It’s difficult for small business owners to discuss pricing structures publicly, so as leaders in the corsage and buttonhole world we decided to survey our customers to help guide florists on making those important decisions.

The results have allowed us to pin down a set of average prices among British florists, however they also showed huge amounts of discrepancy with large ranges between different florists’ rates. Naming your price depends on a number of factors; overheads, location, peak times, design style and size should all come into account, and our research proves that one size certainly doesn’t fit all. Here’s what we found.

Key points explained

• The results show a lot of variation and a large range between the most common prices charged. Simple carnation buttonhole prices range from £1 all the way through to £12. There was a particularly large amount of discrepancy between prices from those who work from home as opposed to florists working in a shop.
• The average* price of a simple carnation buttonhole is around £4.20.
• The average* price of an upgraded mixed buttonhole is £7.92.
• The average* price of a wrist corsage is £14.78.
• The largest chunk of responders, 37%, mark-up accessories and extras by x2. The second most popular mark-up choice is x2.5, voted for by 30% of responders.
• The majority (around 67%) of participants charge between £2 and £4.99 for a simple carnation buttonhole.
• Surprisingly, florists who work in shop premises – with rent and overheads to pay – charge on average slightly less for a buttonhole than those who work from home.
• Comparing florists based in a rural, town and city area; those who work in a rural area charge the smallest amount, those in a town slightly more, and those in a city charge the most with £9.36 being the average price for an upgraded buttonhole.
• Those who work in a shop said the most popular mark-up for accessories is x2, while those who work from home gave x1.5.

About the participants 

Click here or hit the button below to find out much more about what sort of business our participants run; whether it’s from a shop or home premises, the sort of work they do, the amount of buttonholes they sell, the location they’re in and whether they’re in a town, city or rural area.

Corsage Creations sell the widest range of wrist corsage bracelets, all of which come with a special plastic attachment designed for gluing fresh flowers onto.

How much they charge

How much do they charge for a simple wired buttonhole with a single low-end priced stem (e.g. carnation)?

• The average* (mean) price of a simple carnation buttonhole is around £4.20.
• The majority (around 67%) of participants charge between £2 and £4.99 for a simple buttonhole.
• £4 to £4.99 is the most common price for a simple buttonhole, with a quarter of responders giving this answer.
• 7% of responders charge £1 to £1.99 for a simple buttonhole.
• Just over a quarter (around 27%) of responders charge between £5 and £12.99 for a simple buttonhole.
• None of our responders charge more than £13 for a simple buttonhole.
• Several participants said that accessories such as beads and extra flowers are charged as extra.

How much do they charge for an upgraded buttonhole (e.g. mixed flowers, unusual design, higher-value flower)?

• The average* (mean) price of an upgraded rose buttonhole is £7.92.
• Just over half (around 56%) of participants charge between £6 and £9.99 for an upgraded buttonhole.
• The most popular price for an upgraded buttonhole, with 23% of votes, is £7 to £7.99.
• None of our responders charge more than £20 or less than £1.99 for an upgraded buttonhole.
• Some participants commented that the price would be higher during peak periods, and again that there would be extra charges for accessories such as Corsage Creations magnetic boutonnieres.

How much do they charge for a wrist corsage?

• The average* (mean) price of a wrist corsage is £14.78.
• The majority (around 62%) of participants charge between £13 and £24.99 for a wrist corsage.
• The most popular price for a wrist corsage is £15 to £16.99, with 21% of participants giving this choice.
• The next most popular price for a wrist corsage drops to £9 to £10.99, with 18% of participants giving this choice.
• 2% of participants charge more than £25 for a wrist corsage, and none charge more than £30.
• Several participants commented that the price for a wrist corsage can be much more variable since the materials used can differ so much, and again prices will vary at peak times and increase with accessories and more expensive bracelets.

How do they mark-up non-floral extras, e.g. pins, picks, brooches and sparkles from the Corsage Creations range of accessories?

• The largest chunk of responders (37%) mark-up accessories and extras by x2.
• The second most popular mark-up choice is x2.5, voted for by 30% of responders.
• Just 1% of participants mark-up accessories by 3.5.
• Many participants said this mark-up varies depending on the items used, while others add a standard £2 per each item.

Business type comparisons

• Below is the average* (mean) price of an upgraded mixed buttonhole from responders with different business types or in different locations.

With a shop premises: £7.93

Working from home: £8.19

Based in the North of England: £8.21

Based in the South of England (not including London): £7.50

Based in Scotland: £7.89

Large-scale business (selling more than 100 buttonholes per year): £7.95

Smaller-scale business (selling less than 100 buttonholes per year): £7.89

Based in a town: £8.05

Based in a rural area: £7.14

Based in a city: £9.36

Find a huge range of buttonhole tools, add-ons and accessories at Corsage Creations. 

