I was dead set on making several...and I mean SEVERAL items for my wedding. I have always been a crafty person, and I used my wedding as a showcase of my talents. I honestly never gave much thought to what my wedding would look like until about 6 months after I became engaged. That was when I decided I wanted a woodsy/natural theme with green, brown, and gold. While these are not typical wedding colors, I wanted to incorporate as many natural elements as possible given our wooded venue. All these great ideas went flying through my mind of all the things I could make and do...when it hit me...all the questions hit me.
How much did I want to put into this? Did we need lots of decor? Was I going to save money doing DIY versus purchasing? Did I have a theme? Would any of this look stupid or out of place? Did it all have to "match"? Would my fiance hate this stuff? Was anyone going to notice all the hard work I put into all of this?
Would I have TIME to do ANY of this!?!?!?!
My fiance (now husband) and I were engaged for about 22 months before our wedding. In that span of time we both changed jobs, bought a house and moved, we suffered some family losses, took vacations, and adopted pets. Somehow in the middle of all this, I was able to find time to make some pretty cool stuff. Most of the things I made utilized items I purchased from craft stores and took very little time to make. I thought by taking pictures and doing some simple tutorials I might help some other future brides out! Before I begin my tutorial I will say that the things I made were absolutely worth it. While I am sure only a few people noticed all the hard work I put into the decor, I was very proud of what I was able to create.
How to make Boutonnieres:
This is a list and approximate cost of the items I bought for this project and what you will need:
* A bag of thin, wood craft sticks - 50% off at Hobby Lobby - $2.00
* Ribbon - I used two kinds $1.99 each from Michael's Crafts
* Hemp cord - I had some left over but it is about $8.00 a roll new
* Feathers - the ones that were bound at the bottom were $1.99 a package at Meijer Grocery
* Plastic fern fronds or other greenery - these were $4.99 a bunch at Michael's
* Box of FLAT back bar pins - $2.99 at Michael's
* Small gold flowers - $0.99 at Hobby Lobby (I bought 3 bunches for this project)
* Green & clear wired gems - $3.99 at Michael's
* Small pine cones - free from my yard
* Glue gun and glue
* Clear Tape
Now, when I bought these items I did use some of the stuff for other wedding projects (they will be seen again in other tutorials) but when it was all said and done these honestly cost about $3.25 a piece and I believe I ended up with 7 boutonnieres. I had coupons for some items and I bought things on sale when I could. I also bought some other craft items that I did NOT end up using which I figured into my overall cost.
The feathers I purchased were bound at the base which proved to be a HUGE money and time saver. If I had purchased a small craft bag of pheasant feathers and the longer ostrich feathers, together that would have cost me over $14.00. I only spent $4.00 on two packages that contained 4 "stems" of feathers each. I also lucked out on the super realistic fern fronds at Michael's Crafts. They came in a "bunch" that I was able to separate into 10 individual fronds. They were also made of a rubbery material so they looked and felt more real.
You could also save some money if you already have ribbon you like or pins laying around. I wanted a specific green hue to match the ferns. The same goes for the flowers I chose; the ones I purchased at Hobby Lobby come in probably 10 different colors of the same style so you can personalize for your own color scheme.
I also "splurged" and bought these "gems" that were wired together in a bunch that I separated into small clusters.
I started out separating the tiny flowers into groups of 5-7 and twisting the wires together to keep them in a "bunch" (see the picture but ignore the loud table cloth I was working over). I then picked out a single craft stick, a piece of the wired gems, and one feather cluster. Using the craft stick as a sturdy base, I used clear tape to tape down the feather first, then the small flower bunch, and a wired gem piece (see below).
Please note the tape will NOT be seen, it is just there to hold everything in place!
I then took a fern frond and cut it to the length I wanted - I wanted the feathers to stand just a bit taller and to the opposite side of the frond. I then secured this to the craft stick with a bit more clear tape.
I then took a bar pin and taped this onto the back again with tape. Using a secure bar pin was a personal preference. I know most boutonnieres are secured with a single, long, straight pin but I did not want the possibility of them shifting or falling off. On the wedding day the men were also able to easily figure out how to put them on their jackets without incident and they stayed on all day.
Although I could not adequately photograph this process, this is the next step. Using a dab of hot glue I secured hemp cord to the back of the craft stick. I then wrapped the cord over all the tape all the way down to where I wanted the base to stop. I wanted the "look" to resemble a little basket holding flowers. Using scissors I then cut the craft stick where I wanted the boutonniere to stop and I glued the hemp to the base. I then cut the hemp cord from the bottom and "smooshed" the end to secure any loose frays of cord. I then tied a simple ribbon around the middle of the "stem" and glued a tiny pine cone on the side.
Overall I was THRILLED with how these turned out and how easy they were to make. After I had everything sorted out I was able to make all of these in about one hour.
As you can see they matched perfect with the green in the bottles I used for my cake table (I will show the bottle transformation in another tutorial).
On the big day they actually looked AMAZING - they looked expensive, polished, and they matched the green and gray tuxes the men wore perfectly. That being said, I was SO BUMMED about two things: After I told my husband MULTIPLE times to not forget to put them on, they FORGOT. Thank GOD my awesome brother was on hand to chase the men down, and they had to scramble right before the ceremony to get them on. They were literally putting them on 5 minutes before we walked down the aisle. That being said, I was thankful I decided to use the bar pins instead of straight pins!
The men were able to figure out how to get the boutonnieres on without sticking themselves and they all stayed where they were supposed to stay! The other thing I was bummed about was due to the men's pictures being done before the ceremony, I sadly did not get a professional picture of the boutonnieres close up.
All in all the men looked damn nice and all fancy with their boutonnieres and pocket squares. On a side note the men's looks all came from Men's Warehouse. I put my husband in charcoal and the groomsmen in light gray - all were tuxedos. 
My brother was a HUGE help the morning of the wedding (it was beyond hectic)! He had me help him with his boutonniere and the shirt studs. Apparently, none of the groomsmen knew how shirt studs worked either but luckily they figured them out on their own.
In my other tutorials I will show how I made my table numbers, bottles for the tables, cake stands, corsages, menu boards, a large arch swag, center pieces, and more!
Best Engagement Rings
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