Flower Preservation

A wedding day is a monumental event in anyone's life and the memories will last a lifetime. What won't last a lifetime, however, are the wedding flowers —if they're not preserved properly. I'm not talking about hanging them upside down to dry either! What a lot of brides don't realize is that there are services available that will help to preserve your bouquet before it turns brown and withers. Instead of waiting until the wedding is over and it is too late, a bride should look into preserving her bouquet before the ceremony.

When you initially speak with your florist about flower selections you should also inquire about services available to preserve the flowers—let them know that this is important to you. The preservation of your bridal bouquet should be handled far in advance. At this time you should also discuss all the nitty-gritty details about the care and transportation of the flowers. If preservation is a big deal to you, select flowers that preserve well, here is a guide on the matter:

• Roses – excellent for preservation
• Alstromaria - extremely fragile; becomes transparent
• Casablanca Lily - excellent for preservation
• Calla Lilly - excellent for preservation
• Carnations - excellent for preservation
• Delphinium - excellent for preservation
• Dahlia - breaks easily
• Freesia – preserves poorly, shrinks and becomes transparent
• Gardenia - excellent for preservation
• Hydrangea - excellent for preservation
• Larkspur - excellent for preservation
• Liatris - excellent for preservation
• Lilac – preserves poorly and breaks easily
• Lily of the Valley –preserves fairly well
• Dendrobium/Catelya Orchids - excellent for preservation
• Phallanopsis Orchids – preserves poorly, becomes transparent
• Peonies - excellent for preservation
• Stargazer Lily - excellent
• Stephanotis - excellent for preservation
• Stock – preserves fairly well
• Sunflowers – preserves poorly, breaks
• Tulips – preserves poorly