Creative ways to preserve and display your wedding bouquet

Your wedding day is one of the most magical days of your life, so you’ll no doubt want to hold onto your memories for as long as possible. Here, Clare Price from framing specialists Wall Space shares their tips for preserving your wedding bouquet for years to come. 

Preserving your wedding bouquet can be a wonderful way to keep the memories of your special day alive. Techniques like drying and pressing are some of the best methods of flower preservation, and there are countless ways to show off your preserved blooms in your home once you’re done. With the tips and ideas below, you can create lasting reminders of your cherished moments and remember your special day for years to come. 

Best flowers for drying
When it comes to preserving, some flowers dry better than others, while others lend themselves better to pressing. Your first step is to consider what flowers you have in your bouquet and determine the best method for each. Roses, lavender, baby’s breath, hydrangeas, amaranth, statice, and globe thistles all tend to retain their shape and colour well when dried. Foliage like eucalyptus also dries particularly well. 

Simple, delicate flowers and leaves such as pansies, forget-me-nots, cosmos, and ferns lend themselves well to pressing. These either have a flat shape or a shape that can be flattened easily without losing any vibrance and beauty. 

For best results, start drying or pressing your flowers within the first couple of days after your wedding, before they start to wilt or become bruised. If you have opted for dried flowers for your ceremony, you can skip the preservation stages and go straight to displaying.

Methods for drying flowers
Once you’ve determined which flowers can be dried, you’ll then need to decide on the drying method. There are three options you can choose. 

Air Drying

1. Strip the flowers of any excess leaves.
2. Gather the flowers into small bunches and tie the stems together with string or elastic bands.
3. Hang the bunches upside down in a dry, dark, and well-ventilated area and leave them to dry for several weeks until fully dehydrated.

1. Fill a deep airtight container with a layer of silica gel.
2. Place the flowers in the container and cover them with more silica gel.
3. Seal the container and leave it for several days to a week.
4. Gently remove the flowers and brush off excess silica gel.

1. Place the flowers in a microwave-safe container with silica gel.
2. Microwave on low heat for 2–3 minutes, checking frequently.
3. Allow them to cool before removing.

1. Place the flowers between sheets of parchment paper or wax paper.
2. Put the paper with flowers between heavy books or in a flower press.
3. Leave them to press for 1–2 weeks.