"It's a warm spring night. The moon is glowing, the stars are twinkling, and a 12-passenger stretch limousine has just pulled up to the high school parking lot. Out of the limousine step 

teenagers in full regalia, wearing tailcoats, top hats, slinky dresses, and fragrant corsages. As they enter the high school gym (or what used to be the gym but is now carefully transformed into an 'Autumn in Paris' scene), the youth glance at the punch bowls, live band, silly favors, and professional photographer set up in the corner before joining their friends, ready to create memories that will last a lifetime. Their entrance was preceded by a dinner for two at a fancy restaurant, and their evening will end with an all-night party and breakfast at a local diner. The scene is familiar to most. This is the school formal, 21st century style."  1

Don't leave it to chance! Exclusive to Botanique are the very latest modern corsage designs from the only Gold Coast school corsage specialists. Choose from the most beautiful, elegant corsages for school formals. You'll find gorgeous wrist bands of white or black pearls and crystals, plus delicate crystal pins and spectacular swarovski crystals. We'll create the perfect corsage to match the dress of your dreams, for the night of your life.

Finding the perfect flower in the perfect colour requires some planning.  See our Flower Availability Chart for flowers in season for your school formal time.  Flowers we regularly suggest for corsages are: 

Dendrobium and Mokara orchids (Singapore orchids):  A hardy flower with long lasting qualities and available in a wide range of colours including, white, mauve, cerise, pink, russet red, orange, yellow and green. *Note.  We suggest you do not use some dyed varieties i.e. blue dyed cerise and yellow dyed cerise as the dye can permanently stain your dress. Dendrobium orchids are available all year round with the exception of a few weeks at the start of January. Allow us a few days to source specific colours.  White dendrobium orchids are usually available for same day pick up. 

Spray roses:  Classic and pretty these petite flowers have long lasting qualities.  Roses are available in a wide range of colours including, white, ivory, pale pink, mid pink, hot pink, red, burgundy, yellow, orange, and a few lesser known variegated varieties of pink/red stripe and yellow/red stripe. Spray roses are available all year round except for a few weeks in winter. Allow us a few days to source specific colours. White, pink and red are usually available for same day pick up. 

Standard roses:  Although a lot larger than spray roses the standard rose is sometimes chosen for the softer dustier colours like antique mauves, mocha creams, antique browns and antique pinks and not to forget the revered and deeply fragrant David Austin style roses. The standard rose is available all year round, however, when choosing these unique colours and varieties, they can be tricky to source and expensive.  With this in mind, choose a back up flower and allow us lots of time to source and book your flowers with the supplier. 

Lissianthus (Eustoma):  Even though lissianthus look like an open rose, these larger blooms have a soft delicate look to the petals.  Lissianthus are hardy and long lasting. The available colours are white, cream, green, soft peach, pale pink, deep pink, magenta, lilac, lavender and finally deep royal purple. Lissianthus (Eustoma) are available from November through to March and can be ordered as little as a week in advance.

Delphinium (giant and butterfly):  These delicate and petite blooms are selected for corsages for their unique colour range.  Less hardy than the previous flowers we recommend them for their perfect size and specific colours. A little more expensive than most flowers, Delphinium are mainly chosen because of their truest blue colours (pale powder blue and rich royal blue).  They are also available in white, lilac, dusty mauve and pink. Delphiniums are available from November through to March and can be ordered as little as a week in advance. 

Hyacinths:  Hyacinths are a perfect addition to any corsage.  Flowers are wonderfully fragrant with petite star like blooms. Although hyasinths are a little more expensive than the above flowers, they are mostly chosen for their unique colours including powder blue, purple, magenta, powder pink, cerise pink and white. Hyacinths are available from May and all the way through the winter months finishing in mid October.  When considering hyacinths it is best to allow over a week to secure your preferred colours.
Gardenias:  Boasting the whitest of white and the strongest fragrance of all, gardenias are selected also for their modern and elegant appearance. Be warned, they are the most delicate of flowers and sensitive to the lightest touch and because of this they are expensive. When choosing gardenia for your formal corsage ask if the florist has his or her own collection for sourcing as this will greatly increase the longevity of these gorgeous blooms. Available from mid October to Late November make a plan for a substitute flower should they be unavailable on your date. 

