What To Do With Your Flowers After You Say "I Do"
Now that you've said "I do" and the party is over what is a bride to do with all her beautifully designed arrangements? Our hearts just break thinking about them being thrown out or simply left to wilt when there are other options that allow for your flowers to bring further enjoyment for yourself and others. So we have compiled a list of six of our favourite ways to extend the use of your wedding day flowers.
Give Away Bouquets to Guests As Favours
The flowers from your wedding won't die over night so someone might as well enjoy them! An effortless idea to help share the beauty of your arrangements with your beloved guests is to send them home with a bunch or two. You can give them to family members or those who have helped you prepare and have been your support leading up to your big day. Or get creative and play a table game where the winner gets to take the flowers from that table home at the end of the party. However before sending your guests home with the flowers be sure they will return the vase if you have rented them from your florist or if you want to sell them at a bridal swap.
Picture via Flickr
Make A Memorable Keepsake
Preserving your flowers can make for a great sentimental keepsake. There are a couple ways to hold onto your wedding flowers forever, but most brides choose to freeze dry their wedding bouquet. You can either preserve your bouquet in it's entirety (Pictured above.) or just a few of your favourite flowers. Which ever way you decided to preserve your bouquet will dictate how you store them. If you choose to keep your whole bouquet use shadow box or lantern to display it elegantly. Or if you chose just few flowers press them between the glass of a two paned picture frame to hang in your home.
To guarantee your flowers will last hire a preservation specialist before your wedding. Often they will supply you with a shipping box or instructions on how to best maintain your flowers until they can be preserved. Ask your florist if they can suggest a preservationist as florists will often work closely with others in the wedding/event industry.
Thank You Cards Create personal note cards to say thank you to your guests by drying the flowers from you bouquets. To do this make sure the bouquets are properly hydrated on your wedding day to prevent premature wilting. The morning after the wedding choose which flowers will press dry the best; these flowers are usually flat and small such as anemones. As well, keep in mind you that may need to separate larger flowers and individually dry their blooms like hydrangeas. Once you have picked all the blooms from your bouquets get a roll of wax paper and paper towel. First lay out flat a piece of wax paper; on top of the wax paper place a piece of paper towel place, then blooms on top of the paper towel, then cover the blooms with another piece of paper towel and wax paper. Now that you've created you preservation packets place the blooms between heavy flat objects such as pages in books making sure the blooms are fully encased. Give it a few weeks and your flowers will be dried perfectly to paste onto note cards and send out to your guests!
Donate Your Flowers to Share the Joy
Make sure your flowers do double duty and bring more joy to others lives by donating them to a local hospice or homeless shelter. One of our brides had a family member in a hospice that was unable to attend her wedding. Before the soon to be weds stopped in at the home to share their love and beautiful attire. The next day after the wedding the bride returned to bring bouquets for not only her loved one but for the whole home. This way the couple was not only including their family member in their big day,but also showing their gratitude to the care givers.
If you're not sure of somewhere to donate, but want to share your flowers in this way, ask you wedding party if they have any charities or ill family members that would enjoy the arrangements. After all, flowers are not only a great way to accent your wedding but can they bring a lot of happiness into someone else's day.
P.S if you donate your flowers your florist bill may be tax deductible!
Remember Lost Loved Ones
If you have a close relative or friend who passed away before your wedding day why not pay tribute to their memory and their contribution to your lives. Take one of our clients for example; on her way to the airport from her wedding venue ,the day after her wedding, the couple made a quick stop and placed her bridal bouquet at her family member's grave. It was a very sentimental way to make sure that everyone was included in their day even those that had passed.
Create Candles With Your Flower's Petals
This is one of our favourite ideas. Why not re-purpose your flowers into romantic memorabilia that you will definitely use again! We've discovered through a client The Isle Co who creates illuminated soy candles from your wedding flowers that will never burn down. Lit from the inside by a bulb the candles create a romantic glow that would be a great addition to the new couple's bedroom. Our client received two candles from her mother in law as a wedding present. The next day after her wedding the bride followed the steps supplied on The Isle Co. website to prepare her bouquet's flowers and shipped them off. A few weeks later she received her candles! We fell in love with this creative way to include one of the most important days in a couple's life in romantic moments for years to come.
You've put a lot of time and money into the flowers for your wedding day so it's just makes sense to utilize them as much a s possible. Apply one or more of the ideas above to make sure your blooms are enjoyed to their fullest! To make sure you get the most out of your flowers on and after the big day be sure to check our post on how to re-purpose your bouquets and make your flowers multitask at the ceremony and the reception.
