Wedding Buttonhole Flowers: What You Need To Know

Often a lot of the focus on wedding flowers goes on the bride’s bouquet and perhaps the centrepieces for the tables. However, buttonholes are a crucial floral addition and one that is too easily overlooked. 

Let’s start with the basics: what is a buttonhole? 

This is a very small floral arrangement, often with one dominant flower and perhaps some small accessorising leaves or other features like feathers, to complement it. These are worn in the buttonhole of men’s suits (hence the name). 

Typically, the groom and his groomsmen will each have a buttonhole and the flowers used are chosen to match the bridal bouquet. So far, so good. 

However, women can also have buttonholes, although they are usually called corsages. While you might associate these with American prom nights, it is not unusual for the mother of the bride and perhaps the bridesmaids to wear a corsage on their dress. 

Here’s one thing you may not know: buttonholes on men are traditionally worn on the left side (over the heart), with the flowers pointing up. By contrast, corsages on women are traditionally worn on the right with the flowers pointing down. 

The National Wedding Show explained that this is because the flowers sit much more nicely when pointing down on women due to their body shape. 

In terms of what flowers you should choose for your wedding buttonholes or corsages, that really is down to you! Roses are often a good choice because of their shape, structure and the fact they are relatively robust. 

However, you can have a lot of fun with these and use them to show off a bit of your and your partner’s personalities – plus because they’re just small, they are often economical wedding flowers to include in your special day. 

As we’ve mentioned, they don’t just have to be made up of flowers either. So, you could choose one flower to anchor the arrangement and then use greenery, feathers, or even dried flowers or grasses to support your central flower. Be creative!