There is a whole world of awesome non-flower Boutonnieres out there. Not that there is anything wrong with real flower Boutonnieres, they just seem kind of expensive, short-lived, and difficult to make. Not to mention they have to be made LAST MINUTE, and anything I can cross off my list before the week of the wedding is awesome in my book.
I scrolled around on Pinterest and Wedding Blogs to find what kind of non-floral Boutonniere worked best for us. In the end I stumbled upon this (oh Martha, how I love thee!) adorable little Brass Engraved Boutonniere! So precious, but at $20 a medal + engraving costs (and 5, originally 6 Groomsmen) that would cost way too much, were on a budget here people! I also thought it seemed silly to spend that money on an engraved charm that I doubt any of his groomsmen would actually want to keep.
Next I found this Wooden Carved Medal Boutonniere on Etsy. Soooo Cool! But similar deal to the first one. It’s just too expensive for a bunch of boys who will likely leave them on the hotel nightstand the next day. But I really liked the striped ribbon look that the first one was lacking.
In the end I decided to try to make my own. Here are the supplies I used:
– 1 1/2″ Stainless Steel Disc with Hole
-1 1/2″ Grosgrain Yellow Ribbon
-Stainless Steal Jump Rings (I forget what size I did, on tiny, one a little bigger. Both purchased at Joanns)
-Smallest sheet of Balsa Wood I could buy (purchased at Joanns)
-Grey paint
-1/2″ Dark Grey Ribbon
-1 Full sheet of “sticker” (there is an office supply store in town that sells them individually for 10 cents)
Also:
-Craft Glue
-Iron
-Scissors
-printer
-Photoshop.
Alright, after listing it all out it seems like quite the project, but I swear it wasnt too hard. I also really do think it was the most economical way to get what we wanted. As for how I designed them, I winged it. The hardest part was folding the ribbon so it created that medal through the loop look. I used an iron to press the seems, and did a little cutting so that back of the ribbon tucked in nicely, then just glued it down. Same with the grey ribbon and feather at the top, just ironed and glued. The feather was actually a random last-minute add on that I really like, its quirky.
For the medal, they actually came with white plastic on them to protect their “shiny-ness” which was awesome with all the gluing and ironing around them. I finally got around to creating the little circle in Photoshop last week. I had originally thought I would have it printed on actual circle labels, but then I realized it would be soooo much easier to just print it on a sheet of label and cut the circles out. Voila!
As for the name “plaque” at the top. I tried to find a little metal square somewhere that I could just glue on and write on, but nothing fit. In the end I bought a strip of Balsa wood and had Mr. Gaunt cut it into little 1.5″ strips about 1/4″ tall and painted them grey to match the ribbon. Then I used a fine point paint pen in White to write their first initial and last name. They aren’t perfect, but very personal.
One of the things I like most about these, is how they look with the shirts I picked out. The Groomsmen outfits are the only “all matching” thing I really wanted in the wedding. Their shirts were something I put some thought into. I didn’t want just plain white boring shirts, I wanted a little bit of classy Pizzaz! So I picked these Kenneth Cole shirts that have just the faintest white-on-white stripe on them. I love how the stripes on my Boutonnieres match up with the stripes on the shirts. Eeek! They will be so cute!
The Family Chapters 
