Preserve your bridal bouquet for a lifetime

Angela Howard laughs with her wedding party before her wedding Oct. 3 at the Norumbega Inn in Camden. CAROL MILLER PHOTOGRAPHY

     Wedding-day memories are preserved in a photo album and maybe a video. Your wedding dress is preserved in a box. Don’t forget to add your bridal bouquet to the list. You’ve spent a lot of time and money to ensure the floral arrangements were perfect. Keep that memory alive by having your bouquet professionally preserved.

     There are three bouquet-preservation methods. They are:

     1. Silica gel: It’s a quick-drying mode where flowers are immersed in a sand-like, silicon substance.

     2. Pressing: Selected blooms are pressed and flattened with a flower press and then framed.

     3. Freeze-dry: Flowers are sprayed with a starch and then “baked” in a freeze-dryer. This is the only preservation method where flowers don’t need a protective covering. Plus, it will give you the most realistic looking shapes and colors of flowers.

     It’s best to make bouquet preservation arrangements before the wedding. Ask to see samples of the preservationist’s work so you can get an idea of how your flowers will look. Inquire about prices. Costs vary, but it will always be less expensive to preserve a few blooms instead of the full bouquet.

     The fresher and healthier the flowers, the prettier they will look preserved. Consider leaving your actual bouquet in a safe place during the reception. Have the caterer store it in the refrigerator or stick the stems of a hand-tied bouquet in water. Then, at the ceremony, toss another bouquet instead. These steps will ensure that the flowers will be in their most pristine state come preservation time.

There are three ways you can preserve your bouquet — silica gel, pressing or freeze drying. Pictured is Ashley Emmett. CAROL MILLER PHOTOGRAPHY

     Ask if the preservationist can pick up the flowers the day of your wedding or the very next day. If you can’t do it yourself, give the bouquet to a trusted bridesmaid who can bring it to the preservationist for you or mail it to one that’s further away.

     Your bouquet can become a decorative keepsake in your home. Put it in a glass or acrylic dome and mount it on a wall. Choose a tabletop frame style that can adorn your living-room table. Perhaps you can have your wedding invitation, program or vows framed alongside the arrangement. However you display it, preservation methods will let you enjoy your bridal flowers for a lifetime.

     From Metro Creative Graphics