Ball season for students across Rangiora, Kaiapoi and North Canterbury means one thing at our Woodend studio: corsages and buttonholes, made to order, one dress and dinner suit at a time. If you're getting flowers for a formal, here's what goes into it.
What's a Corsage or Buttonhole?
If this is your first ball, someone has probably left you with two new words to figure out. A corsage is a small arrangement of flowers usually worn on the wrist but sometimes pinned to a dress. A buttonhole (also called a boutonnière) is the smaller, single-flower design worn on a lapel of a dinner jacket. While they don't have to be, they are often a matching set. A corsage and buttonhole are usually colour-matched to each other and to what you and your partner are wearing. That's really all they are — but getting the colours, timing and fit right is where we come in.
What We Need From You
The details that make the biggest difference to your finished piece are:
- When is your ball?– this is how we plan your make and pick-up time.
- The colour of the dress and tie – a description works fine, but these days we're finding most people send a photo of the dress and sometimes the tie, which is more accurate for matching flowers and ribbon than a colour name alone. We're happy to work with either.
Why Your Corsage Is Made So Close to Ball Night
We deliberately make corsages and buttonholes as close as possible to your pick-up time — not a day or two early. Once a corsage is assembled, it doesn't have long before it starts to wilt, so we time the build around your evening, then keep it at the right temperature until you collect it. If you're ordering for a ball, it's worth locking in your pick-up time when you order, so we can plan your flowers around it.
How a Corsage Is Put Together
There's more craft in a corsage than most people realise. Each flower and piece of foliage is supported by a thin wire for rigidness, and that wire is wrapped in floral tape. That tape holds a small amount of moisture against the stem, which is what keeps the flowers looking fresh for the few hours they need to last. Those parts are then wired and taped together into larger parts of the design, which is then glued (with a floral glue) and tied onto a bracelet. It's a delicate balance: the corsage is built with enough structure to hold its shape pinned to a dress or wrist, but also look delicate. Timing matters as the only thing holding water in the flower is the small amount retained in then stems by the floral tape, so I make corsages and buttonholes as close to your ball date as I can, and then they stay in a cooler waiting for your collection.
Choosing a Wristband
For wrist corsages, we generally use a stretchable pearl-style bracelet — it's comfortable, suits most dress styles, and holds the corsage securely through a night of dancing and photos. Other bracelet styles are available if you'd like or need something different, so let us know when you order.
Putting Them On
A wrist corsage is the easiest option — just slide the stretchable bracelet on and it sits securely for the night. While the wrist corsage is the popular choice, let us know if you'd prefer a design that pins to the dress instead, and we'll make it to suit. If you've gone for a pin-on corsage, take a little more care: pin through the ribbon or floral tape at the base rather than through delicate petals, and angle the pin slightly upward so it holds firm without pulling on the fabric of the dress. For buttonholes, the stem sits through the buttonhole slit on the left lapel and is secured from behind with a pin or magnetic backing — ask us for whichever option you'd prefer when you order, and we'll make sure it's fitted properly before you leave.
Don't Be Afraid to Go Bold With a Buttonhole
Most guys keep it simple, and that's completely fine — but a buttonhole is a chance to show personality and fashion sense at a formal. It's a small piece, but it's front and centre in every photo, so if you want something a little more showy for a showy occasion, we're all for it. Bold colours, unexpected foliage, a slightly oversized design — tell us what you're thinking and we'll help bring it to life.
Caring for Your Corsage or Buttonhole Until the Ball
Because of how it's made, corsages and buttonholes are generally same-day pieces. Keep it somewhere cool right up until you need to pin it on or slip it onto the wrist — the fresher it stays, the better it'll photograph.
Ordering Your Ball Flowers
Ball season books out fast across North Canterbury, so the earlier you order online, the more choice you'll have on dress colours, styles and pick-up times. Let us know your ball date, the dress and tie colours (or a photo of each), and we can take care of the rest.
Here's a quick video up of me making a corsage:
Have Fun
Laura
Laura King Flowers