Bouquet Tips

Your wedding bouquet can be a wonderful reminder of the special day. There are several ways to preserve it. The methods vary by cost and degrees of success, depending on the flowers. If you plan to preserve your bouquet, line up a preservationist or make accommodations in advance of the wedding day to preserve the bouquet yourself. Fresh bouquets produce the best preservation results. If you're leaving right after the wedding, enlist a friend to keep your bouquet fresh and deliver it to a preservationist.

The simplest technique for preserving your bouquet is air-drying. Simply hang the blooms upside down in a warm, dry, dark environment. Within a couple of days or several weeks, depending on your flowers, you should have a dried bouquet.

Another do-it-yourself method is pressing. Flatten and dry blooms by laying them between sheets of absorbent paper in a flower press. Apply pressure by tightening the top of the flower press over the blooms.

Silver sand and silica gel are drying mediums used by professionals to dry flowers. Although expensive, this method results in flowers that keep their shape and color after drying.

Finally, freeze-drying is a costly professional technique that produces the most lifelike results. Nearly any type of flower can be preserved this way.

These flowers keep their cool when the mercury rises.

 

• Baby's breath
• Black-eyed Susans
• Calla lilies
• Carnations
• Celosia
• Chrysanthemums
• Cymbidium orchids
• Dahlias
• Daisies
• Limoniums
• Marigolds
• Roses
• Strawflowers
• Sunflowers
• Wax flowers

Faux flowers have come a long way in recent years. The silk flowers available today closely resemble their living counterparts. While many brides choose real flowers, silk flowers have notable advantages. First, they are relatively easy to get and are useful for matching a specific color. Talk with a local florist or interior decorator about where to find quality silks in your area.

Because the blooms don't perish, a silk flower bouquet is a lasting keepsake. If you are creating the arrangements yourself, silk flowers can be a real time-saver because you can work with them well in advance of the wedding. Silk flowers can be an economical choice, although the most lifelike creations often rival real flowers in price.

PDF: Wedding Flowers Worksheet

Wedding Flowers, Step by Step

Quiz: What's Your Wedding Floral Style?