Diy Wedding Dress Preservation
If you want to preserve your wedding dress on your own, following these guidelines will set you up for success.
- Always use white cotton gloves when handling the wedding dress.
- Before you go all-out cleaning the dress, spot test the fabric in an inconspicuous area to make sure it’s not going to harm the fabric.
- Soft-bristled brushes will help you get the job done. Pick up some gentle toothbrushes and have at it.
- NEVER use bleach on your gown. The delicate fabric can be irreversibly damaged if you use this incredibly harsh chemical.
- When the wedding gown is clean and dry, wrap it in acid-free tissue paper or pre-washed unbleached muslin. Avoid colored tissue paper as it can stain the dress over time. Place layers of tissue paper or muslin between the folds of the dress to avoid permanent creasing. Additionally, be sure to stuff the bust of the dress with tissue paper to help maintain its full shape.
- Place the dress in an acid-free container and store it in an area that is safe from harsh light or temperatures . You should also add silica desiccant packets inside the box for humidity control.
- Alternatively, you can use an acid-free plastic garment bag to hang the dress in a cool, dry closet. Avoid hanging the wedding dress on a hanger made of wire or wood. Wedding gowns are much heavier than ordinary clothes, and their weight will cause a pull on the fabric as it hangs, which can lead to distortion.
How To Press Your Flowers In The Microwave
To microwave press your wedding flowers, you will need:
- A microwave with a defrost setting
- Paper towels
- A microwave-safe weight, like a plate
- Your wedding bouquet
A microwave with a defrost setting is preferred because it will limit any possible heat damage. The traditional pressing method gradually dries the blooms, and the microwave speeds that drying process. However, you still want to replicate the gradual process as best as possible. You can microwave press your wedding flowers with these steps:
Why Would You Want To Save Your Wedding Flowers
Brides have been preserving their flowers for years now. Its an easy and beautiful way to keep a special memento of your wedding. However you choose to preserve or display them, you can always look at them fondly and feel transported back in time to your special day.
Considering the price of wedding flowers, it also makes sense to save them to get more use and beauty out of your purchase!
They can also be used as a beautiful piece of decor in your newlywed home. Dried flowers are a unique decorating piece, and these have a bit of extra sentiment behind them. Theyre also something you can show your future children and grandchildren when you tell them all about your big wedding.
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Other Secrets To Success
These tricks may sound crazy, but they actually work! Go buy a lemon-lime soda at the vending machine and pour about 1/4 cup into each vase of flowers. The acidity and sugar is just what the flowers will need to perk right up. Or try two tablespoons of lemon juice or vinegar to use the magic of acid to up freshness levels.
Hairspray is another florists big secret. Just like you style your hair, give the blooms a spritz for a quick refresher.
Vodka can liven up any party, but you might not realize it can liven up your flowers. Pour in a few drops with a teaspoon of sugar to help eliminate bacteria and feed the plants.
Bleach will also help flowers stay fresh longer if you mix about three drops with one teaspoon of sugar in the base. A copper coin will also do the same trick. Copper is a fungicide and will keep away yeast and fungi. All of these tips and tricks seem to keep away bacteria and freshen the blooms at the same time.
Want To Preserve Your Wedding Bouquet Have It Done Professionally Or Do It Yourself
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One of the questions that brides occasionally ask me is if there is a way they can preserve their wedding bouquet. My answer is yes, but it really boils down to how you want to display your bouquet.
Using a shadow box or a domed picture frame are the best ways to attractively display your preserved wedding bouquet
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Ways To Preserve A Bridal Bouquet
There are several different ways to preserve your bouquet, and it all depends on your own personal tastes and what you think will look best in your home. Different preservation methods have different looks, so this is another way your personal style gets to run free in your wedding.
Some are also more DIY than others, so youll have to determine your own handiness and artistic ability. You only have a handful of flowers, so try not to be too ambitious. You dont want to end up preserving them incorrectly and then not having any more.
Keep reading for several ways to preserve your wedding flowers.
Two Diy Methods To Preserve Your Wedding Bouquet
Using silica gel or pressing are the two most popular preservation methods. They are the easiest and least expensive DIY ways to get the job done.
Before you work with the flowers from your actual wedding bouquet, I would suggest testing both methods.
Each method will give you good results. Determining which one to use depends upon how you want to display your keepsake blooms.
- Paper to absorb moisture like nonbleached blotting paper or parchment paper, some scrap cardboard, glue, and tweezers. You will also need a couple of heavy books, or a flower press.
- Starting with a piece of cardboard, lay a sheet of blotting paper on top of it.
- Place your flowers on the blotting paper. Add another piece of blotting paper on top of the flowers, followed by another piece of cardboard to create your first layer.Note: For best results, avoid using any paper with texture or embossing that may leave an imprint on the flowers. Parchment paper and coffee filters could be substituted for blotting paper.
- Repeat for as many layers as needed.
- Place the entire packet into your flower press.
Pressing Methods
If youre looking for an easier way to preserve and display the flowers from your bouquet, pressing them would be a great choice. Get started by gathering your materials. There are a couple of ways of pressing flowers. For both, youll need:
Using A Flower Press
Remove the papers and see your finished results. Once dry, they are ready for framing or placing in a scrapbook.
