When you think of weddings, one of the first things that might come to mind could be your gorgeous bridal bouquet. Your bridal bouquet is the ultimate – and most unique – expression of you, after all, on the biggest day of your life!
All florists prepare their finest florals and hand-select their best blooms for the Bridal bouquet, this is a FACT.
As this is our passion and craft, we always want to ensure that your bouquet provides you with that true sense of beauty, grace, and delight that you deserve on your big day. You deserve to feel like a queen! Plus, how gorgeous does your bridal bouquet look in all of your photos and videos?
It’s always lovely to look back on beautiful nuptials through the camera lens, but what happens after the big day? Sure, you can hang on to it for a few days, but might there be a better & more beautiful solution to keep their beauty? If you’re like most brides, you’re probably looking for a way to preserve your flowers so that you can look back on them fondly and remember your special day for years to come by creating bespoke heirlooms from your wedding florals.
Your bridal bouquet can be preserved in many beautiful, timeless ways for a more tangible memory & experience of the day you said ‘I Do.’ Who knows? It might become a family heirloom you pass down in your family one day!
Today, we’re so excited to share a ton of information on preserving your wedding florals, provide key things to know and prepare for, as well as showcase five timeless ideas on how to creatively preserve and showcase your bridal bouquet or wedding florals for memories that last.
In truth, we were inspired this morning by this Ask the Planner Podcast Episode, and we often get asked these very questions when we work with our couples who are interested in preserving the beauty of their wedding florals long after their big day. So we dive in!
First things first: we need to know what type of preservation style you’re seeking. You might need to plan for & allocate a portion of your wedding budget for a professional vendor, and understand their pricing. It’s best to know ahead of time what you’ll need to spend to make your wedding flower preservation dreams a reality, and what steps you will need to take in order to get it right!
It might be tempting to leave this idea to the last minute, but as flowers are perishable products (meaning they won’t last long even in fresh water after a few days!) it’s really something to consider, evaluate your options well in advance.
If you plan on preserving yourself and going the DIY route, trying a few practice runs with other florals just to be safe would be advisable!
How to Prepare Your Wedding Bouquet for Preservation – Stop here first!
If you are opting to preserve your flowers, do not skip this section!
Our number one piece of advice? Have a floral preservation plan before your wedding day.
Just Bloom’d Weddings
At least 4 weeks ahead of your wedding at a minimum:
If you’re going to preserve your bouquet yourself, make sure you adequately researched, watched tutorials, and have all the necessary materials you need and know of any safety precautions you might need to take for preserving your wedding flowers
Choose how you want to preserve your flowers. You can choose to air dry (upside-down), pressed, silica-gel, resin, or wax
Practice, practice, practice! We might not all be Martha Stewart in the arts & crafts department, but it would be wise to practice using some other florals well in advance and practice preserving in the style you are going for
On your wedding day & immediately after:
We recommend preparing your bridal bouquet for preservation as soon as you’re done with all your wedding photos
Be sure to get your bridal bouquet back into water and out of direct sunlight or heat for the remainder of your day and opt for a cool dry place for cocktail hour and reception!
Keep your blooms away from the sun and change the water daily until you can start the preservation process for your bridal bouquet
Skip your bouquet toss, use another toss bouquet, or switch out to an artificial bouquet to protect your bridal bouquet
Get Inspired
Use Google, Pinterest, Instagram, Etsy, or even Tik Tok (social media, these days!) and keyword or hashtag search to find businesses that have mastered the particular preservation process you like that may be in your local area. If you can’t find a local business to preserve your flowers, there are many businesses around the nation that you can ship your flowers to.
Timing & Preparation are Key
It is absolutely essential that you ensure to get your flowers shipped (following the exact instructions as the vendor needs them to arrive – i.e. wrapped in a paper towel on the stems) to your preservation pro ASAP. If you wait too long, your flowers might end up getting bruised, discolored or faded, wilted, or even moldy!
A final pro tip:
At the end of your wedding, give your flowers to your maid of honor, mom, aunt, sister-in-law, or another trusted family member or friend, and have them either deliver or ship your flowers to your vendor so you don’t have to worry about this step!
Creative & Unique Wedding Floral Preservation Ideas
Dried Flowers
There are several methods available when it comes to drying flowers, but all involve preserving them in some way using either air-drying upside-down (wrapped at the stems and stored in a cool, dry place for several weeks, or silica gel beads – more here.) This is the perfect option for our brides who want to keep the bouquet and blooms in their original shape intact (although, with drying, slight shrinkage and fading will happen). Once dried, they last indefinitely and can be used as decor in a variety of ways – from stems in a vase, to wreaths and garlands, to flower petal confetti! If you opted to preserve your bouquet whole, you can try to showcase it in a memento shadowbox, below!
Shadow Boxes
A shadow box is a great way to keep your bouquet in pristine condition. All you need is a frame with an open back, some floral foam, and tissue paper to wrap the stems. You can have fun with it by adding mementos from your wedding day such as wedding heirlooms, charms, favors, or even airplane tickets or postcards from your honeymoon.
Freeze Drying
Freeze dryers are available that use cold temperatures and low pressure to slowly remove moisture from the flower petals without damaging their shape or color. This method works well if you want something more durable than dried flowers since they tend not to last as long over time due to fading and other factors.
Floral Pressing
The perfect option if you prefer to save just a few blooms versus the entire bridal bouquet. It is also one of the easiest ways to preserve your flowers – you can use everyday household items like wax paper and heavy books to make this option your go-to!
Loosely arrange your flowers how you want with ample space between each bloom, and in between two sheets of coffee filter, then parchment or wax paper. Gently lay the paper inside the middle of a heavy book, like a cookbook or coffee table book. Layer on any additional heavy books or items on top to add more weight. Allow drying in a cool, dry place for around 3 weeks to a month. The longer they dry, the better results you’ll get! We highly recommend coffee filters to absorb any excess water and help to preserve their color while pressing.
Once the blooms are dried, they are ready to be showcased! We love the idea of a wedding scrapbook, placing them in your clear phone case, or even in hand-poured candles or hand-made soap!
Resin
Finding a resin artist who preserves florals by casting them in epoxy resin is a durable, practical, and truly unique way of preserving your wedding flowers, we love the look of resin and it’s so versatile! The process involves carefully arranging each individual flower or petal (depending on your agreed-upon design) before having them preserved with resin which locks in their natural color and shape forever via a chemical reaction that occurs with the mixing of the resin. This is a durable, beautiful option with many shapes and sizes that the resin mold can be cast. For flower preservation in resin ideas, check out this post here. We love the idea of a wine bottle stopper with a few beautiful, smaller blooms from your bridal bouquet and maybe even adding a little gold flake or glitter!
Conclusion
No matter which method you choose, preserving your wedding bouquet is a great way to keep those beautiful memories alive for years down the line and for generations to come! Whether it’s through freeze-drying, pressing, DIY or commissioning for a beautiful resin piece – there are plenty of options out there so find one that works best for you!
Above all – we hope these tips help make this part of wedding planning just a bit easier, and you’re armed with plenty of information on the timing, preparation, and practice it will take to make your bridal bouquet last. Happy Planning everyone!
If you’re still looking for a wedding florist to bring your vision to life, please reach out to us via our inquiry form here!
