
While boutonnieres may not be thought of as the most exciting element of your wedding planning, they don’t have to be boring or traditional. Thanks to the wonderful world of Pinterest and the multitude of wedding blogs, we’ve found some pretty flowery boutonnieres that bring fun to floral arranging. And some of these you can even DIY yourself! Whether it’s a spring or a summer wedding you’re planning, these colorful and beautiful boutonnieres are sure to brighten up your big day.
1. Get Creative With Color: We love this happy and bright combination. Billy balls and greens come together beautifully to create this super gorgeous spring-y palette. (via Ever Whim Photographs)
2. Go Local: Local (and eco-friendly) plants like succulents add texture and look oh-so cute at any wedding. They’re perfect for an outdoor celebration and can even be saved and replanted afterwards. (via Love ‘n’ Fresh Flowers)
3. Statement Flower: A large flower keeps the look chic and elegant. Just choose the statement flower of your choice and surround it with florets and greens. It’s as simple as that! (via Rebecca Amber Photography)
4. Add a Whimsical Touch: Show your fun side and love of board games or puzzles by fastening blooms with a game piece. The more unique, the better. (via Love My Dress)
5. Decorate With Fragrant Herbs: Simple colors from fresh rosemary sprigs make a stunning homemade arrangement that smells wonderful. Complement it with lavender blossoms for a pop of purple and you’re all set. (via Once Wed)
6. Touch of Baby’s Breath: Baby’s breath is a classic wedding flower that exudes a clean, soft vibe. While you can use fresh or dried baby’s breath to make a simple boutonniere, fresh is ideal for a spring wedding. Bonus: It’s also super affordable. (via Intimate Weddings)
7. Drink Up: Repurpose collected bottle caps from your favorite fizzy beverage to give a vintage-inspired feel to you or your partner’s boutonniere. (via Jo Photo)
8. Put a Feather on It: Looking for a boho-floral vibe? Adding a colorful feather to the bouquet will help you get there. You can keep the hues cool or mix it up with a bright feather to complement your color scheme. (via The Sunflower Stand)
9. Freshen Up: Peach and mint are *so* pretty for spring. Use this romantic color combo for a rustic backyard wedding or beachside affair. (via Kristin Julia Photography)
10. Loosen Up Your Buttons: Looking for a more muted spring or summer palette? Use dried flowers and herbs instead. Pair ’em with antique wooden buttons to add country flair and charm to your big day. (via The Sunflower Stand)
11. Go Green: What’s fresher than green in the blooming spring season? These earthy colors look lovely fastened with a silver ribbon. (via JB Smith Photography)
12. Paper Leaf + Antique Key: Think outside the box and use unexpected materials. Old book pages and an antique key will add a unique, non-floral element to your boutonniere. (via Pobke Photography)
13. Budget-Friendly Flowers: Channel your inner field-frolicking child by adding some mini daisies to the mix. Not only will they keep your budget in check, they’ll also look great with other yellows and oranges. Bonus points if you craft yourself an old-school daisy flower crown to match. (via J.Woodbery Photography)
14. Bold Brights: Bright poppy FTW! Create this gorg color palette for your wedding with punchy corals and lively yellows. (via Orange Blossom Photography)
What boutonniere styles suit your wedding? Let us know in the comments!
Welcome to Selfmade Finance School, our new money series with Block Advisors to help small business owners with their tax, bookkeeping, and payroll needs year-round. This week, we explore the tax implications of bringing family members into your business.
The question for today is this: Does hiring your family members make sense for your business? Let me be clear. This is not a piece about whether hiring your family members makes sense for your relationships with those family members. As someone who is part of a family business, I could fill up a lot more than 600 words on my opinions about that. For today's purposes, we focus on whether it makes sense from an overall "good business and tax implication" perspective. As it turns out, there is a decent amount of tax nuance when it comes to employing your family. Let's break it down based on relationship to the employee:
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Spouses Who Are In Business Together
Personally, if I had to be in business with my husband, it would not go well. However, many couples build viable, strong businesses together and I say, good for them! Depending on how you have your business entity structured, it will make a big difference on the tax treatment of you and your spouse working as partners. Because a business jointly owned and operated by a married couple is generally treated as a partnership for Federal tax purposes, the spouses must comply with filing and record keeping requirements imposed on partnerships and their partners. The election to file two Schedule C (Form 1040) forms, (one for each spouse) permits certain married co-owners to avoid filing partnership returns, provided that each spouse separately reports a share of all the businesses' items of income, gain, loss, deduction, and credit. Under the election, both spouses will be subject to self-employment tax and on net earnings from self-employment and receive credit for Social Security earnings.
One Spouse Employs Another
If you have a dynamic where your spouse is an employee of your business, then your spouse's wages are subject to income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare taxes. If you are self-employed (not a corporation or a partnership), your spouse's pay does not have to be included in your federal unemployment tax account (FUTA) contributions and payments. However, if your business is a corporation or a partnership you must include that spouse's pay in your unemployment tax contribution calculation.
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You Employ Your Child
First, let's be clear. I work in my family business, but I am an adult, so I am treated just like a normal employee. However, if you, for example, run a family restaurant and want to hire your children under 18 to work for you, there are some tax benefits. But first, you should check with your state for rules on how many hours minors can work (in non-agricultural jobs) and reference the Fair Labor Standards Act for information on limitations on the kinds of work children can perform.
"This is an often overlooked or under-utilized strategy. Paying your children for true services they provide in your business can be a powerful tax-saving tool," says Cathi Reed, Block Advisors Regional Director. "If you are a sole-proprietorship or single member LLC, and the child is less than 18 years of age, the business is not required to withhold FICA or payroll taxes. The child can use his or her standard deduction against income you pay."
You Hire Your Parent
Oh dear. If you are brave enough to do this, know that you will need to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on your parent's wages and make the appropriate withholdings, but you don't have to pay unemployment taxes. Now all you have to do is convince your parent that you are the boss. Have fun with that!
Is Hiring Family Members Worth It For The Tax Benefits?
"There are some positive tax advantages to hiring family members. It's important to treat a family member like any other employee. Hiring your children can result in substantial savings for businesses. Make sure your child has real, age-appropriate work to do and a reasonable pay rate, comparable to other employees. Consult with a Block Advisors small business certified tax pro to ensure that you are complying with all requirements," advises Reed. "Block Advisors, a team within H&R Block, is dedicated to meeting the tax, bookkeeping and payroll needs of small business owners year-round. To start working with the tax experts at Block Advisors, visit blockadvisors.com."
In my opinion, you should not hire a family member solely because of the tax benefits. You should always hire based on whether that person is right for the job and keep in mind how this hire could materially impact your relationship with that person and others in your family. Finally, as I mentioned, make sure you have a tax professional on your team when making these determinations. As you can see, things can get a little tricky!
*All details were sourced from IRS.gov and blockadvisors.com
The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect those held by Kestra Investment Services, LLC or Kestra Advisory Services, LLC. This is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific investment advice or recommendations for any individual. It is suggested that you consult your financial professional, attorney, or tax advisor with regards to your individual situation. Comments concerning the past performance are not intended to be forward looking and should not be viewed as an indication of future results. Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS. O'Keeffe Financial Partners and any other entity listed herein is not affiliated with Kestra IS or Kestra AS Investor Disclosures: https://bit.ly/KF-Disclosures