How to Preserve Your Favorite Flowers, from Bouquets to Garden Blooms

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Weddings require months (or years!) of meticulous planning. But once the day has passed, you still can relish the smallest details by preserving flowers from your wedding bouquet or reception arrangements.

“Your preserved flowers can become a happy reminder of your celebration every time you look at them,” says Tanis Clifton of Happy Trails Flower Farm and 4everpetals Floral Preservation. “There are many ways to make your bridal bouquet last for years.”

Your wedding flowers are, of course, extra special to you. But any arrangement can be preserved, whether it’s flowers received for special occasions like an anniversary or birth to arrangements from a loved one’s memorial. “Preserving flowers has a purely sentimental value, but it’s such an expression of how important a certain day or event is to you,” says Clifton.

In addition to preserving bouquets whole, you also can turn them into pieces of art, such as a wreath, a flower crown to wear or display, or petite bouquets to adorn packages.

“There is so much experimentation that can happen with your flowers from your ceremony and reception, too,” says Hannah Rose Rivers Muller, author of Designing with Dried Flowers: Creating Everlasting Arrangements and flower farmer at Full Belly Farm.

Here's what else you need to know about how to preserve your wedding bouquet:

DIY Floral Preservation vs. Professional Wedding Flower Preservation

If you enjoy crafting, you certainly can preserve your flowers on your own. “I hung my bridal bouquet to dry, and it still hangs on my wall,” says Muller. “Two years later and the flowers, smells, and silk ribbon bring me back to our wedding day each time I look at it in our bedroom.”

If you’d like to go the DIY route, plan ahead. “If possible, I suggest practicing by drying other flowers from your garden or a florist so you get a sense of how to do it without risking your special event bouquet,” says Clifton.

Professional preservationists use a variety of methods, such as freeze-drying, to preserve your bouquet. But if you choose to have your flowers preserved professionally, you should pre-book your project.

“You want to make sure you can get your flowers to your preservationist immediately after the ceremony so they’ll still be fresh and vibrant in order to start the process,” says Clifton. Your expert also may have limited space so you want to ensure a spot in their facility.

In addition, have in mind how you would like to use your flowers, either as a simple display piece or as part of another project, such as a shadow box, resin block, or vanity tray. This will help your preservationist choose the appropriate method for drying. Finally, expect that the cost of preservation may be more than your original bouquet due to the time-intensive nature of the process.

How to Air Dry Your Wedding Flowers

Air drying is probably the simplest way to dry your flowers yourself. “We often think we need a lot of supplies to hang dry bouquets,” says Muller. “But really all you need is a dark room to preserve the flowers’ rich colors and a piece of twine tied around the base of the bouquet.” Hang it upside down from a nail or hook. You can do the entire bouquet, or carefully separate the individual stems.

Make sure you dry them in a place where it’s cool and there’s low humidity and no traffic, such as a guest bedroom or unused closet. “You should also hang the bouquet upside down in order to keep the stems straight. If you try to dry them in a vase, the stems tend to wilt and bend,” says Clifton.

How to Display Air-Dried Flowers

Keep the entire bouquet hanging from a decorative hanger or inside a shadow box alongside your vows. Display single stems in bud vases throughout your home.

The Best Flowers for Air Drying

Roses, larkspur, delphinium, marigolds, strawflowers, statice, baby’s breath, goldenrod, ranunculus, nigella pods, and eucalyptus are all great flowers to air dry.

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How to Press Your Wedding Flowers

Pressing is another simple DIY method for drying your wedding flowers. “Pressing individual flowers is a wonderful way to preserve those flowers that are often too delicate or small to hang dry well,” says Muller.

Use a purchased flower press or press flowers between the pages of heavy books, layering absorbent paper, such as parchment, under and on top of each flower. Arrange flowers on the paper so they aren’t touching each other. Press the book down with other heavy items, says Clifton.

Plan to keep the flowers in the press or weighted down for 12 weeks to ensure absolutely no moisture remains. Check after a week or two and change the papers to remove additional moisture. When totally dry, use tweezers to nudge individual flowers off the page, says Clifton.

How to Display Pressed Flowers

Use flowers as borders on matting around wedding photos, or have them encased inside resin as a vanity tray, ring holder, or decorative resin block.

The Best Flowers for Pressing

Cosmos, anemones, daisy, delphinium, larkspur, violas and pansies, coreopsis, ferns, hydrangea petals, and leaves are all beautiful when pressed.

How to Use Silica Gel to Preserve Your Flowers

Silica gel is another simple but effective way to preserve your flowers. “Silica is a great choice because it retains the flower color well and keeps the integrity and shape of the flower better than other methods,” says Clifton. Silica gel resembles sand in texture and helps pull all the moisture out of the flowers when they are covered in it. It also can be reused for multiple projects.

Fill a deep plastic container, such as an extra-large shoe box that’s 6 inches or more deep, with about an inch of silica gel. Arrange individual flowers on top of the silica gel. Gently spoon over more silica gel to cover the flowers completely. You may be able to add a second layer, depending on the type of flowers you're drying. Cover the container with its lid, and check in about 12 weeks, says Clifton.

How to Display Silica-Preserved Flowers

Rearrange dried flowers into a bouquet you display underneath a decorative glass dome, inside Christmas ornaments, or in a terrarium.

The Best Flowers for Silica Gel Drying

Any flowers with larger blooms—such as roses, dahlias, ranunculus, hydrangeas, and peonies—are good candidates to dry and preserve using silica.

Flowers That Are Difficult to Preserve

Not all flowers dry well. “Some lose their colors or fade to brown or off-white.” Generally, deep, rich tones hold their colors best, so your all-white flower arrangement may not be suitable for preserving. But it's always fine to experiment and see the results, says Muller.

Also, delicate flowers and anything that’s especially thick or full of moisture doesn’t dry well. Clifton says that flowers such as hyacinth or tropical flowers such as hibiscus, bird of paradise, and succulents are not easy to preserve.

It’s also important to note that no matter how carefully you preserve your flowers, they will never be as vibrant as they were when fresh, says Clifton. But the faded, vintage appearance of preserved flowers is still a beautiful way to cherish your memories and tell your personal story.

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