix with additional floral tape. If you'd like, curl the thin end around a small rod to give you curlies (see next picture, and I apologize for the ugly example!). Additional notes:

1. Floral tape is not that sticky, simply stretch and pull to adhere. If you've never worked with it before, it may take some getting used to.
2. It may be quite tempting to try and tape everything together at step #2. More often then not, the stems move or the whole thing falls apart. Remember these are worn by people when in use, you want to make sure things stay where you want them!
3. I use basically the same method when working with fresh flowers. With fresh flowers the stems are often thicker so you have to manage that better to not create a super bulky stub. Also fresh flowers don't twist, bend, take abuse quite like silk flowers. I highly recommend doing some test trials if you want to DIY your fresh floral boutonnière.

And, here are the final products for my own wedding (black tags are for ID purposes only, and I highly recommend you label them clearly so no one gets confused!):

Officiant's
(I may incorporate those fuzzy ball things in my bouquet and the groom's bout along with fresh florals)

Grandma and Parents'
(they aren't this blingy, it's just the flash...)
Best Man & Groomsmen's
(minor difference with curled wire on bottom and different leaf for the best man)

I know they look a tad Christmas-y, but it's rough to get around that with my colors of red and gold, plus my preference for non-floral stems. I think they won't stand out to be as holiday-esq at the wedding since they will match everything else. If you're making bouts, try to think ahead to what they will be set against before designing them. While these will be great against black tuxes, I should have designed the moms' differently since theirs will be lost on the red dresses.

Before making these, I had fantastic ideas that were a little too different for those who would have to wear them. Since our wedding is already weird by their standards, I dropped those ideas (like using funky feathers, or making bouts out of suckers... etc.)

Now, who else is subbing their wedding florals with alternatives? What are your unexpected elements? I'd love to live vicariously through you!