First, I found some light grey millinery leaves on ebay that I hope to purchase this week. There is also a bunch of black I could go with instead, or maybe one of each? We'll see. I also found a bunch of great ribbons at Carmelos on Etsy. I love the Black and white striped ribbon, but I'm waffling on possibly using color (blue or green) instead. Maybe when the leaves come in, that will cinch the decision. My favorite find that I WILL be buying for the boutonnieres is a set of silhouette buttons in black and white made by Robin. There are four sets with six buttons each, two sets of men, two sets of women. She doesn't have the men up yet, but you can see one of female sets here. Aren't they great? Ideally, the men would wear the man buttons, and the ladies the girly ones. Or maybe the men could go to Tay's groomsmen and family, and the girls could go to my maids and family? I think a funky button would be a great addition to the folksy, handmade (flower free) boutonnieres.
I cut the white wire stems to an appropriate length, hopefully long enough to fix nicely into the boutonnieres. I then laid the doves down and glued the stems to them. I thought about sandwiching the stems between two dove punchies, but found it unnecessary as the wax hides the glue anyway.
I melted the wax and tested the dipping first without adding the dye. I discovered a hot plate would be nice to keep the wax melted. Even with the glass sitting in hot water (above) I still had to re-melt the wax every ten minutes.
I might experiment with using a brush instead as dipping seems to make the dove too thick. In the inspiration picture, the wax coating is thin, but well distributed, making me think its not dipped, but painted on. I'll try that and see how it goes. I think I'd like the birds to be blue, a nice splash of color against the grey flocked leaves, but I'll have to add more dye next time to try and match the blue to the sky blue in the wedding theme colors. Here's a look at the dipping test subjects:
Aren't the broaches great? I love how they are all unique but still seem to tie in together. I'm still tossing around the idea of a wrist corsage for the 'maids. Tay and I aren't planning to include a bunch of flowers in the wedding, instead using non-traditional things like grass, twigs, and these vintage broaches. 
It was pretty crumpled up so I've been steaming and pulling it out slowly. I still have more work to do with it until it's wearable but its getting there.
I've found only one tiny broken string, which you can see below. It's an easy fix, just some gentle glue. 
I also purchased some vintage millinery supplies that match the color of the veil. I'm also going to be in the market for some cream feathers and possibly a few little rhinestones. The feathers and millinery will act as both a cover for the gathering in the back and also a pin to secure the veil. Even with a few more details to buy, the total for the veil is under $50. Not bad for an average cost of over $150!
More to come on the veil!
