Creative ways to preserve your bouquet

Ask your mother or grandmother if they kept their wedding bouquets. They’ll probably say they were too stunning to toss and forget.

Though it has fallen down the bride’s to-do list in recent years, the bouquet is making a comeback. Breanna Lingerfelt, Grandview’s event specialist, is seeing a renewed interest in brides wanting to toss their bouquets and preserve them, too.

“I ask every bride about how they want their bouquet preserved, because it’s really important and is a way to have a keepsake forever,” Lingerfelt said.

Bouquet By: Liza Greever (@foxandfernstyle)

Air drying the bouquet is the age-old way of preservation, which simply involves hanging the bouquet upside down and letting it dry out. This method is fine enough, but brides today are getting creative.

A longer-term solution is to preserve it in resin. This process involves cutting the stems and putting the bouquet in a container, filling it with an epoxy which seals them in a clear solid shape.

“You need to budget $200 to $400 for preservation,” Lingerfelt said. “You don’t want to go with the person that charges $50 to put it in epoxy, because it's not going to be what you want.” 

Keep in mind that not every flower can be preserved. Larger flowers like peonies, roses and daisies, Lingerfelt explained, fare much better in epoxy than smaller ones like wildflowers.

The same can be said for pressing. However, this option is cheaper and less risky. Though it doesn’t preserve flowers in a three dimensional state like with resin, pressing is still just as impressive and can be used in many decorative ways. Lingerfelt has seen couples decorate jewelry boxes, make coasters, bookends and even Christmas ornaments out of their pressed flower creations.

“Some people don't even know that this is a thing and then when they see it they're like, ‘Oh my gosh, I want that; that’s amazing!’” Lingerfelt said.