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Wedding
Bouquet Preservation…saver
your special memories of your wedding day through the preservation
of your bridal bouquet!
An article written by Brian Donaldson Co-Owner of New Hampshire
based Mountain View Freeze Dry.
There are several common flower drying methods to use. Select the
method that is right for you. The common methods are:
•
Air Drying
•
Flower Pressing
•
Silica Sand (Silica-Gel) Drying
•
Freeze Drying
Before selecting your drying method consider your budget and your
expectations of how you would like your bouquet to look like after
the flowers are dried. As with anything nice, you will usually get
what your pay for.
Air drying is the least expensive as you simply allow your flowers
to dry up naturally. Air dried flowers will
shrink considerably in size; they will loose their original shape
and in some instances will turn very dark or black. Many people
trying to air dry have noticed mold or rotted flowers a few days
after the wedding. While roses can be air dried, lilies and orchids
cannot be air dried. Many people have asked if they can hang flowers
upside down using hairspray if that will work? The answer is not to
our experience. Hairspray does not provide a thick enough coating to
prevent flower shedding. Hanging the flowers upside down does
nothing to aid drying but may help flowers from wilting downward
with gravity, instead they will wilt upwards? It is important to
keep air circulation around the flowers as they dry to try and
prevent molding of the flowers. There is nothing wrong with having
air-dried flowers. There you’re sentimental flowers and can be
custom framed along with your photo to make a beautiful decorative
piece for you walls.
Flower pressing is an art form dating back to ancient times. Many
old books may have flowers pressed and preserved between their pages
from years ago. There are flower pressing companies that will create
beautiful framed art using flower presses. Framed pressed flowers
are flat and allow the use of flat picture frames and other types of
flat displays for decorating in your home. If you do not like the
look of three dimensional flowers then you should consider this
drying method. Because of labor and materials prices for framed
pressed flowers can be as much as that of silica dried or
freeze-dried.
Silica drying can produce good results with some flowers but not all
flower varieties, sizes and shapes of flowers can be maintained well
in silica sand. For good results one should have experience using
silica before attempting to preserve a wedding bouquet. First check
to see if your flower types are known to dry well in silica before
selecting this drying method. You will need enough silica sand to
bury each flower separately from your bouquet. Flower petals may
detach with the weight of sand on the blooms. Silica can also be a
hazardous substance. One should carefully read warning labels and
follow directions when handling silica and avoid breathing its dust.
The cost of purchasing enough silica sand to dry a large wedding
bouquet may approach the cost of just selecting a professional
service to dry your flowers.
Freeze-drying is the latest technology for wedding bouquet
preservation. Orchids, lilies, and all varieties of flowers can be
freeze-dried with near perfect, life like results. Your flowers will
keep most of their size, shape, and color throughout the drying
process and look amazingly alive when dried. Unfortunately you
cannot do this at home without having an expensive vacuum freeze
drying machine. Professional freeze drying of your wedding bouquet
will cost more than the other drying methods but if you would like
to save your wedding day blooms using the best drying method then
have your bouquet freeze dried. The fee to freeze dry a wedding
bouquet may not be much more than if your purchase enough silica
sand to attempt the drying yourself.
Lastly, the preservation of flowers is not only “the drying method”.
Preservation begins with the drying method used but preservation is
really the methods and materials used to prolong and keep your
flowers for years to come once they are dried.
The better the drying method; the better preservation encapsulation
your flowers should have. For instance; if you air dry flowers they
will never be totally dry. The flowers will have whatever humidity
amount in them that the room air has in it. Similarly with pressed
or silica dried flowers they will not have all moisture removed when
their drying process is complete. The room humidity level whatever
it is will remain in the flowers. When using these methods your
flowers will be dried at room temperature in regular room air that
has humidity. Flowers with humidity will not last their longest.
Freeze-dried flowers are dried in a vacuum chamber while frozen and
are one hundred percent without moisture when dry. Vacuum freeze
drying is the only method that can do this.
Proper encapsulation in “sealed” preservation framing ensures that
the flowers will last their longest after they are dried. Not all
flower drying companies may provide this level of preservation for
your wedding flowers. Mountain View Freeze Dry provides shadowbox
framing with flowers in mind. We are a company that seals each frame
and use UV filtering glass allowing for flowers to last their
longest. . For more information on floral freeze drying and framing
of bridal bouquets please visit us online at
www.mountainviewfreezedry.com or by phone at (603) 878-9190
Call: 603-878-9190
Visit us at
www.mountainviewfreezedry.com |
