NC proms look a little different this year, and the change is costing more
For some prom-goers in North Carolina, it seems to be the year of the nosegay.
This small bouquet, held by gussied-up teenagers on their big night, is showing up in prom photos shared by proud parents on social media. (Florists who spoke with The News & Observer call them nosegays, but people unfamiliar with the industry jargon may refer to them simply as small bouquets.)
Students donning suits are still wearing boutonnieres, and wrist corsages haven’t disappeared. But some Triangle florists told The News & Observer there has been an uptick in bouquet orders in recent years.
“I think a lot of it has to do with certain trends in certain schools,” said Pam Classey, a manager at North Raleigh Florist on Capital Boulevard. “Maybe the previous year there were five girls that carried one. And this year, they loved it. So this year, it’s just becoming more and more popular.”
Some may be seeing these bouquets in prom photos for the first time this spring. But this trend has been around for a few years, and it’s not just established florists that are meeting the demand.
High school students respond to bouquet trend
Pocket of Posies, which was founded by Triangle high school students Peyton Rimkus and Chloe White last year, sells bouquets and matching boutonnieres for prom.
Ahead of the homecoming dance in 2024, Rimkus — now a senior at Heritage High School — and her friends gathered to make bouquets.
“Everyone was looking to me for advice and help with how to construct them and make it aesthetically pleasing,” Rimkus told The N&O in a phone interview. “And I just really enjoyed it.”
She was in an entrepreneurship class with White, and with their teacher’s permission, they began using class time to create a business. They made a plan and a website, and Pocket of Posies grew from there, as fellow students, friends and parents came to White and Rimkus wanting to order bouquets.
White and Rimkus purchase flowers from local grocery stores and use them to build the bouquets — incorporating tulips, roses, baby’s breath, hydrangeas and other blooms.
Pocket of Posies had received more than 100 orders before this year’s prom.
Why are girls carrying bouquets to prom?
The bouquet trend started several years ago, Rimkus said, and she’s noticed that it has made a difference for prom attendees.
“It helps girls with their confidence, almost like the way that you’re posing or standing,” Rimkus said. “You have something to hold, so you just don’t feel as awkward.”
How popular are bouquets for prom?
Some students may forego the wrist corsage in favor of the bouquet, but some are opting for both.
At Petal & Fern at 5 Points in Raleigh, bouquets are provided to customers in a vase, owner Seung Parker told The N&O over the phone. They can be held during photo shoots and then placed back in the vase, where they can be enjoyed for a few more days, just like other cut flowers. And customers can still have a wrist corsage to wear during their event.
At Cary Florist, most of the prom orders this year have been for corsages, manager Rachel Huggins told The N&O. But she estimates around 15% of the prom-related orders were for bouquets. Like Petal & Fern at 5 Points, some of Cary Florist’s customers purchase both a bouquet and a corsage. And of course, it all coordinates with the students’ outfits and boutonnieres.
Corsages still made up the bulk of the prom orders at the Cary shop, but nosegay purchases increased from last year, when the number of customers who wanted the small bouquets could be counted on one hand.
Today’s high school students are “very big on pictures,” Huggins said, pointing to a possible reason behind the small bouquet trend.
Some customers have an idea of what they want in their bouquet when they visit a florist, a couple of Triangle shops said. At North Raleigh Florist, popular bouquets include hydrangeas, roses and greenery such as eucalyptus, wrapped in a satin ribbon.
But at Petal & Fern at 5 Points, many customers find something that strikes their fancy on the florist’s website, Parker said.
Still, not all shops have noticed an uptick in bouquet orders. TG Floristry in downtown Raleigh hasn’t made any small bouquets for prom attendees this season, though they have had many corsage orders ($40), said Audrey Barcus, who helps with administrative and operational work at the store.
“We’ve had both parents and the kids themselves coming in to order them,” Barcus said. “I do think it’s one of those things that people don’t really know what to expect or what specifically to get, but they feel like they are supposed to have something like that. So I’ll be interested to see if the tide does kind of change on what people like to have.”
How much more expensive are bouquets than corsages?
At most of the florist shops The N&O contacted, bouquets costed slightly more than a corsage. But if both were purchased, a customer could spend close to $100 on floral accessories for prom.
That’s in addition to the cost of formal gowns many students buy. And those dresses, along with garments worn for other milestone events such as quinceañeras and weddings, could be becoming more expensive as tariffs kick in.
The price of the nosegay or corsage depends on several factors including which flowers and greenery are desired and how difficult it is to create the product, Triangle florists said.
“We have noticed a lot of girls do like the roses with hydrangeas,” Classey said. “They do like a mix of eucalyptus, nice greenery, and then we typically will wrap it in a satin ribbon, almost for like a bridal party. Calla lilies are very popular, and orchids are very popular.”
This story was originally published May 1, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
