Toss your toss bouquet at the reception. But keep your bridal bouquet…for forever! The whole process of flower preservation is nothing new but we wanted to share with you our tips and advice. There are plenty of ways to re-purpose your flowers but we think they make great works of art if dried correctly and stored in a shadowbox or frame.

Air Drying is the process of hanging up your flowers to dry naturally. Air dried flowers will lose their original shape and in some instances will turn very dark or sometimes even black. If done incorrectly they can mold or rot a few days after the wedding. That’s no fun! While roses can be air dried, lilies and orchids cannot be air dried. Hanging the flowers upside helps the flowers from wilting downward with gravity, instead they will wilt upwards to keep some of it’s shape.

Flower Pressing is, you guessed it, pressed and preserved between pages. There are flower pressing companies that will create beautiful framed art using flower presses. Framed pressed flowers are flat and allow the use of flat picture frames and other types of flat displays for decorating in your home. If you do not like the look of three dimensional flowers, then you should consider this drying method.

Freeze Drying is the latest technology for wedding bouquet preservation. Orchids, lilies, and all varieties of flowers can be freeze-dried with near perfect, life like results. Your flowers will keep most of their size, shape, and color throughout the drying process. Unfortunately you cannot do this at home without having an expensive vacuum freeze drying machine. Professional freeze drying of your wedding bouquet will cost more than the other drying methods, but if you would like to save your wedding day blooms using the best drying method, then have your bouquet freeze dried.

Don’t forgot you can also decorate your shadow box by including your invitations or even cake topper! What do you think about flower persevering, will you do it?