by: "The day after our wedding, I just kept looking at my flowers thinking of how beautiful they were and that I couldn't just throw them away." Anna
{of Anna and Paul's beautiful Minnesota wedding}
Wedding bouquet preservation was something that Anna had briefly considered prior to their big day. The following is Anna's experience and advice to brides who are considering preserving their wedding flowers.
What advice would you give to any bride that is wondering whether to preserve her wedding bouquet? It's probably not worth it if your flowers aren't a priority at your wedding and a favorite part of your day. My flowers were an important part of our wedding and a significant amount of my budget.
If you can, find someone before your wedding day so you know what to do with your flowers immediately afterward. Prior to the wedding day, I did a little research online for a Twin Cities place that would preserve flowers and I couldn't find any. I did find a place in New York that would preserve them for around $300, but that wasn't really an option. I remembered that a friend of mine had hers preserved and hanging in her bedroom. She had done such a nice job on my friend's wedding bouquet. We ended up using Lois Raak, from Sioux Center, IA to preserve my flowers too.
Thankfully, I turned my flowers upside down before we left for our honeymoon for a week- then got them to the preservationist around two weeks later. The preservationist was concerned about the condition of my flowers before she got them because typically, you should get your bouquet to the preservationist within 48 hours.
Where do you keep them at home? I have them hanging in our bedroom where I see them every day. I also included our program from our wedding day which fits nicely behind the glass in the wood backing.
Was it expensive? It was $100 and to me it was worth every single penny.
What do you love most about your decision to preserve your wedding flowers? That bouquet represents one of the best days of my life and the flowers were absolutely breath taking that day. I am so thankful for Jana Wick~my florist! I will have them forever and they remind me of one of my favorite days in my life!
Thanks for sharing your experience and savvy advice with us Anna! Your bouquet certainly was incredible and I can totally see why you wanted them preserved. Congratulations! How wonderful to have such a beautiful keepsake of your wedding day!
Thinking of preserving your flowers?
Here are a few questions to ask of a preservationist:
1. What is your method of preservation?
2. How will my flowers look after preservation?
3. Can I see samples?
4. Do you have references?
5. How long will the entire process take?
6. How soon after the wedding do I need to get you my fresh flowers?
7. Are there package discounts for additional flowers and framing?
8. How do I take care of the flowers after preservation if unframed or uncased?
9. Can I customize the look?
10. If needed, which flowers can you substitute?
