What do all of these things have in common?

Playing cards, sheet music, maps, pages from a book, feathers, brooches, buttons.

They’ve all been used in really unique boutonnieres.  The traditional bout of fresh flowers seems to be a way of the past.  Here are just a few reasons to go the non-traditional route:

• They can be made months is advance as opposed to fresh flower bouts
• They’re easier to save as keepsakes since there’s nothing that needs to be preserved or dried (and you know we’re all about the keepsakes around here!)
• The DIY brides can get really creative by incorporating the groom’s personality or the overall wedding theme into the design
• They’re often appealing to the savvy bride and groom because they can be much less expensive than having a florist make fresh flower bouts
• They can be fun to create

Check out some of these incredibly creative ones.

1. Are you a couple who loves to travel?  How about incorporating maps like this:

2. Is your groom a fan of poker?  Consider having this pinned to his tux:

3. Are you a literary couple?  How about a bout using pages from a book with significant meaning like this:

4. Will the bride be carrying a brooch bouquet?  If so, consider complimenting it with a brooch bout for the groom, like this:

5. Are peacock feathers your theme?  Check this out:

6. Looking for something that screams “fun and crafty”?  Take a look at this button bout:

7. Are you having a beach wedding?  Why not incorporate the beach theme with this starfish bout:

8. If you like the idea of using flowers, but want something you can buy/make in advance, you may want to consider something like this:

9. Are you a musical couple?  How about incorporating sheet music into your day?

10. We opted for non-traditional bouts for our wedding as well.  My sister and I made these out of two types of silver decorative branches I picked up around Christmas time.  They really complimented the groomsmen’s ties.  Plus, I haven’t seen many fresh flowers in silver so this prevented the guys from wearing bright pink bouts to match the bridesmaid’s bouquets.

Have you seen or made creative boutonnieres that should be added to the list?