What’s the difference between a buttonhole, boutonniere and corsage?

Weddings are very important and special and everyone wants to make this occasion a very memorable one because it happens once in a lifetime.

When planning a wedding there are many things one must think about and get them done and the choice and arrangement of wedding flowers is just one of them.

Most of the people just don’t know about the terminologies of floral arrangements that are being used during weddings and they get confused; so this blog is a quick guide for all the people out there who are planning their wedding and who absolutely do not have any idea about certain things used frequently in such occasions. So keep reading!

 

Buttonholes

Buttonholes are normally worn by men at their wedding and mostly these are worn on their left lapel. In order to secure this buttonhole at place a very long pin with a very large head is used in order to secure this buttonhole at its place.

These buttonholes are most commonly made from a single flower most likely carnation or orchid or in other cases it is made from a single rose. To give it the extra charm this flower is normally coupled with a sprig of foliage or by one leaf which is normally positioned to the side or just behind it.

In order to give more meaning to the buttonhole a single rose from the bride’s bouquet is taken and that single rose is used to make buttonholes and this mainly signifies sharing.

To ensure freshness of the flowers these are mostly picked early in the morning of the wedding so that the flowers are fresh and radiant.

Nowadays all the brides coordinate the flowers that are being used for the buttonholes with other bridal flowers. Buttonholes are typically the simplest floral arrangements that are used in weddings with only one central flower which is either used all alone or it is accompanied by foliage or leaves.

These are further combined with pearl loops, feathers or beads which are one of the most trending choices at this moment.

 

Boutonniere

It is French for buttonhole which means that these are most commonly worn by men. The main feature of this Boutonniere is that instead of a single central flower it is made with a small group of flowers like berries, succulents and feathers.

The boutonniere is basically one flower bud or one solo flower which is either used alone or it is surrounded by green leaves, ribbon or even fillers. This type of floral arrangement is often worn by men. It is normally looped through the lapel buttonhole on the left side of the suit coat. The flower is usually pinned on the lapel if in case the jacket doesn’t have the buttonhole.

 

 Corsage

This word Corsage is basically a French word which means bodice. These are normally 4 to 5 collection of flowers which are accompanied with other accessories like filler, ribbon and greenery.

This is basically for women who wear this corsage on their wedding day right on the left side of their dress. Apart from that it can also be worn on wrist as a wrist corsage in which flowers are attached to an elastic band which is then worn on the wrist.

 

History of Corsage and Boutonniere

In the 18^th century the English started to use flowers and then they used boutonniere and corsage in order to ward off any kind of evil spirits as well to expel infectious disease.

These were also used to mitigate any kind of bad smells that were part of different cultures. Slowly these made their way to the fashion industry and they became part of the fashion industry.

Around 1940’s English men put on this boutonniere and corsage to go out for a time they caught on as an accessory of the gentlemen.

Now all these three are frequently used at weddings and they are worn on occasions like weddings as proms and apart from weddings, they are also used in other happy occasions.

 

What kinds of flowers are used?

In the early times when these were new in the trend then the only type of flowers that are used to make these were only carnations and gardenias. But now many other different flower varieties are used including lilies, orchids, roses, tulips, freesia and small flowers like cornflowers.

At weddings to make some sort of fashion statement most men also design contemporary boutonnieres which are made up of herbs, metals or other such objects.

Ideal size

Ideally, these boutonnieres must be the size of a golf ball. As a single flower is used to design these so if the central flower is small in size then it can be enhanced by berries, greens, fillers or baby’s breath.

The majority of the floral designers also suggest and they prefer that corsage should contain an odd number of flowers; which means it should either have three or five or seven flowers not more than that. Because according to these designers odd numbers are lucky and also they are more pleasing.

 

Is it really necessary to wear corsage, boutonnieres and buttonhole?

Of course these are not mandatory and it greatly depends on personal choice. Just like wedding flowers depend on personal preferences the same goes for these.

It only depends on the bride and groom’s personal choice if they want to keep their wedding simple then they can do that but if they want to make this occasion extra special and want to add things like these to add more meaning then that is also perfectly ok.

 

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