Buttonholes – or boutonnières as they are officially known – are traditionally an important part of every couple’s wedding flowers. Held in just as much esteem as the bride’s bouquet, the buttonholes of today are more creative than ever, with designs going above and beyond the single carnation relied on in years gone by.
Unbeknown to most, buttonholes have a long history and a complex meaning as Wedding Ideas details:
“The tradition of wedding buttonholes, as with all wedding flowers, originates from ancient Greece. The male wedding party members would wear a small bunch of flowers, usually mixed with fragrant herbs, pinned close to their heart in order to ward off evil spirits. It was believed that these evil spirits would cause the groom to turn his heart against the bride and refuse to love her. Buttonholes travelled to England during Medieval times.”
History aside, buttonholes provide a great opportunity to infuse your wedding colours and wider theme into the ensembles of the groom, best man, ushers, father of the bride, and father of the groom. There are coordinating corsages for the mothers of the bride and groom too!
When designing beautiful buttonholes for your autumn wedding, taking inspiration from the season is certainly recommended. Here we share just a few autumn ideas for your wedding buttonholes.
Add some rustic flair
Rustic wedding themes are particularly popular during the autumn months, with natural materials and seasonal blooms featuring heavily in coordinating buttonhole designs. Use twine to wrap your rustically coloured foliage to ensure an authentic display that complements the season.
Go dried with your arrangement
Your choice of flowers certainly doesn’t have to be fresh. Dried flower buttonhole designs aren’t just beautiful, tactile and seasonal, they’re fun to make too. Dried arrangements also make fantastic keepsakes that you and your wedding party will want to treasure for years to come.
Use an assortment of dried flowers and grasses – pepper berries, bunny tail grass, lavender, pampas grass, craspedia and helichrysum all look great in dried displays – to ensure plenty of colour and texture in your DIY buttonhole design.
Style with sentimentality
Your wedding should be personal to you both. Make every aspect of your wedding – including your buttonholes – a celebration of your relationship journey so far or the people who’ve helped you along the way. Styling your buttonholes with a sentimental twist is a great way to make your design uniquely you.
Incorporating photographs and keepsakes into your design can also be a discreet nod to a lost loved one, with the placement of your buttonhole keeping that special someone who can’t celebrate with you close to your heart throughout your day.
Keep your buttonholes seasonal
Using seasonal flowers in your buttonholes, bouquets, place settings and wider floral displays is great for your wedding budget and even better for the planet. The use of seasonal varieties can also pave the way to some pretty creative displays, with the most stunning in-season flowers offering plenty of food for thought.
Autumn flowers like dahlias, celosia, protea and anemones provide captivating displays in delightful colours, even when used as single-stem buttonhole arrangements.
