Wedding Bouquet Preservation
You've put all this effort into finding mementos for everyone
else, but what about you? Of course you'll want to save a piece
of your own wedding as a token. It's become increasingly popular
for women to keep their wedding bouquets. It can be done,
ladies! Nevertheless, in order to keep it, you need to preserve
it-and you don't need silk flowers to do it!
If you haven't decided which wedding flowers to use for your
bouquet yet-let us make a suggestion: Red Roses. If you decide
to use white, they will look ivory after you preserve them. And
by preserving them, we mean dry -freezing them. Fortunately,
many floral businesses dry-freeze their bouquets in advance. You
can request to have this done. The actual process is called:
substantiation. During this process, the water is removed from
the petals and turn from a solid state to a gas. Then a
post-treatment solution is applied to the bouquet to keep
moisture from entering the petals.
Most florists will tell you that roses are the best wedding
flowers for preservation. Tulips and any other waxy flowers are
probably some of the worst, as the waxy substance slows down the
removal of moisture. Carnations too, can be preserved. But
unlike roses, which undergo substantiation, Carnations are
usually silica dried.
If you silica dried your floral arrangements, you're probably
wondering what you can do with them now. Silica drying is a
temporary solution. Well, many brides take their silica dried
flowers and dip them into hot paraffin. This will gift them a
very glossy protective coating that will keep moisture at bay.
Nevertheless , green and foliage can be kept with a glycerin
solution. Ivy for instance, will do best if you immerse the
entire foliage into the solution. Note: many women swear by this
method-place a few drops of green food coloring into the
solution, as it's been said to keep the leaves from turning
brown.
It's important to take several precautions after you've
preserved your flowers. For instance: don't place the foliage or
flowers into direct sunlight, as the natural colors will fade
and dissipate. In addition, placing them in a vase or shadow-box
will keep the dust from collecting on them.
It's always a good idea to practice on other wedding flowers and plants before the big day. This way
you're no longer experimenting, you'll want exactly how to get
the job done. Whichever method you try on your wedding bouquet,
you'll be satisfied with fresh-looking long after your wedding
day has come.