Design Spotlight: Boutonnieres - Harvey Designs

September 25, 2018

| Design Spotlight: Boutonnieres

Boutonnieres- the flower of bromance. The men, and sometimes women, who stand at the alter with the groom represent a posse of caring, loyal friends. Similar to the bridesmaids, who surround the bride and offer her love and support, this group can play a central part in a larger wedding party. When the wedding is smaller, there are often still a few men donning flowers – the groom, the best man, a father, brother, etc. Whether the boutonniere count is 2 or 20, it is a small but significant floral tradition.

A Quick History Lesson

The word boutonniere is french for “buttonhole flower.” Some historical accounts trace the use of decorative flowers on male clothing back to ancient Egypt and the Mexican Aztec culture, where different colored flowers were used to show allegiance to a player during sporting events. In the early 19th century, this tradition was adopted in Europe as a way to accessorize drably colored men’s clothing. While our modern culture no longer expects to see brightly colored lapel flowers on a daily basis, weddings are a great place to celebrate this relatively humble, yet meaningful set of stems. Below, we’ve highlighted a diverse set of boutonnieres from some of our recent weddings.

1. Peach Ranunculus, Peach Hypericum Berries, Olive, Italian Ruscus