Eternal Blooming - How To Make Your Bridal Bouquet Last Forever

I must confess, I am writing this on Thursday morning, the day before publishing, which is incredibly last minute for me. Maybe it’s the sun, or my new hobby of running (who am I), but I have felt a bit ‘meh’ this week, and the idea of sitting inside and typing wasn’t floating my boat. None of my ideas were jumping out at me to write about and I just didn’t feel creatively inspired. AND THEN. One of my 2019 couples had their 1 year wedding anniversary, and gave me the idea for this post you are reading today (so all credit to Joanna, she’s the real muse for this post you are reading now).

Joanna had mentioned previously about how she was going to try pressing some of the flowers from her Bridal bouquet to frame and keep in her and her husband Chris’ home but I hadn’t seen the final results until we had a catch up this week. They were just beautiful, and incredibly striking. Not only that, but for her anniversary gift from Chris, he had commissioned an artist to do an illustration of the bouquet - the one I made lovingly, and is still one of my all time favourites. It made me wonder about all the times Brides of mine have stated that they wish their bouquets could last forever, and so I have taken the time to scour the Internet, and written below a list of all the ways that you might choose to commemorate your wedding blooms!

Now, I have not stated cost for some of these options, or necessarily sources as to where you can get these done, but obviously some of the below options are not cheap or straight forward. It’s true as with all things, the more money you spend, the more likely you are going to get the preservation of your bouquet perfectly done. However, if you don’t want to spend the earth on keeping your bouquet - which is understandable after spending on a Wedding - there are many other ways you could try.

ARTIST ILLUSTRATION. You can see the beautiful drawing Joanna’s husband Chris commissioned talented artist and print maker Gemma Vaughan (@gemma_vaughan on Instagram, check her out) to do as a surprise above. Such a stunning way to cherish your Bridal Bouquet forever, and add some art to your home alongside your Wedding Photos. Maybe you could use it as your Thank You Cards or other stationary too? The possibilities are endless.

PRESS IT. This is definitely one of the more simple and cheaper ways to preserve single flowers from your Bridal bouquet - or if you want to be brave, try pressing the whole thing. Joanna gave me some helpful hints to pass on to you all. Lay your flowers in between 2 sheets of parchment or acrylic paper, and then put heavy books or similar weight on top, leave in a dark and dry place, and leave it alone for anything between 7 days - 1 month. Then tadaaaa! You should have some flowers dried out and thinned, ready to be put in a frame or Wedding Book. Maybe you could try to press the whole of the Groom’s Buttonhole for a fun twist to go alongside your Bridal Bouquet flowers?

DRY THEM. Pressing your flowers is all well and good, but if you want to keep them in their 3D shape, the traditional way of air drying your blooms will probably be the best. It’s incredibly simple: just tie the stems tightly together and hang them upside down for a few weeks in a dry, warm place like in an airing cupboard, larder or over a radiator. The darker the spot you choose, the more the flowers will hold their colour and scent, but be warned, the colours will almost always come out more muted than they were at the start, and not a llllll flowers take well to this method.

BATHROOM MEMORIES. Once you’ve dried out your flowers and put aside the ones you want framed, but you still have some left over, or some that didn’t come out aaaaaas pretty as the others, there’s loads of other uses for them! You could incorporate them into bath salts, soaps, even candles! Just get a mould, place some dried flowers at the bottom, and then pour in your soap or wax mixture over the top and BAM, you’ve got yourself Stocking Fillers for your new In-Laws for the next 7 years! Or, of course, just keep them for your own pleasure.

TATTOO. Now, this won’t be for everyone, but I know there are definitely some people out there that might want to get a permanent reminder of their wedding day (and as you might know, I’m all for it). Celebrities have been doing this a lot more recently too! Why not choose a floral option and pick a artistic design of your bouquet or the focal flower as a personal memory to immortalise on your body?

PAPER FLOWERS. Looking for a floral display for your new home that won’t fade over time? Maybe make a paper version of your bouquet to display in your home, just make sure you dust it along with your sideboards and don’t keep in direct sunlight to prevent colours changing. There are loads of videos to learn how to do this yourself, or you can support artists by asking someone else to do it. Some flowers are easier than others! Mix it with your dried foliage to give a real life effect.

LET THE PROFESSIONALS HANDLE IT. Understandably, you might prefer to pay for someone to handle your bouquet for you. There are lots of chemical based preservation techniques like silica gel or epoxy resin which solidify your bouquet, colours and shape, perfectly. These can be tricky but the results are beautiful, and there are many companies that will accept your bouquet up to 10 days after your wedding to do this service. Obviously the fresher your bouquet on receiving it the more perfect your results will be. You can also get your flowers made into a paperweight, or framed within a shadow box.

I’m sure there are many options I have forgotten or have yet to find, and if you have preserved the memories of your bouquet, please comment below with what you did! If you haven’t seen our Wedding Trends Bouquet post from Wednesday, I’d recommend giving that a read too. Once again, thank you to Joanna and Chris for being my muse’s, both for their wedding, and for this post!