alecs kay photo blog

welcome to the

Hello there! My name is Alecs and I am so excited that you found my blog! Now it's time to cuddle up with your favorite furry friend, mine is my cat Goof, and start reading!

ForBrides, Weddings

February 5, 2018

Top 3 Tips For Pinning Boutonnieres

Fargo, ND – Wedding Tips

Welcome to the first in my new series of wedding tips blog posts! Once a month will be all about weddings and any advice I can share. These tips and advice will be everything from planning a wedding, to area vendors, to getting ready, to the day-of. This week, we are talking about wedding boutonnieres.

A boutonniere is the small flower or floral arrangement that is typically pinned to the guys’ jackets on a wedding day. This flower may seem like such a simple thing when you are planning your wedding. However, when overlooked, these little flowers can derail the schedule and cause problems for everyone. More often than not, I see people struggling with wedding boutonnieres on the wedding day and resorting to asking Google (or the photographer) for help.

Boutonnieres are such a small detail in the whole wedding day picture. But we can’t forget that these tiny flowers will be in every picture that contains your groom or a groomsmen. Here are some tips to help stop these flowers from taking over your schedule!

A Groom in a grey suit with a red rose wedding boutonnieres walks and holds his bride's hand

1. Assign Someone to Pin the Flowers

This tip may seem like an easy one, however, many people overlook it when planning a wedding. Someone needs to be assigned the job of pinning the boutonnieres on your wedding day. If you just have the flowers delivered to where the guys are getting ready, the flowers will be forgotten. Without a designated flower pinner, no one is there to make sure the groomsmen all have their flowers pinned. Having an assigned flower pinner not only reminds the groomsmen that they need their flowers, but also makes sure they are photo ready. Assigning a flower pinner keeps things running smoothly at the start of the day, giving you one less thing to worry about.

2. Add Flower Pinning to the Wedding Day Schedule

Once you have a person (or two) assigned to flower pinning, make sure they have a set time to have the flowers pinned. This is where the boutonnieres can take over the schedule. For example, let’s say the bridal party photos start at 2pm. If the flower pinner arrives at 1:50pm, there will not be enough time to pin the flowers before leaving for photos. Depending on the size of the bridal party, and how many people are pinning, it can take 15-20 minutes to get all the flowers on the jackets.

To be safe, once the guys are dressed, the flowers should be pinned on. If the flowers are pinned too early, the guys can always hang their jackets over chairs to protect the pinned flowers. That way, when it is time for photos, the guys just have to put their jackets back on and the flowers are ready to go!

3. How to Pin Wedding Boutonnieres

Alright, so now you have a person assigned to pin flowers and you have flower pinning in the schedule, but does anyone know how to pin a boutonniere? This is the biggest issue I see on wedding days. No one in the room knows how to pin a flower and everyone is searching online for answers. Make sure the flower pinner takes a few minutes before the wedding to learn how to pin a boutonniere. Actually practicing beforehand is a plus!

Here are the answers to the most asked questions I encounter on a wedding day:

Which side does the flower go on? Wedding boutonnieres should be on the man’s left lapel. (Your right, when facing him)

How far down does the flower go? The flower should be just below the man’s shoulder. However, you can adjust based on how it looks on the jacket.

How do I get the flower to stay? I start behind the lapel, at the top of the flower. Push the pin down, through the lapel and into the flower stem. The pin should go through the flower stem, and back through the lapel. You should see the top and bottom of the pin. Add a second pin if it is not fully secured.

And that’s it! Repeat with each guy until everyone has their wedding boutonnieres pinned. If you follow these three tips, the guys will all be picture ready in no time at all!

Still confused? Here is a great link with a video and how-to photos as well!