How To Preserve a Wedding Bouquet

Flower beauty is ephemeral, but not if you choose the right wedding bouquet preservation technique.

Brides wishing to preserve their flowers at home can wax dip, air dry, press, or cast the flowers in resin and make beautiful home décor or gifts.

Meanwhile, brides ready to invest money can opt for professional flower preservation and display their bouquets in a lovely shadowbox.

Wax Dip Method

Seeing your showstopping floral arrangement dry, becoming dull and lifeless, is heartbreaking. Wax dipping is the best DIY wedding bouquet preservation method because it maintains the flowers’ original shape and color.

Note that the technique requires some practice to get it just right. Try to wax dip other blooms before attempting to preserve your wedding bouquet because you don’t want to ruin it.

You’ll need a decent amount of regular paraffin wax. You may melt old candles, leftover melt tarts, or buy basic paraffin wax in blocks. Note that it’s highly flammable, so never leave it on the stove without supervision.

Melt the wax in a small cooking pot. Use the lowest heat setting available for safety reasons. The wax temperature should be about 130 degrees Fahrenheit – you can check it with a laser kitchen thermometer.

If the temperate is lower than recommended, the wax will be too thick and won’t coat the blooms properly.

On the other hand, the flowers will scorch if the temperature is too high. When the temperature is correct, remove the pot from the flame.

Before dipping the flowers, ensure they’re dry. If any water remains on the petals, the wax won’t adhere.

Disassemble your bouquet and strip the flowers from excess foliage. Cut the stems diagonally, leaving about three inches from the bloom. Hold the flowers by the stem and gently dip them into the wax.

If the petals shrink or become brown, the wax is too hot. You can dip the flowers multiple times to ensure the petals are adequately coated. After dipping, hold the flower for about two minutes upside down to let the wax harden.

Afterward, dip the stems multiple times and let the wax harden. If you skip this step, your flowers will slowly rot. When all the flowers are coated, assemble your bouquet and display it in your home.

Instead of waiting two minutes after dipping every flower, you may dip them in a bowl with ice-cold water. The wax dipping flower preservation method works well with most varieties but may not be suitable for very delicate, small blooms.

Air Dry Method

The air-drying flower preservation method is the easiest and doesn’t require any experience. It’s suitable for any flower variety, but your bouquet will inevitably lose its color and appear smaller due to dehydration.

For best results, dry your bouquet right after the wedding, don’t wait until it withers. Start by stripping the flowers from excess foliage and removing browning petals to prevent rotting.

Then, trim the stems to the desired length. Tie the stems with a twine or rubber band. You should tie them firmly, or the flowers will come loose.

Hang your wedding bouquet upside down in a well-ventilated place. It could be any room with windows but avoid direct sunlight because it will make the petals crumble. The room shouldn’t be humid either.

Now, all you need to do is wait. Most flowers take about two to three weeks to dry completely, but the time may vary depending on the flower variety and preservation conditions.

When the flowers are ready, carefully take them off and place them in a vase. Display on your kitchen table or in the bedroom to admire daily. Alternatively, you may leave the bouquet hanging as a rustic décor.

Pressed Bouquet

If you don’t have space to display a three-dimensional wedding bouquet in your home, consider pressing your flowers. You can then frame them or glue them into your wedding album.

Although the technique may seem a no-brainer, not many know how to press flowers correctly. Firstly, not every flower is equally suitable for pressing.

Ideally, the flowers should have a flat face, a single petal layer, and a clearly defined shape.

Some globe-like blooms lose their shape after pressing and look messy. However, you can still experiment with your wedding dahlias or roses.

Secondly, the flower condition matters. Press flowers when they’re in full bloom and don’t yet have blemishes or brown spots. Get to work right after the wedding, don’t wait for your bouquet to wither.

Thirdly, ensure the flowers are dry before pressing them to avoid mold growth. Keep your bouquet in water after the wedding but dry it with paper towels right before pressing.

Cut the stems, leaving about two inches below the bloom, and strip excess foliage. Then, layer a book’s pages with parchment paper, coffee filters, blotting paper, or any other moisture-absorbing material.

Place the flowers on the book’s pages face down and close the book. Then, put a weight on top of the book and wait about three weeks for the flowers to dry.

When the flowers are ready, you can arrange them on a large canvas or cardboard and recreate your wedding bouquet.

You may draw the stems and foliage with watercolor or oil. Alternatively, use blooms for scrapbooks, albums, and greeting cards.

Epoxy Resin

Epoxy resin offers you total creative freedom. You can embed your flowers in resin to make paperweights, jewelry, coasters, a tray, or anything else.

You’ll need silicone molds of the desired shape and high-quality epoxy resin.

You may use molds from other materials, but silicone is better suitable for resin casting because it’s flexible, and removing your art piece from the mold will be easier.

Additionally, you’ll need a respirator with filters, goggles, and nitrile gloves for protection.

Begin with drying or pressing your flowers. Any moisture trapped inside may lead to mold growth and rotting. Then, mix resin with hardener according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Mix slowly to avoid air bubbles.

Next, pour the mixture into a silicone mold about halfway through. Place the flowers into resin and arrange them to your preference using tweezers or a long wooden pick. Pour more epoxy into the mold to cover it entirely.

You may pop bubbles in resin using a heat gun. Lastly, wait for a specified on the resin pack time for it to harden. Ensure that the temperature in the room matches the recommended by the manufacturer.

Sand the edges if necessary after removing the piece from the mold. Wedding flowers in epoxy resin will make beautiful home décor or gifts for your friends and family members.

Epoxy wedding flower jewelry can be passed down to your children as an heirloom.

Potpourri

Consider making fragrant potpourri if you don’t want all the hassle of working with resin but would like to preserve only a small piece of your wedding bouquet. Start by pulling petals off your flowers.

Pick fresh petals without any blemishes or dark spots. Then, spread the petals on a parchment paper and let them dry in a well-ventilated, dry place away from direct sunlight for about three days.

You may mix and match different petals with tiny whole buds, herbs, and citrus peel.

When your potpourri contents are ready, place them in a glass mason jar. Fill about one-third of it and drip a few drops of essential oil.

Put more petals in the jar and drip more oil. Repeat until the jar is full. Apart from scented oils, you may give your wedding bouquet potpourri fragrance by adding spices such as cloves and rosemary.

Finally, close the jar with a lid and let it sit for a couple of weeks to let the petals absorb the fragrance. Put the jar in your bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, or hallway, and open the lid when you want to release the fragrance.

Alternatively, you may sew the potpourri in small cushions or put it in drawstring bags and hang it in your wardrobe. Such potpourri also makes an excellent gift for someone you love.

Freeze-Drying Method

The biggest drawback of home wedding bouquet preservation is that the flowers lose their visual appeal. The only way to maintain your flowers in their original state is to choose professional wedding bouquet preservation.

Professionals use the freeze-drying flower preservation method. They disassemble the bouquet and place every individual bloom into a machine with an extremely low temperature and high-pressure vacuum.

The machine removes all moisture from the flowers and gradually raises the temperature to defrost the blooms. Afterward, the professionals assemble the bouquet and send it back in a shadowbox.

Freeze-dried flowers maintain their shape and color for many years. However, this isn’t a cheap option. The wedding bouquet preservation price ranges from $150 to $700, depending on its size and intricacy.

If you want to outsource your bridal bouquet preservation, plan ahead. Sign a contract before the wedding and send the flowers to the company right after the event.