Page 117 - South Mississippi Living - February, 2025

Standard houseplant potting mix or soil might hold too much water. The best medium will be moist but not wet. Some good options for rooting medium include perlite, coco coir, and sand. Use your medium to fill a four-inch to ten-inch tall container.
If you are thinking about growing flowers from your bouquet, make sure you have some “easy to root” ones to carry on your special day, such as honeysuckles, azaleas, asters, lavender, mint, artemisia, dahlias, lilac, camellias, wisteria, chrysanthemums, hydrangeas, or roses.
Flower Pressing
This wedding bouquet preservation method is one of the easiest because heavy objects do the majority of the work for you. Select flowers from your bouquet and arrange them however you desire on parchment paper, wax paper or clean coffee filters (avoid using paper towels since their texture can transfer onto your flowers when pressed).
Take the arranged flowers and place them in the middle of the heaviest book in your home so the weight of the book presses
the flowers completely flat. Put another sheet of paper or coffee filter on top of the flowers – this ensures no ink from the book gets onto the flowers. Once you close the book, put additional weight on it to help the pressing process. Leave the flowers to dry for about two weeks and, if necessary, repeat these steps if they still aren’t fully dry.
When your flowers are fully pressed, you might want to display them in a frame to showcase your special memories.
Wax Dipping Your Bouquet
Wax will help keep your flowers their exact color and shape. This can last up to six months. Dipping your flowers in wax doesn’t preserve them permanently like some of the other wedding bouquet preservation options.
Melt paraffin wax (or melt wax from unscented, uncolored candles) in a pot. Once the wax is liquified and smooth, pour the wax into a heat-resistant container that is tall enough to dip your flowers. Let the wax cool enough so it’s warm (if you dip the flowers when the wax is too hot the flowers will wilt), then dip each flower into the container of wax. When you take the flower out of the wax, turn it slowly and let any excess wax fall back into the container. Dip your flower a second time to ensure longevity.
You can hang your waxed flowers upside down to dry or place them upright in a vase so the flowers can dry with the petals open. Put your waxed flowers in a beautiful vase, just like you would for fresh flowers.
Florist Preservation
Some florists will preserve your bouquet. Just ask them about their options. Freeze-drying is a popular method because after
this process, the flowers look so much like they did on your wedding day. This method takes about three months, but it is worth the wait if you want your bouquet to look as realistic as possible.
Wedding Bouquet Painting
One of the most exciting preservation approaches is having a painted picture of your wedding bouquet. A painting of your bouquet will last forever! You can grab a canvas and create a piece using any medium, like charcoal, watercolor or acrylic. Find a lovely frame to match your artwork and showcase the artwork in your home as a conversation piece. If you love
this idea but don’t want to take on the task yourself, you can outsource the job to a professional artist.
There is actually a great artist on the Coast who will actually attend your wedding and paint the bouquet literally during your wedding/reception! I actually commissioned her to paint a 35th wedding anniversary portrait of my bouquet. She has her own website, www.withloveleanna.com, as well as a Facebook page.
Framed Florals
Framed Florals (www.framedflorals.com) is a wedding bouquet preservation company that offers flower pressing and framing services for wedding bouquets. This type of preservation is for customers that love minimal and non-traditional décor to show off their bouquet flowers. The company is based in Brooklyn, New York, and allows you to ship your flowers from anywhere in the U.S. for pressing and framing.
Resin Preservation
Local company K.L. Resinworks preserves flowers through drying methods and resin craft. Artist Kyra L. Rogers has options for every budget and can make everything from resin trays and coasters to decorative accents, all showcasing the flowers from your big day. Find out more at www.klresinworks. com or follow her on Instagram or Facebook.
Etsy
Etsy has hundreds of five-star rated sellers that will satisfy your wedding bouquet preservation needs. You can browse through
a collection of pressed flower necklaces, resin flower preserved serving trays, custom watercolor wedding bouquet paintings and search many more ways to preserve your beautiful bouquet for years to come on Etsy.
Happy Wedding and Happy Gardening!
Gaye Winter, Ph.D., teaches English at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and is a member of Biloxi Garden Club. Reach her at gaye.winter@mgccc.edu.
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