I sometimes hear how one of the hardest parts of investing in wedding florals is that you don’t get to enjoy them for very long after your wedding day. However, thanks to Brittany from Pine for Cedar, now you can! I asked Brittany if she could share some ideas on what to do with your flowers after the wedding - here’s what she had to say!

Wedding flowers are such a big part of your wedding decor and help tie your colour palette through each detail you have intentionally planned into your day. Your floral arrangements are made to look their best on your wedding, day but most flowers have a vase life of much longer and can last days and some weeks after the big day. So what can you do with your wedding flowers after the wedding?

These are the four main suggestions I give my couples:

1) Donate your flowers

YYC Petal Project is a non-profit organization that will receive your flower donation and repurpose the stems into smaller arrangements to be gifted to seniors in assisted living or given to hospital patients. You also have the option of picking where your flowers will be gifted. One of my past bride’s flowers have made their way to the Ronald MacDonald House and another to the residents of their late grandmother’s hospice.

Find out more: www.yycpetalproject.ca

2) Hang dry your flowers

If you would like to keep some of your wedding flowers - like your bridal bouquet, you can dry your bouquet. Keep in mind not all flowers dry well and many will change colour/loose their colour in the drying process. You will need rubber bands, a coat hanger and somewhere to hang and store the drying bouquet that has good circulation. You will need to separate your bridal bouquet into smaller bouquets using the rubber bands. Then hang the mini bouquets upside down from coat hangers in a well circulated space (upside down to allow the stems to dry upright rather than wilted over). They will need to dry for 2-4 weeks depending on the bloom. Once all the blooms are completely dry you will need to spray the bouquets with hair spray to help the dried flowers keep from falling to pieces. They will be quite fragile once dried. Once sprayed you can reassemble your bouquet into one or however many bouquets and display in a vase.

3) Press your flowers

While your flowers are still alive you can use another form of preserving by pressing your wedding blooms. Some flowers will be more difficult to press simply by their shape and some will lose colour in the process, just like drying them. For example, white flowers will yellow/brown in the process while darker hues like reds/ purples will hold their colour better. Pressing flowers is quite simple, you just need a large and heavy book and parchment paper. You would first cut the blooms off of each stem. The arrange them flat between two pages of parchment paper, in the middle of a large book. Wait for 1 - 2 weeks or until the blooms are dried out completely and papery. Now you can arrange your pressed flowers into keepsake wall hanging.

If that all seems like a lot of work and you aren’t very crafty I would suggestion checking out Ox Eye Floral Co. (@oxeyefloralco). Ayla Graham, the owner and artist, takes your bouquet, presses your flowers and creates a bridal keepsake for you. Her work is incredible and she does book up far in advance so reach out early to book your spot.

4) Commissioned Artwork

My final suggestion is to have a local artist recreate your wedding bouquet in a watercolor painting, or a drawing or a needlepoint wall hanging. There are so many incredible artists in Calgary, let alone Alberta and beyond, but here are a few suggestions of artists I have come across.

Maya Corona: @mayacoronaart
Jill Weston: @jillwestonart
Teagan Sturmer: @teaganoliviasturmer

A big thanks to Brittany for sharing these awesome ideas! If you want to see more of Brittany’s beautiful work, check out pineforcedar.com