*Average is worked out using rounded figures.

If the competition pieces at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show are anything to go by, florists have a special set of skills that mean they can create just about anything with unlikely materials. While everyone knows a florist can pull together a hand-tied in a matter of minutes, the average Joe Bloggs probably doesn’t realise that they can also build competition-winning floral thrones using recycled bannisters, fashion chandeliers out of hula hoops, build chuppah structures out of sticks, and there’s a world of possibilities with chicken wire.

While we pride ourselves on sourcing gorgeous accessories for your wedding and event work, we’re also always on the hunt for those niche tools of the trade that only a professional florist could make strangely good use out of.

Check out our 11 favourites and let us know if you can think of any new and imaginative uses for them!

1. Foam bouquet handles
Such a simple way to solve those lumpy bumpy stem situations; just slot into place and cover in ribbon or fabric to give brides something sleek and comfortable to hold. They’re also essential if you’re making your own brooch bouquet frames.

2. Design disk
Our famous patented attachment comes with all of our corsage bracelets, but it’s also available standalone with magnets so it can be attached to just about anything. Add some cold glue and fresh blooms to equal endless creative possibilities. They’re specially designed in the perfect material for gluing flowers, so you can use them to create anything from handbag accessories to venue décor, artistic sculptures to small add-on sales.

3. Tulle & organza
Unusually useful when it comes to weddings, keep a roll of tulle or organza in the van or shop and you’ll be surprised at how often it comes in handy. Use tulle to create decorations such as pew bows, chair back bows or even to decorate balloon weights, and organza is great for table runners and other venue decorations. Use it to strengthen large designs or to cover-up mechanics, for wrapping around bouquet handles or for stuffing the gaps between brooches on brooch bouquets.

4. Bouquet armature
An amazing tool to make creating brooch bouquets as well as fresh and faux flower bridal bouquets easily and beautifully. Available in large, small and tear-drop shaped, our armatures are like a blank canvas for you to work from. They’ll provide the perfect shape for a tight round design, or use them as a base to build on for something larger – offering complete creativity as you can wire absolutely anything into them and still finish with a neat handle to hold.

5. Corsage clips and magic corsage magnets
Stop being restricted by heavy flower heads and fiddly pins and instead look at buttonholes and corsages in a creative new light. Our corsage clips come in green and metal and they’re perfect for producing lots of buttonholes on a budget as it’s so quick and easy to attach flowers, either with wiring or gluing. Or, trial our magic corsage magnets which allow you to place designs vertically, horizontally or at any angle you choose while offering total flexibility to create anything you can think of – all firmly held in place by our powerful magnets.

6. Wooden pegs
A fun way to attach cards to arrangements, wooden pegs can also be used for fixing photos, pictures or other accessories to your designs and projects. They’re also great for window displays and can even make a cute way to decorate venues – think pegged photos of the bride and groom strung across the room or thank you notes pegged to the bouquet for the mother of the bride. We offer two sizes with mini versions and sets accessorised with little ladybirds.

7. Cold glue
If you’ve ever made a corsage before it’s likely you’ll have already picked up a tube of cold glue, so we don’t really need to remind you of its immensely useful qualities. Always have one in the shop for both extending your creative possibilities in all elements of floral design and for fixing floral mishaps.

8. Jute
Jute is a one-track route to success in achieving that sought-after natural aesthetic. Use it instead of cello for wrapping hand-tieds, nestle your wedding deliveries in it, decorate the shop with it, or use it to make table runners or decorations for a rustic wedding. It’s great for getting creative; think wrapping tin cans in it to create a quirky DIY container or adding it to corsages and buttonholes. Ours comes in 15cm, 30cm and a ribbon-like width of 7cm x 5m.

9. Corsage box
Your work is precious, don’t let it get destroyed during delivery. Ship corsages, buttonholes or other small designs in our plastic corsage boxes both for protection and to give your business a professional appearance. Just add organza or ribbon to decorate.

10. Skinny, bullion and aluminium wire
Always, always, always have wire on hand at all times – we didn’t need to tell you that. Snapped a stem? Lost a button? Broken a piece of kit? Need to attach some obscure object to an arrangement? Just wire it. Make sure you’ve a range of different widths and strengths in your stash as our tough aluminium wire can add strength and shape to a design while our skinny bullion is great for attaching things and adding an unusual texture. All are available in a wide range of colours.

11. Satin ribbon
Another item you probably already store by the bucket-load, but something you can seriously never have enough of. Use it for wrapping stems, hiding mechanics, decorating packaging and making corsages through to stringing things to the ceiling or even fixing furniture; we won’t list its endless uses but make sure you’ve got it in endless supply and in the wide range of widths and colours available from our range.