4 Things to Consider When Selecting Wedding Corsages

One: Who Should Get a Corsage?

Once you have made all the floral decisions for your bridal party, it is time to move on to selecting corsages for special guests. Generally, corsages are given to mothers, grandmothers, and possibly, godmothers. Some brides and grooms also want corsages for readers or just special people who will be present at the ceremony. The choice depends on who you want to recognize, and your budget.

Two: Types of Flowers

The cost of every corsage depends upon the type of flowers you select. For example, a rose corsage will cost more than a carnation corsage. Most brides seem to choose a flower mix that is consistent with their wedding flowers. If they are carrying white roses, then the corsages are made of white sweetheart roses. Or, if the bride is working with a wildflower mix, the corsages could be made of a similar mix.

Another strategy is to match the corsage flowers to the dresses that mothers and grandmothers are wearing. That is especially relevant if the colors in your bouquet might clash with your guests’ choice of apparel. On our Wedding Planning Floral Checklist we have left a place for you to collect information about the color of the dresses for each person for whom you would like to purchase a corsage. This is very helpful information at a Bridal Consultation. You do not want to be wasting your consultation time making phone calls to ask Mom’s what kind of corsage they want or what color dress they will be wearing.

Once you select the flowers for your corsages, you want to purchase coordinating boutonnieres for fathers, grandfathers, and godfathers.

Three: Pin On, Wrist or Clutch

After you decide on your flowers, you need to decide how you want each corsage made. Again, on our Wedding Planner Floral Checklist, we have given you a place to start collecting this information.

The plus about a pin on corsage is that some people do not want the weight of the corsage on their wrist. The negative is that weddings just naturally bring about a lot of exuberant hugging and kissing, which can result in pin on corsages getting crushed. Also, corsage pins can damage delicate fabrics leaving permanent pin holes.

Wrist corsages are probably the most preferred, but you have to make sure they will work with decorative cuffs and sleeves. At our shop, we do not charge extra to add a wristlet to a corsage. It really comes down to what people are comfortable with. In addition to the basic elastic wristlet, we also offer bracelets. These are inexpensive items that range from $6 to $20. Once the flowers are gone, the bracelet can be kept as a keepsake.

Finally, for those few who want neither a pin on or a wrist corsage, we offer something called a clutch. The clutch uses the same flowers as you would have in a corsage and arranges them into a tiny cluster that can be held like a bouquet.

Four: Finishing Touches

The last things you have to decide on is ribbon and accents. You can match the ribbon in your corsages to the dress that it is to match or, more popular, you can match it to the jewelry that will be worn with the dress. For example, it your mom is wearing silver jewelry, you would match sliver ribbon. You also can add all kinds of rhinestones, pearls, and feathers to accent your design.