Flowers are an integral part of many weddings. From the bride’s bouquet to the flowers that stand on all the tables at the reception, you can expect to have a lot left over once the big day is over and the wedding has taken place.

So what can you do with them all? It is a waste to simply get rid of them, and when it comes to the bouquet you may well want to keep it as a memento. So where do you start?

Fortunately preserving a wedding bouquet can be done quite easily. There are professional services that make this a possibility for you. They can actually preserve it so that it looks exactly as it did on the big day. If you are going to have this done you need to think about how you will store it because it will be quite fragile by nature. You might want to invest in a strong and sturdy box to keep it in. If you have it on display somewhere in your home there is always the possibility that someone will knock into it and break it.

But what can you do with the rest of your wedding day flowers?

Can you preserve those as well, or are there other things you can do with them? One lovely idea is to give away a table decoration made from flowers as a gift. Perhaps you could give one to the parents of the bride and one to the parents of the groom? If you are going to do this you need to agree between the two of you who you want to donate them to in advance of the big day. Then you can be ready to present them to the people you have chosen once the day is over.

If you are both leaving for your honeymoon before the party ends, you could entrust one of the bridesmaids or perhaps the best man to make sure these gifts reach the right people. This will ensure that they don’t get forgotten or binned when you actually wanted them to go to someone special.

Another idea is to take one of the table decorations home yourself to do something with. You don’t have to preserve it as it is, but you can take leaves and petals from flowers and dry them separately at home. You can buy flower pressing kits quite cheaply to do this with, but it is easy enough to do without them if you have some heavy books to hand.

Make sure the flowers aren’t wet from being watered and use a sheet or two of paper to protect the book from the flower petals themselves. This makes the petals easier to lift out as well.

Pressing flowers takes time but if you persevere with it you can enjoy using these dried flowers to add decoration to your wedding photo album. They can provide a nice personal touch and another memory of your big day.

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