Read Also: What To Put In Wedding Guest Gift Bags
How To Preserve Your Wedding Bouquet In Epoxy Resin
To preserve your wedding flowers in epoxy resin, you will need:
- A respirator
- Scissors
- Your wedding flowers
Use epoxy resin to preserve your wedding flowers with these steps:
When using epoxy resin, its important to wear protective gloves and a respirator to avoid irritating your skin or other complications.
What To Do With Your Dried Wedding Flowers
So youve preserved your wedding flowers. What next? heres some ideas of how to display and use them.
Image:
Try displaying pressed flowers in a flat glass frame and hanging in your bedroom or living room.
Glue your flowers in a shadow box frame around your wedding invitation or photo.
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Incorporate your dried petals into bath salts so you remember your big day every time you go for a soak.
You might be a DIY queen, but does a DIY wedding actually save you money? Hitched investigates
Helen Pye
Helen is Hitcheds Deputy Editor. Youll find her hopping on a plane to discover the worlds best… honeymoon destinations and seeking out the most incredible wedding venues across the UK. Whether its the latest trends, celeb wedding news or interviewing real brides, if its important for you to know, shell be writing about it. Helen champions inclusivity across the site and is always on the lookout for ways to give new voices a platform on Hitched. She loves everything about weddings and puts pen to paper to make sure every engaged couple and their guests have the best advice, tips and information to throw their dream day. Born, raised and still living in South West London, she has an unhealthy obsession with Netflix, country music and M& S jumpers. When shes not working, youll find Helen scrolling Instagram to find the destination for her next walking holiday.
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How To Preserve Your Wedding Bouquet
If you are engaged or recently married, congratulations are in order! The happiest of days are ahead of you – theres nothing quite like the excitement of a wedding and newlywed bliss. After months of planning and prepping, the big day arrives and the celebration begins. Its a day you and your spouse will never want to forget. There are so many things youll want to remember about your wedding: the venue, the dress, the dancing, the flowers, and more. There are so many great ways to keep items from your wedding preserved and part of your home, and by preserving your bouquet, you can keep it for many years to come, reminding you of that sweet, special day.
Here are four simple and beautiful methods of preserving flowers that you can use to preserve your wedding bouquet and keep it forever:
Silica gel can be used to easily dry out your blooms and keep them looking alive for a long time. Simply get an airtight container that can fit all the flowers you want to preserve and fill the base with a layer of silica gel. Lay your flowers on top, and fill the rest of the container with more silica gel gently, so that the flowers arent crushed or misshapen. Seal the container with a lid, and leave the flowers in for a week. Once the seven days have passed, you can remove the flowers from the silica gel and spray them with hairspray. Now you can reassemble your preserved flowers back into a bouquet and display them in your home!
How To Dry Flowers In Sand
Drying time: 2 weeks
Instructions:
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Silica Gel Resin And Wax
Three more intense DIY ways to preserve your flowers are silica gel, resin, and wax. The video above shows how to use silica gel, which comes in little beads. This method takes a shorter time than the ones above. As you can see in the video, she was able to turn the silica into a solid piece!
Preserving them in resin is a longer and more intensive process. You need a large mold and a pair of gloves to properly handle resin, and you may need to do several layers to properly stack the flowers to get the kind of look you want.
You will also need a face mask, as resin is pretty legit stuff! This method gets you an absolutely stunning product but is definitely advised for pretty experienced DIYers.
Of all three of these methods, wax appears to be the easiest. You literally just melt wax in a bowl, and dip the head of the flowers in! They may not last forever this way but they will last quite a while.
Dip The Flowers In Wax
Wax flowers are not a permanent form of preservation, but they will extend the life of your flowers for up to six months and keep the original integrity and color intact. You won’t be able to tell fresh flowers from wax-dipped aside from the feel.
To wax-preserve your bouquet, you’ll need paraffin wax and a saucepan. Melt the wax in boiling water until the fluid is even and smooth. Then, turn the stove to low so the wax mixture cools down slightly but is still warm.
Next, take your best blooms and gently dip them into the wax solution. Immediately pull them out and hang upside down. After they’re dry, you’ll have beautifully preserved flowers for months to come.
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How To Preserve Wedding Flowers From Your Bouquet
If you are getting married and want your flowers to last for long after your wedding day, you should be prepared to preserve them right after your special day. This post tells you exactly how to preserve wedding flowers from your bouquet by a method that keeps them beautiful, colorful and long-lasting. I then give you 4 options to display your preserved flowers.
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For my own wedding, I was spending a good amount of money on my unique lily of the valley bouquet, and I really wanted to make it last. So, I did a ton of research before our wedding and tried numerous ways to preserve my flowers. The method set forth in details below was the easiest, and the flowers best maintained their color and shape this way as well.
A few methods I tried that didnt work as well were: hanging them upside down, microwaving them and pressing them in books. The flowers either gold moldy, lost their shape or lost their color these ways.
Based on my experience, below is how to preserve wedding flowers from your bouquet in the easiest and most beautiful and long-lasting way.
