Once the vows have been recited, you’ve had your first dance, cut the cake, and toasted everyone you’ve ever met, now you have to decide what to do with the beautiful flowers that have surrounded you all day. You may choose to preserve them as a lasting keepsake of such a beautiful day. Or you may be interested in donating them to continue spreading their joy. You might decide to repurpose them so you can continue to enjoy them.
No matter how you choose to maintain the life of your flowers, the floral experts at Conklyn’s Weddings hope you accept a few of these ideas so you can be sure your flowers are enjoyed as long as possible.
Keep Your Wedding Flowers by Pressing Them
Dried Flowers
Pressed flowers are a great way to maintain your special blooms and keep them forever. To press them yourself, dry them completely (hanging them upside down for several weeks is a good way to do this). Once you’ve dried and pressed your petals by storing between the pages of heavy books or layers of bricks, arrange them as a keepsake, like this:
- Press Between Glass Plates: Pressed flowers displayed between two plates of glass will look beautiful from any angle. A shadow box or elegant frameless glass frame will make a dazzling presentation for your wedding flowers.
- Press into Thank-You Cards: Flowers pressed into cardstock can make excellent thank you cards to send to your guests or to use in the future. Have a paper company make customized paper that includes your pressed petals for a unique design.
- Press Into a Book: Glue dried flowers into a blank scrapbook to provide a lovely keepsake of the flowers from your special day. Add wedding photos later, or other mementos like your cocktail napkins or wedding invitation.
Preserve Your Wedding Flowers for the Future
Flower Potpourri
To keep your bouquet of wedding flowers long-lasting and beautiful, there are a few ways to preserve your blooms so that you enjoy them long-term. Here are a few ideas:
- Create Potpourri: Dried flower petals can be mixed together to create a fragrant potpourri for displaying in your home. You can also tie bundles of tuile filled with your fresh potpourri to create satches of fragrance. Keep around your house or give as thank-you gifts to attendants, family members, or other guests.
- Make Ornaments with Dried Petals: Fill clear, simple bulb ornaments with dried floral petals to make beautiful gifts, or to hang on your first Christmas together.
- Compost Your Flowers: An already existing garden can be nourished with the flowers from your wedding day as a symbolic investment in the growth of your love for one another. If you already have a garden, compost the flower petals from your wedding and feed your future together.
Give Your Wedding Flowers as Thank-Yous
Flower Station at Wedding
At the end of the night, as you prepare to wrap up the evening, think about letting others take your wedding flowers home to enjoy. Here are some really fun, creative ways to send your flowers on to a new life with someone else.
- Have a Bouquet Station: Ask your florist to include a bouquet station at your reception. Toward the end of the evening, the floral team (or designated others) can round up the bouquets and centerpieces and break them down into individually wrapped bouquets for guests to take home. On their way out, guests can stop by the booth to pick up this meaningful keepsake from your wedding.
- Send Floral Arrangements Home with Staff: Many people help to make your big day amazing- from servers and bartenders to DJs and photographers, a lot of people worked hard to bring your dream wedding to life. Why not send them home with a beautiful bouquet at the end of the night? They’ll feel appreciated for their hard work, and you’ll love knowing your blooms went to a good home.
- Bring Them To the Morning-After Brunch: No need for separate florals or other decor for your brunch when you’ve invested in blooms beautiful enough for your wedding the day before. Recycle your wedding flowers by bringing them along. Decorate your morning-after brunch with your wedding centerpieces and flowers.
Let Others Enjoy Your Wedding Flowers
Flowers in Hospital Hallway
Look for opportunities to donate your flowers to a local venue that make someone’s day a little brighter. Several national organizations also take flower donations and either recycle or deliver them to various health care facilities and services within the community. These include Bloomerent, Repeat Roses, and The Full Bloom.
- Local Hospitals: In the D.C. area, Conklyn’s Weddings delivers to all hospitals and nursing homes. Let us deliver your blooms the day after your wedding. Call ahead to make arrangements. Patients and medical staff alike will feel the proven health effects of being near fresh flowers.
- Local Businesses: Anytime you donate anything to a local business or restaurant, you help them build their business. Flowers add tons of energy, color, and atmosphere, so if you know someone local whose business could use a quick pick-me-up, arrange to have your wedding flowers dropped off the day after your wedding.
You want your flowers to last as long as possible, and be enjoyed by as many people as possible. Reuse, repurpose, or recycle your wedding flowers so you can enjoy their lasting beauty longer. The floral professionals at Conklyn’s Weddings will help you make the important decision about how to keep your flowers as long as you like. Talk to us about your ideas today!