What Flower Do You Get For Prom?

• Written by Holly Hughes on March 20, 2023

Prom is such an important occasion in the life of a student. It symbolizes new beginnings, as well as celebrating the accomplishments and growth of the past. It’s a step into the future and into life as an adult, which is why finding the perfect prom dress, tux, and accessories is so important to many students.

Your prom outfit can, if you want it to, speak volumes about the person you would like to become.

The same is true of prom accessories, which can say a lot about how you feel about a date, yourself, or even your friends.

So finding the perfect prom flowers is no minor task. Whether you want to buy flowers as a gift for your prom date, a treat for yourself or as a symbol of friendship with a shared accessory for your friend group, here’s everything you need to know about finding the perfect prom flowers.

What are the flowers for prom called?

Prom flowers are known as either corsages (typically worn by females) or boutonnieres (typically used to ornament a suit). Corsages and boutonnieres are flower accessories that aren’t unique to prom and are often worn by bridal and grooms parties at weddings.

What is a corsage?

A corsage – coming from ‘cors’, the Old French word for ‘body’ – is a small flower accessory traditionally worn by women for formal occasions. Corsages can be worn on multiple parts of the body, typically pinned to the dress or worn on the wrist as a wristlet. It is always worn on the left-hand side of the body.

A corsage is mainly composed of a single flower but occasionally several flowers are added alongside greenery and other decorations. Flowers can be either real or artificial and when it comes to prom, it is customary for a woman’s prom date to present her with this accessory before heading to the big event.

What is a boutonniere?

Alternatively, a boutonniere is essentially the male equivalent of a corsage. Also stemming from French – ‘boutonniere’ means ‘little buttonhole’ – this accessory is a single flower decoration worn on the lapel of a suit jacket. Similar to corsages, boutonnieres are traditionally worn to special occasions such as weddings and proms and are always worn directly above the heart on the left-hand lapel.

Prom boutonnieres consist of a single flower, a bud, or several small flowers arranged with some greenery.

The best prom corsage ideas

Corsages and boutonnieres, while quite traditional, are completely open to the imagination and can be as unique and creative as you wish. Boutonnieres can be made at home from foraged items such as twigs, leaves, and wildflowers. You can add pizazz and bling with rhinestones, elaborate ribbons, lace, and sequins. The same is true of corsages.

However, if you do want to stick to more traditional accessories for prom, here’s our advice for choosing flowers for corsages.

Long lasting is key

Prom is a marathon, not a sprint and so you need a flower that can endure not only the length of the day but also all the hustle and bustle we expect from prom celebrations. Be sure to look for prom flowers that are not only eye-catching but that will be able to withstand the day – and night!

For this reason, roses, carnations, orchids, daisies, ranunculuses and poms are common flowers used in these arrangements. As more resilient blooms, these flowers are proven to stand the test of any event.

Look for a color match

For prom, it’s a good idea to find out in advance what your date is wearing, so you can match the flower color and ribbon of your prom corsage or buttonhole to their dress or suit. While it doesn’t need to match the prom outfit exactly, you do want to make sure the flower color at least compliments the color scheme.

If gifting a corsage to someone wearing a dress, you should also find out if the dress is strapless as this will determine which type of corsage you buy. Corsages can be pinned to sleeves or straps, but a wrist corsage is a better option for a strapless dress.

Of course, if in doubt about the color choice, white is always a good option for prom accessories.

The best boutonniere prom flowers

Keeping these tips in mind, it’s not surprising that some flowers are better suited as prom corsages than others.

For true elegance, you really can’t go wrong with an orchid – particularly a Cattleya. A large statement flower that helpfully comes in a spectrum of colors, these orchids are traditionally and aesthetically the perfect prom flower.

On top of this, sweetheart and standard roses, alstroemeria, lilies, mini carnations and other small flowers like freesia are all really good options for prom corsages or boutonnieres due to their dainty size and statement blooms. Of course, don’t forget that you don’t need to limit yourself to one kind of flower if you don’t want to! Choose an arrangement that combines several of these blooms for a truly sensational display.

Teleflora, for example, has a range of multi-bloom corsages that show just how effective mix-and-matching flowers for prom arrangements can be.

When should I order my flowers?

One thing that’s really important when choosing your corsage or boutonniere for prom is your delivery time! If using fresh flowers, you need them to arrive on time so make sure you order your accessories with plenty of time to spare!

While delivery services with corsage collections do offer next- or even same-day delivery, (SendFlowers and FromYouFlowers both offer this on a wide selection of corsages) it’s a good idea to give yourself extra time in case of delays. For example, 1800Flowers require a two-week processing time for any prom arrangements (their collection makes this forethought completely worth it though!)

Having said this, you ideally want your flowers to arrive either on the morning of the prom or, at the earliest, the day before. If they arrive the day before, you can keep them fresh by following these tips.

In short, much like choosing your dress (and date) a little bit of planning will go a long way when it comes to choosing prom flowers!