DIY vs Professionally Preserved Bridal Bouquets

Written By Emily Valentine

FLOWERS HOLD MEMORIES

 

“flowers often accompany the most beautiful moments in our lives.”

 

When my husband and I were dating, I hung up every rose to dry that he ever gave me. Then, when we finally got married 5 ½ years later, I had my flower girls scatter those dried rose petals along the aisle that I walked down to the love of my life. Each of those roses was special to me because it symbolized his love for me over the years. I’m sure many of you can relate and have your own similar flower story.

Why do we hold on to flowers anyway? — why did I keep my first prom corsage, or press a wildflower from the camp I worked at, or hang dry every rose my husband gave to me when we were dating?

Because they remind us of moments in our past that we never want to forget, and because flowers often accompany the most beautiful moments in our lives.

 

SENTIMENT COMBINED WITH ARTISTRY

 

“If flowers hold memories, your bridal bouquet carries the memory of the day you said “I do” to spending forever with your best friend.”

 

Now, it’s not really practical to artfully preserve every sentimental flower ever given to us, but I think we can all agree that wedding flowers should be the exception. If flowers hold memories, your bridal bouquet carries the memory of the day you said “I do” to spending forever with your best friend. Are these the flowers that you want to make into a DIY project?

Don’t get me wrong, I love a good DIY project, but I wonder if you can relate to some of my personal DIY experiences:

  • Never actually starting the project because it feels too intimidating

  • Completely ruining the project because you only had patience to watch one “How To” YouTube short

  • Regretting that you spent so much time creating something that is totally subpar instead of paying for the real deal

After reading the list above, I’m not sure I would be willing to take that kind of risk with with my bridal bouquet.

 

QUALITY OF PRESERVATION

 

“if you preserve your own flowers, they are unlikely to even remotely resemble your bridal bouquet.”

 

I’ll let the photographs do most of the talking, but let’s compare a few key elements between the DIY preserved flowers and those that are professionally preserved.

Color — The DIY preserved flowers have quite a bit of discoloration with some petals appearing blotchy, while the professionally preserved flowers remain vibrant and similar to the original colors.

Structure — The DIY preserved flowers are pretty bent out of shape with their petals wrinkling and many completely falling apart, but the professionally preserved flowers retain their original shape.

Design — The DIY preserved flowers are resting in a box/vase or hung as a tied bouquet in a shadowbox frame, whereas the professionally preserved flowers are artfully redesigned into a shadowbox frame utilizing key design principles.

The reality is that preserving flowers well takes a lot of time, skill, and expertise which cannot be gained from watching a few “How To” YouTube videos. A professional can turn your bouquet into an art piece that accurately represents your bouquet as it was on your wedding day; if you preserve your own flowers, they are unlikely to even remotely resemble your bridal bouquet.

DIY Preserved Flowers

Professionally Preserved Flowers

FINAL THOUGHTS

Keepsake (n): A physical object kept as a reminder of a person, place, or event. It is usually something treasured for its sentimental or emotional value rather than its monetary worth.

There are a million different keepsakes that you can hold onto from your wedding day, but what is the keepsake that will transport you back to the moment you first locked eyes with the love of your life. As you commence on that surreal walk down the aisle to say “I do,” you are holding one thing — your bridal bouquet. Don’t let it turn into a DIY project gone wrong. Hire a professional and enjoy your flowers as a symbol of your love for one another “until death do you part.”

INQUIRE NOW If you’re interested in having your Bridal Bouquet professionally preserved!

Emily Valentine

Emily started out her career working with flowers as a designer for weddings. Although delivering on a bride’s vision for her wedding day flowers was a fun challenge and satisfying in the moment, she couldn’t help the nagging feeling that her work was futile as mounds of flowers were discarded after an event. If only there was a way to truly make the flowers last forever — and not just in photographs.

It wasn’t until Emily moved to the Pacific Northwest in 2022 that she was introduced to the art of floral preservation. There she learned and mastered this art form under the tutelage of Jessica Morin of Florals Preserved. Emily discovered a new method of working with flowers; one that allowed her designs to be enjoyed endlessly.

Since stepping into creating with this new medium of art, Emily has discovered that her background in wedding floral design has contributed tremendously to her success as a floral preservation artist. Whether arranging cut flowers in a bridal bouquet or arranging preserved flowers in a flat lay to be framed, the design principles remain the same.

Although her love of flowers is immense, Emily’s love for her little family cannot be matched. Emily is wife to the most supportive husband and mother to the sweetest little boy. They now live together in Washington D.C. and enjoy all the things the city has to offer. She loves going on walks, is addicted to baking sourdough bread, and travels as much as possible.

Emily’s flower journey is exactly that — a journey — and without her diversified experiences, she would not be the artist that she is today. She is happy to have found her home as a floral preservationist in this wide flowering world.

https://emilyroseflorals.org
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