Frangipani:  Fun and fragrant frangipani are chosen for their simple colourful shape and tropical fragrance.  Frangipani are available in white, pale pink, hot pink and fruit salad mix (all with a yellow centre) and are notorious for browning around the edges when touched.  When considering frangipani ask your florist what experience they have with handling these delicate blooms as they require good pre care and preparation plus anti-dehydrates to ensure they last through the event. Frangipanis are available from late November through to mid February. Frangipani can also be imported all year around at great prohibitive expense. We do not recommend importing them for corsages. 

Phalaenopsis orchids:  Royalty of the flower kingdom, Phalaenopsis orchids epitomise style and elegance but as royalty do, they command a right royal price. Colours available are white, mauve, burgundy, purple, cerise and pistachio green with various colours in the centres. Phalaenopsis orchids regularly pass school formal night like royalty with suitable style and aplomb although they command respect from the wearer. Phalaenopsis are usually available throughout the year but be prepared to book them well in advance.

Telephone us on 07 5573 7666 for professional advice on flowers, corsages, buttonholes, crystals and colours.  For personal service stop by the studio to discuss your unique requirements at 3 Sir John Overall Drive, Helensvale, Gold Coast, Queensland 4212. Find our location here.

Order online for collection from our studio or have a courier deliver them to your door on your formal day.   

"History of The School Formal." 

"The school formals of today are lavish affairs that come complete with hotel ballrooms, live bands, glamorous clothing, and stretch limousines. As the first formal event in the life of a teenager, attendance at the prom is now popularly considered a vital rite of passage to adulthood. Yet, school formals were not always so lavish, expensive, or widespread. At one point during their history, proms were actually quite simple affairs. 

School Formals were first mentioned in the high school yearbooks of the 1930s and 1940s, but historians believe they may have existed as early as the late 1800s. 

School Formals first began in the elite colleges of the Northeast, taking their cue from the debutante balls of the rich and well bred. Middle class parents admired the poise and composure of debutantes and their escorts and began to institute formal dances as a means of instilling social skills and etiquette in their children. The dances were strictly chaperoned and were often restricted to only the senior class.

When high school formals began in the early 1900s, they were relatively simple affairs. Students would come in their Sunday best, but would not purchase new clothes for the event. The occasion called for tea, socializing, and dancing. During the 1920s and 1930s, Australian youth began to experience more freedom with the arrival of the car and other luxury items. The high school prom expanded into a yearly class banquet at which seniors arrived in party clothes and danced.

In the 1950s, as Australians enjoyed the luxury of the post-war economy, school formals began to become elaborate, expensive events. 

It was also during the 1950s that teenage girls began to pay more attention to their formal dresses and make special shopping trips for the perfect outfit. While the high school gym was adequate for sophomore dances, the settings of junior and seniors formals were gradually moved to grander locations.

In the 1980s, the formal began to take on larger-than-life stature, as several teen movies advertised it as the ultimate coming-of-age event in a young person’s life.  

School formals had become a climactic point in a teenager's life, the moment when fantasies and relationships either blossomed or disintegrated.  

Today's formals have become expensive, all-night affairs, with after-formal parties often extending into the dawn of the next day. Stretch Hummers, flowers, fancy dresses with killer shoes, hours in the beauty salon and glamorous ballrooms are now formal-night standards. Still, the formal has begun to relax a little in its dating requirements. While tradition still dictates that a boy ask a girl to the formal, more and more girls are beginning to take their formal destinies into their own hands and do the asking. Non-traditional couples are also becoming a more common sight at the formal. In practically every way, school formal has moved beyond the days of strictly chaperoned, etiquette banquets to glamorous extravaganzas where nearly anything goes."

1.  prettyforprom.com for the 'History of the School Formal' information.