The bouquet is carried down the aisle, held in dozens of photographs and sometimes tossed to excited guests. By the next morning, it is often wilting in a corner of a hotel room. For many brides, though, the flowers are a precious reminder of the day. With a little care, a bouquet can be preserved for years, as a framed display, a dried arrangement or a keepsake in resin.
Planning ahead, drying and pressing
If you want to keep your bouquet, decide before the wedding. You may want a separate toss bouquet so the original stays safe. Flowers start to wilt within hours. Begin preserving as soon as possible after the wedding, ideally within a day or two. The simplest method is air-drying. Remove the wrapping, tie the stems together and hang the bouquet upside down in a dark, dry, airy place for a few weeks.
Individual flowers can be pressed between sheets of paper inside heavy books. Pressed flowers can be framed or used in cards.
Silica gel, resin and professionals
Silica gel helps flowers keep their shape and colour. Bury the flowers in the gel inside a container for several days. Some specialists set dried petals in clear resin to make paperweights, jewellery or blocks. The humid climate in coastal Ghana and southern Nigeria can make drying harder. Use a dry room, a fan or air conditioning, and watch for mould.
If you used artificial flowers, simply clean them and store them in a box or display case. Some florists and craftspeople offer professional preservation for a fee.
Display and storage
Preserved flowers can be displayed in a shadow box with the invitation, a photo or a piece of fabric from the dress. Some brides give dried flowers to mothers or bridesmaids as gifts. Some flowers dry better than others. Roses, baby’s breath and lavender hold their shape well, while lilies and orchids are harder to preserve. Talk to your florist if keeping the bouquet matters to you.
Keep preserved flowers away from direct sunlight, which fades colours, and handle them gently, since dried petals are fragile. A bouquet lasts a few hours on the wedding day. Dried and framed, it can hang on a wall for the anniversaries that follow.
