Wedding Flower Preservation: 9 Methods for Bouquets and Centerpieces

Keep your big-day blooms forever with these wedding flower preservation methods, which range from simple DIYs to professional services.

Photo by Oliver Fly Photography

No one wants to say goodbye to their wedding bouquet or centerpieces—especially not after all the painstaking planning, flower budgeting, and meticulous arranging that went into each and every bloom. It's no surprise that many couples wonder how to preserve at least some of them. "A part of what makes flowers so special is their fleeting beauty. After months of metamorphosis from seed to stem, they have finally reached their pinnacle in your wedding flowers," says Shannon Morrow, founder of Arvo Floral Studio. "Couples are always looking for ways to make a keepsake from their florals so that they always have a little bit of their floral design to remind them of their special day."

While many celebrants choose to preserve their wedding bouquets, any big-day arrangement can actually be saved for years to come. Components of the ceremony installations or reception centerpieces, boutonnières, and bouquets can all be immortalized if you plan ahead and choose the right wedding flower preservation method.

Meet the Expert

Shannon Morrow is the founder and lead designer of Arvo Floral Studio. Founded in 2013, Arvo has served countless couples on their wedding day by bringing their floral dreams to life.

If you want to keep your wedding blooms forever, you'll be glad to know that you can—and there are numerous ways to do it. "My number one tip for someone who wants to preserve their flowers is to decide what way will be most practical and can be easily implemented into your home," says Morrow. "Deciding on an option that will result in a piece of art that can be displayed in your home year round is truly the best option for couples wanting to have everlasting enjoyment."

Those options might be an easy DIY or they might require the help of a professional. Read on to learn which method is best for you—and to discover 9 wedding flower preservation ideas that will help transform your beloved wedding flowers into lifelong keepsakes that always remind you of your all-time favorite day.

Wondering if you should try your hand at a wedding flower preservation DIY or pass your big-day bouquet and centerpieces off to a professional? You'll find both options ahead—but before you dig into them, it's helpful to first determine the route you'd like to take. There are a few factors that might impact your decision. If you're particularly craft savvy (and DIYed the bulk of your wedding décor), you'll likely enjoy a post-wedding project—and working with your big-day flowers will be a fun way to revisit your celebration in the direct aftermath. Another reason to tackle preserving your wedding flowers on your own? Many projects are extremely easy; you can simply press a few blossoms into a book and let the tome do its job or just hang your bouquet upside-down to naturally dry out. And of course, as with most wedding DIYs, handling this project yourself will likely save you a few dollars down the road (though total costs are dependent on the preserving method you choose—and some are more expensive than others).

There are two main reasons, however, for outsourcing wedding flower preservation: timing and project difficulty. On the timing front, certain preservation methods require you to act quickly, so your blooms can be immortalized in the freshest possible state. This can be challenging or virtually impossible to do if you're planning on jetting off to your honeymoon immediately after your celebration. Another good reason to leave your bouquet and centerpieces with the pros? If the wedding preservation method you choose outpaces your DIY skillset. Submerging your flowers into epoxy resin molds, for example, can result in all kinds of fun objects (like paperweights!), but it requires some preparation and craft acumen. You only get one shot at this (once your wedding flowers are ruined, it's over!), so if you're unsure if you're able to execute a craft correctly, you might want to err on the side of caution and tap an expert who can deliver the exact finished product you want.

Now that you have a better sense of what wedding flower preservation might entail, you can dig into the methods and projects ahead. All of the below options can be tackled at home—but we've noted which methods professional services are readily available for. Happy crafting (or outsourcing)!

Courtesy of Pressed Floral

To press the flowers in your wedding bouquet, select as many flowers as you'd like, or even the entire bouquet as pictured here, and spread them out on clean wax paper so they will lift easily after pressing. Morrow suggests arranging them in a way you are happy with during this step—once they're dried and pressed, you won't be able to manipulate them.

A number of professionals offer this service—do a quick Google search or browse Instagram to find some options!—so you don't have to go the DIY route if you don't want to. That said, it's important to plan ahead and budget for this route. A professional will need to receive them in the days immediately following the wedding in order to press them while they're still fresh, and costs vary depending on how large you'd like your final framed piece to be.

When you preserve flowers, you'll want to start the process when petals are still vibrant, colorful, and unstained. If you wait too long, they'll have more time to die, wilt, and become discolored.

Photo by Terryfic3D / Getty Images

Another simple way to preserve your wedding bouquet is to let it air-dry.

