Traditional Corsages and Boutonnières Still Sell

Dawn Allen sits in the back room of the Holmdel Village Florist, peeling petals off creamy white roses and wrapping them up tightly against sprigs of baby's breath with green floral tape.

It's Wednesday, and she is creating corsages, wristlets and boutonnières for customers attending Proms this weekend at Holmdel and other high schools. It's a laborious process, one that she's been doing since Valentine's Day and Mother's Day. 

"Each one takes about 20 minutes," she said. 

The traditional floral creations are lavish, with tastes this year tending towards white tea roses, loops of ribbons and rhinestones, instead of pearls. "But really, anything goes. The kids like to make up their own designs," she said. 

Each dreamy floral creation get nestled into clear display boxes, wrapped with ribbon, and stored in the glass refrigerated cases. 

Every Prom date loves to be handed one of those elegant boxes. 

Corsages run about approximately $25 to $35, and boutonnières $12 to $22, said Allen. 

"It's not too late to order," she said. "The day of the prom, we'll be making them up for people who walk in," she said.