alternative boutonniere

Morgan Mondays: Boutonniere Alternatives

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Hello again on this fabulous Monday! Are you as crazy excited as I am about this pre-Fall weather?

Unique Boutonnieres

I don’t know if you have a groom like mine that is slightly wedding clueless… (maybe it’s most grooms!) but Chris had absolutely no idea what a boutonniere is. Granted, he never had any interest in school dances (if he went at all it was to cover it for the school newspaper) and he’s never been a groomsman, which are the only situations you’d find yourself wearing one! I explained to him that it’s a really small grouping of flowers, that goes with the colors of the wedding and/or the bride’s bouquet, to which he replied incredulously, “Do all grooms do this?” Obviously I’m going to have to get creative with his tuxedo accessories, because the boy doesn’t want a traditional boutonniere!

alternative boutonniere

Create Your Own Boutonniere

There are a lot of reasons to not want flowers as your boutonniere – the biggest one being allergies – but also if you have a really crazy groom (petals could fly if he’s dancing like a fiend before photos even start!), an out-of-the-box wedding that demands something different, to have a wedding keepsake that won’t wilt… I could go on, but you get the idea!

camera lens boutonniere

Here are my tips for creating your perfect “non-boutonniere”!

  • Make a no-rules list of your/your groom’s favorite things

When Chris told me he was anti-flower on his lapel, my first question was “well then, what do you like?” We sat down and went through everything from Sci-Fi novels to red velvet cupcakes and came up with a few things that we could feasibly fit on a lapel that might fit the theme (or at least the colors!)

  • Do your research!

Go online and google “alternative boutonniere”, “fabric boutonniere”, “unique boutonniere” etc. and Pin (via Pinterest – my favorite tool) or save the ones you like. There are a lot of ideas out there, and one might inspire you!  

DIY boutonniere

  • Decide on the details

Big or small? Center of attention or just an accent? Will it be one single object or layered? Will the groomsmen have the same ones or variations? Deciding these things ahead of time can steer you in the right direction. 

unique boutonniere

  • Print/Cut out elements and see how they pair

Rather than spending hours spray painting/gluing/sewing full prototypes, I find it helpful to sketch out different variations on a good idea, or even better – create makeshift ones out of paper so you can mix and match to your heart’s content. Layering two types of fabric behind a brooch or button can seem simple, but deciding on shapes, fabric color, etc can be a feat. Paper prototypes are also rather adorable as wedding scrapbook keepsakes. 

inspiredbride_paper_flowers

 

  • Get the bridal party together for some DIY

Pizza and crafting party, anyone? Gather your peeps and have them put together the final product. Obviously if your boutonniere requires specific skills, this may not work for you, but if all you need is a few glue-gunners this is a great pre-wedding bonding event. 

quotes boutonniere

  • Debut it on the wedding day!

The fun part! Flaunt your creations! And take pride in the fact that it isn’t cookie-cutter, because where’s the fun in that?

feather and button boutonniere

Until next time! xoxo- Morgan Elizabeth

Read the Comments +

  1. Judy Treptau says:

    My daughter-in-love to-be is in love with the boutonniere idea you have pictured on this page. It’s the one of the metal “flower” with the newsprint inside of it. Where in the world can we find something like this? Or could you let us know if there is a particular name for them, what it is? We would be so very grateful to you for any information you could give us about these adorable “flowers”. Thank you!

  2. Morgan says:

    Judy, I did some digging, because I wasn’t sure where they came from myself! I think the Etsy artist who originally designed these isn’t selling anymore, but if you want to try to contact her via Etsy here’s a link! https://www.etsy.com/people/foundling?ref=pr_profile# Good luck!!

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