"Arrange them in a vase or create a wreath with your dried flowers to enjoy," says Morrow. "Bonus, if you kept your ribbon from your bouquet—be sure to use that on your wreath!"

If you're drying the flowers yourself, remember to handle them with extra care. The dried stems will become brittle and fragile.

Courtesy of Etsy / TheHandmadeFavour

A dried wedding bouquet is a beautiful piece of décor—but you can salvage a few sprigs here and there for another craft, as well. Dried petals are a colorful and meaningful addition to simple white tapers, which you can burn during romantic dinners at home. You'll need a set of plain tapers, a tea light, and a small paint brush to pull off this craft.

Not feeling the DIY route? Look for candlemakers on Etsy (like TheHandmadeFavour) who are willing to use the flowers you send them—or commission a candle painter to recreate your big-day blooms on tapers using paint, instead of the real thing.

Stocksy / Tina Crespo

Silica gel isn't an actual gel but a porous sand that works to absorb water and dry flowers in one to seven days. This method keeps your flowers looking the closest to how they did on the actual wedding date. While freezing your bouquet in time isn't an option, silica gel is the next best thing. You can pick up silica gel at any craft store for less than $10.

Silica gel preserves the color of the flower nicely, too. When the week is up, remove the flowers carefully and spray them with either an artist-fixative spray or hairspray. You can then arrange full stems in a favorite vase or pop the tops of the flower buds into a shadow box.

Courtesy of Leman Floral/Etsy

You can also use clear epoxy resin to preserve your flowers in decorative shapes. To make a resin paperweight, get a mold from the local craft store in whatever shape you want, like a sphere or a cube.

Don't want to tackle the project yourself? Send the blooms from your bouquet to an artist. The one above was created by Etsy artist Leman Floral who also creates resin ring holders and jewelry trays with wedding flowers.

Stocksy / Melissa Milis Photography

Wax flowers are not a permanent form of preservation, but they will extend the life of your flowers for up to six months and keep the original integrity and color intact. You won't be able to tell fresh flowers from wax-dipped aside from the feel. To wax-preserve your bouquet, you'll need paraffin wax and a saucepan.

Getty Images / Ivan Bajic

Using glycerin is a unique way to preserve your wedding flowers. The process replaces the water that was in the blooms, keeping them just as they appeared on the big day.

If the DIY route isn't appealing here, know that many professionals offer this service; just be sure to get on someone's calendar before the wedding day to ensure your blooms arrive while they're still fresh.

Getty Images / Hanneke Vollbehr

While it is one of the costlier and more time-consuming preservation methods, freeze-drying can keep flowers as close as possible to their original appearance. Doing it yourself would require the purchase of a freeze-dryer, which freezes the flowers while they are in full bloom, preserving their original brightness and color. Unless you're looking to do this often with other flowers, it is probably easier (and more cost-effective) to find a professional who can freeze-dry flowers.

There is a little bit of prep work prior to having wedding flowers freeze-dried:

Once these steps are complete, place the freeze-dried flowers into a shadow box.

Courtesy of Salt Stains/Etsy

While having your wedding bouquet painted is not preserving the actual flowers, it's still a lovely way to preserve the bouquet. This is one of Morrow's favorite methods. "Since your flowers will never look the same after your wedding day, even with the above preserving options, it is nice to have a permanent reminder of the flowers in all of their glory," she says.

Commission your favorite artist to paint an interpretation of your arrangement or bouquet to live on in your home forever. "It can be as literal or as abstract as you like, and that is probably the best part," Morrow says. "From acrylic to watercolor to minimal line drawings, you are sure to find an option that will fit your style." The beautiful piece of art above is by Salt Stains on Etsy, who creates custom paintings of bridal bouquets.

Dead and dried-up flowers can also be repurposed, so consider getting crafty before tossing them! Options include making homemade potpourri, adding the petals to homemade candles, creating a DIY floral bath soak, pressing them in a journal, or simply composting them.

You probably aren't interested in preserving every floral arrangement at your wedding. For flowers used as décor, send them home with guests, bring them to a local hospital or nursing home, offer them to your vendors, or bring some to the burial site of a deceased loved one.

If you're hoping to keep your wedding bouquet fresh until you or a professional can preserve the blooms, make sure to pop the stems in water as soon as possible. For bouquets and centerpieces alike, store the flowers in a cool, dark place away from direct sunlight until you're ready to use them or preserve them.

The cost will depend on the project—and the amount of wedding flowers you would like to preserve. Basic bouquet preservation starts at around $250, but more involved projects (that involve framing, encasing the blooms in resin for trays and paperweights, etc.) can cost up to $500.