How to Pin a Boutonniere


How to Pin a Boutonniere without Poking Anyone

Two of the most awkward moments of every wedding are cake cutting and pinning a boutonniere. If you haven’t pinned before, chances are – those lovely buds are about to turn droopy and crony seconds later. Although you wouldn’t have to deal with this task outside the context of a wedding (or a prom), it’s still good to know how to pin a boutonniere.

Wedding photographs witness of a bunch of people failing to pin a flower on themselves or someone else properly. If you don’t want to draw the attention of the camera, make sure to follow our tips. It takes no more than 5 minutes to pin it securely.

How to Pin a Boutonniere Step-by-Step

Whether you are going to pin yourself a boutonniere or to someone else, these steps will help you gain some skill. We have 3 methods on this, so you can choose yourself the one that seems simpler (even though both are easy-peasy).

Lapel Method #1

  1.         Place the boutonniere

Turn the floral so it is facing out, away from your chest, or the groom’s. Place the greenery to the lapel, but stick to the center or just below it. You should make the stem go along the lapel angle.

  1.         Posit the pins

Now that you have an idea of where the boutonniere should sit, hold the flowers in the same place while turning the lapel over. Pull the first pin through the lapel to the outside and then pull it to the inside again. 

The pin should be placed right at the top of the stems. To make sure everything stays in place, pull through another pin.

  1.         Pin the boutonniere

Here comes the most important part. While still holding the flowers, weave the point of another pin through the lapel. Weave through the boutonniere so the sharp points are placed inward. Place one more pin and make it parallel with the first one.

  1.         Double-check

Once you are done with all those pins, the boutonniere should be faced upwards and well secured. Everything looking good? Then you are all set!

Lapel Method #2

  1.         Place the boutonniere

Place the boutonniere against the lapel so it covers its widest part. Here you can find more about various lapel types.

Pin the head of the flower, flip the lapel, pull the sharp point through it while going downward. Unlike the first method when you are placing the pins parallel, here you are placing them horizontally.

  1.         Secure the boutonniere

Once you’ve pushed the pin down, put the sharp point back through the lapel so it hooks up the stem. When doing this, make sure the sharp point doesn’t stick out, otherwise, it might hurt someone.

  1.         Repeat

Heavy boutonnieres may require you to repeat the pinning process once more. A single pin is no enough to hold on the weight of the flowers. Not even the most experienced pinners would manage this. Thus, add another one to make the boutonniere extra sturdy.

  1.         Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle

If the boutonniere stays in place even after you give it some wiggle, congrats – you mastered the art of pinning a boutonniere!

Shirt Method

  1.         Place the boutonniere

The boutonniere should be placed above the heart. Traditionally, the best place is the upper left region, where the shirt pocket is (if there is a pocket). The buds should be touching the top section of the pocket.

  1.         Weave the pin

Weave the pin into and then out of the shirt, going from the right to the left. You can pinch the shirt fabric a bit and weave through the layers. However, make sure not to weave through the pocket.

  1.         Insert the boutonniere

Take the boutonniere and insert the stem to the pocket by pulling it through a pinhole. This way, you won’t have to pin through the stem if you don’t want to. Yet, if you feel like things are not fully secured, use another one and apply the weave method again.

  1.         Flatten

Shirts are prone to wrinkling. Check the fabric and flatten it if there are any bunches around. Wiggle the boutonniere a bit to make sure it is fastened securely.

Summary

That’s all the magic with keeping those gorgeous floral boutonnieres in place for a good couple of hours. Now that you know how to pin a boutonniere, there is no chance you would ever get flustered because the buds are falling down. However, beware everyone would team up around you once they see your skills.