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Basic Wedding Flower Terminology By Melissa J Wantuck  |
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Choosing the flowers for your wedding can be confusing enough when you’re faced with the thousands of varieties of flowers available to you. A helpful first step in the process is to start with the basics: terminology.
Have you ever heard the term “nosegay” when someone is referencing wedding flowers and thought the word sounded funny? Perhaps you picture something that makes your nose happy. If that’s what you thought, you’re actually right on target with the etymology of the word.
A nosegay is a small, round bouquet of flowers. Nosegays are carried by hand and can easily be held up by the bearer to enjoy their fair scent.
When you’re planning your wedding and choosing your flowers with your florist, this word, among many others will have a specific meaning to your florist. You now know that a nosegay is a small, round bouquet of flowers, but so is a posy. Only a posy is designed differently than a nosegay. It’s helpful for any bride to know which word, and other like them, to use when talking with their florist.
To keep you on your toes and speaking as close to your florist’s language as a flower layperson can, here’s are the main terms discussed when you meet with your florist.
Bouquet
A bouquet is traditionally carried by the bride and her attendants, and possibly a small one for the mothers and grandmothers. There are over a dozen terms associated merely with bouquets.
In our next article in this series, we’ll discuss the many types of bouquets brides can choose from. We’ll describe the difference between nosegays and posies, as well as other bouquet terms, including cascade, pomander, single stem, and crescent.
Corsage
The corsage is traditionally worn by the mothers of the bride and groom. Grandmothers and other women involved with the wedding ceremony, like readers and musicians, may also be given a corsage to wear.
There are two types of corsages: pinned on or wrist. Typically a bride will want to discuss with the mothers and grandmothers which type they’d prefer. They’ll want to consider if the dress being worn by the mother or grandmother can support a pinned on corsage. Some fabric types could be damaged by the pin and contact with moisture. The wearer may prefer having a pinned on corsage to keep her hands free, or they prefer having the corsage on their wrist to keep flowers off of their dress.
There are two main types of wrist corsages: the wristlet and the bracelet. The wrist corsage has an elastic band that goes around the wrist with the flowers of the corsage arranged to be worn on the top side of the arm just above the hand. The bracelet corsage has the band going around the wrist as well, but the flowers go around the wrist.
Hairpieces
Floral hairpieces can be as simple as a few sprigs of baby’s breath tucked into curls, or a full wreath atop a flower girl. There are also pieces designed to be attached with a bobby pin, a barrette, or a headband. Brides planning to wear floral hairpieces, or have them made for their attendants, will want the pieces to coordinate with the rest of their flowers as well as the hair style of each person wearing them.
Boutonniere
Boutonnieres are worn by the groom, the fathers and grandfathers, the groom’s attendants, and any other men who are participating in the ceremony. Boutonnieres are smaller than pinned on corsages, typically one larger flower with some greens, like a rose or carnation, or a few smaller flowers with greens.
In our next article we’ll detail many of the bouquet options. After that, we’ll look at the terms for floral decorations at the wedding site.
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