Let’s face it, your wedding bouquet is probably the most expensive and most beautiful bouquet of flowers you’ll ever buy, so why not preserve them and have them in your home every single day!
I absolutely loved my wedding bouquet, so much so that I hardly put it down all day! After the wedding day, I really regretted not pre-booking a flower preservation service, it’s too late after the day, so it's something that you need to consider pretty early on. Determined to find a solution to preserve my gorgeous flowers I discovered the world of flower pressing and decided this would be a great DIY option to give a go. Turns out, it’s super easy, don’t get me wrong it requires a lot of time and patience but if you’re willing I would highly recommend, so much so that I wanted to share it with you!
What you‘ll need:
Your bouquet - The most important bit! It's best to do this as soon as possible after your wedding day, however I did wait a couple of days and because the flowers had been kept in water this worked too.
Flower Press - I used a great one by Berstuk available via Amazon, I also added an extra pack of their blotting paper as I knew I had quite a lot that I wanted to press.
A frame - depending on how much you’re planning on pressing dictates the size of your frame, I went with the Lomviken frame in 50cm x 70cm from IKEA as we have a few of these already and I wanted them to match. If you give it a quick search on Pinterest, there’s loads of inspiration from floating frames to wooden frames to collages of mini frames, so pick your personal style and go with it! Paper - This is what you’ll attach your pressed flowers onto so I went with a slightly textured, oil pastel paper sheet from The Range. This needs to be the size of your frame (or a little smaller if your frame has a mount).
Mod Podge & a thin paint brush - You’ll use this to glue your pressed flowers to the paper, you can pick up the Mod Podge at Hobbycraft.
Tweezers - Once pressed the flowers become delicate so these are a great tool for picking up the pressed blooms!
Let’s get pressing!
1- Carefully cut the flowers and foliage from your bouquet. If using large flowers such as roses I found it best to use the individual petals or carefully flatten out the flower before placing this in the press.
2- Once you‘ve created a good selection of varying flowers and leaves from your bouquet carefully place these in the flower press. Layering a sheet of cardboard then blotting paper, then flowers or foliage then another sheet of blotting paper and top with cardboard. Continue this layering process until your press is full or you’re out of flowers! When positioning your flowers on the blotting paper try not to overlap them as they will create an indentation on each other if elements over lap. Secure your flower press using the bolts or strap depending on the type of press you have. Don’t worry about tightening these too much as it is best to do this in stages to avoid damaging the florals.
3- And now we wait. It will take 2-3 weeks for your flowers to fully press. Every few days tighten the bolts or strap on the press, remembering not to over tighten and to do this gradually.
4- The exciting bit… the grand unveiling! After the 2-3 weeks have passed, carefully unscrew the bolts or the strap and page by page remove your pressed florals from the blotting paper. Your flowers will be extremely delicate so do this with great care and try to not pull any of the flowers or the petals may tear, this is where your tweezers will come in handy. I found it best if a flower stuck to the paper to gently roll the paper so that the flowers gently popped off. It may be helpful to have a box or a tray next to you to place your flowers and foliage in.
5- Let’s start arranging! Now for the fun part, position your flowers and foliage onto your card/paper. There’s lots of ways you can do this, I went for an all over style as I wanted each of the leaves and flowers to be clearly seen as individuals but you could overlap these in a way to recreate the look of your bouquet, create linear stems or make a pretty trailing design. Pinterest is your best friend for this, there’s so much inspiration on there!
6- Remember the patience I said you needed, well here’s where it is a necessity. Once happy with the layout, it’s time to start gluing. Using your fine paint brush and the Mod Podge, carefully brush the glue to the back of the florals and leaves and press these into place on the paper. I found it best to work from the outside in to avoid accidentally moving your flowers when working in the middle.
7- Once all of your flowers are secure, it’s time to frame. Even though the flowers are secured down, handle your paper with care. (I found this out the hard way and lost a few flowers whilst framing!) Place the paper within the frame, if using a mount use a small bit of tape to stick your paper onto the mount to avoid it moving whilst framing.
8- Voila! Stand back and admire your beautiful bouquet preserved for years to come!
Not into DIY?
Looking for alternative ways of making your flowers live on forever but don’t want to take on a DIY task, then check out these options:
Art by Charlotte Elizabeth paints a custom, one of a kind piece of art from your bouquet, they really are amazing! Plus, you can add your wedding shoes in too for a super special reminder of your big day.
Faced creates the most incredible bespoke illustrations of your bouquet! They offer gift vouchers too so this is a great gift idea if you're looking for an unusual and unexpected wedding gift.
Fleur & Glass is the holy grail of pressed flower art, the pieces they create are absolutely stunning! Great if you love the look of a pressed flower artwork but don't want to DIY it!
I hope you're feeling inspired to preserve your bouquet and I'd love to see the results if you decide to DIY, so don't forget to tag us on socials @laurafernandezdesigns or drop us a message so we can see your fabulous creations!
Love Laura x