Your wedding day may only last one day, but the memories from it can last a lifetime. For many couples, their wedding flowers are one of the most sentimental parts of the day. Whether it is your bridal bouquet, buttonholes, ceremony flowers or a single special bloom, it can feel disappointing watching them slowly wilt once the celebrations are over.
The good news is that wedding flowers can often be preserved after your wedding and transformed into a keepsake that you can treasure for years to come.
At Nogard Creations, we specialise in wedding flower preservation, transforming flowers into handmade resin keepsakes and framed displays. But one of the questions we are often asked is: “Is it too late to preserve my flowers?”
The answer will depend on the condition and age of the flowers, but in many cases, there are still options available.
How soon after your wedding should flowers be preserved?
Ideally, your wedding flowers should be sent or delivered to us as soon as possible after the wedding.
Fresh flowers naturally begin to change once they have been cut. Heat, lack of water, handling and the amount of time that has passed since the flowers were arranged can all affect their condition.
However, that does not necessarily mean that flowers need to arrive with us the very next day.
We understand that after your wedding, flower preservation may not have been something you thought about in advance. You may have gone away on your honeymoon, returned home to find your bouquet still sitting in a vase or only later realised that you would love to keep some of your flowers.
Depending on their condition, we can often still work with flowers that are no longer completely fresh.
If you are unsure whether your wedding flowers can still be preserved, it is always worth getting in touch with photographs of the flowers. We can then give you a better idea of whether preservation may still be possible.
What happens during wedding flower preservation?
Wedding flower preservation is not simply a case of placing fresh flowers straight into resin.
The flowers first need to go through a drying and preservation process. This removes moisture from the flowers so they can be safely incorporated into their final keepsake.
Every bouquet is different, and every flower responds differently to the preservation process.
Some flowers dry beautifully and retain much of their original appearance, while others may change colour, darken, shrink or become more delicate. The final result can also be influenced by the condition of the flowers when they arrive with us.
This is one of the reasons why sending your flowers as soon as reasonably possible can be beneficial.
Once the flowers have been dried and prepared, they can then be arranged into your chosen keepsake.
What can you preserve wedding flowers into?
One of the lovely things about wedding flower preservation is that there is no single way to preserve a bouquet.
Your flowers can be transformed into a variety of different keepsakes depending on how much of the bouquet you would like to preserve and how you would like to display it.
At Nogard Creations, we offer a wide range of options, including resin display pieces, hearts, cubes, coasters, paperweights, smaller keepsakes and framed flower preservation.
A larger piece can be a beautiful way to preserve a significant part of your bouquet, while smaller items can allow you to use petals or individual flowers to create keepsakes for yourself or loved ones.
You may also choose a combination of different pieces from the same flowers. For example, you could preserve your main flowers within a larger display piece and use some of the remaining flowers or petals in smaller keepsakes.
Because every bouquet is different, the flowers themselves can also influence which pieces are most suitable.
Can wedding flowers be preserved in resin?
Yes. Resin flower preservation is one of the ways wedding flowers can be transformed into a long-lasting display piece.
Once flowers have been properly dried and prepared, they can be carefully arranged inside resin to create a three-dimensional keepsake.
This allows you to preserve individual flowers, sections of a bouquet or a collection of meaningful blooms in a piece that can be displayed in your home.
Resin flower preservation is particularly popular because it allows you to see the flowers from different angles while keeping them protected within the finished piece.
However, it is important to remember that preservation does not mean freezing flowers exactly as they were on the wedding day.
Natural flowers can change during drying, and some colour changes are a normal part of the process. This is all part of working with real flowers rather than artificial replicas.
Can you preserve flowers if you did not pre-book?
Yes.
Not everyone plans their flower preservation before their wedding, and we understand that the decision to preserve a bouquet can sometimes happen afterwards.
You may have received your flowers as a surprise, changed your mind after the wedding or simply not known that wedding flower preservation was an option.
If you have recently had your wedding and are considering preserving your flowers, it is still worth contacting us.
The most important thing is to get in touch as soon as possible and provide photographs showing the current condition of the flowers.
At Nogard Creations, we can assess whether preservation may still be possible and discuss the options available to you.
Can you post wedding flowers for preservation?
Yes. We welcome flowers from customers across the UK.
If you are unable to deliver your flowers to us in person, they can be carefully packaged and sent to us.
Packaging flowers correctly is extremely important, as flowers can be damaged during transit. We provide guidance to help customers prepare their flowers for posting and also offer a flower packaging kit for those who would prefer to use one.
The sooner you can arrange postage after your wedding, the better, as this reduces the amount of time the flowers are left before beginning the preservation process.
If you are planning your wedding in advance, it can also be helpful to look at the packaging instructions beforehand so you know exactly what you need to do once the wedding is over.
What if my wedding flowers have already started to wilt?
Do not automatically assume that it is too late.
The suitability of flowers for preservation depends on several factors, including how old they are, how they have been stored, their current condition and the types of flowers within the bouquet.
Some flowers may still be suitable for preservation even if they are no longer looking exactly as they did on the wedding day.
Other flowers may have deteriorated too far to produce the best possible result.
This is why photographs are always helpful. By seeing the current condition of your flowers, we can give you more realistic advice about whether preservation is likely to be possible.
How long does wedding flower preservation take?
Wedding flower preservation is a detailed process and can take a significant amount of time.
The flowers need to be dried thoroughly before they can be used within resin or other preservation pieces. Rushing this process could affect the final result.
Once your flowers have completed the drying process, they can be prepared, arranged and incorporated into your chosen keepsakes.
The overall timescale can vary depending on the flowers, the size and complexity of your order and our current workload.
Flower preservation is therefore not an instant process, but the aim is to create a keepsake that allows you to continue enjoying a small part of your wedding day long after the flowers themselves would normally have faded.
Do you need to know what you want before sending your flowers?
Not necessarily.
Some customers know exactly which keepsake they would like before their wedding, while others prefer to wait until the flowers have been dried before deciding.
You may also find that your original ideas change once you see how your flowers have dried and which flowers are most suitable for different pieces.
If you are unsure what you would like, we can discuss the options available and help you choose pieces that work well with your flowers and the amount you have available.
Is wedding flower preservation worth it?
For many people, wedding flowers hold far more sentimental value than their appearance alone.
They can remind you of your wedding day, the people who shared it with you, the venue, the season or even a loved one who was part of your celebrations.
Preserving them gives you the opportunity to turn something that would normally only last a few days into a lasting keepsake for your home.
Whether you choose to preserve your entire bouquet in a larger display piece or simply keep a few petals in a smaller keepsake, wedding flower preservation allows you to hold on to a physical reminder of an incredibly special day.
Thinking about preserving your wedding flowers?
If you have recently got married and are wondering whether it is still possible to preserve your flowers, we would always recommend getting in touch as soon as possible.
Send us some photographs of your bouquet and we can discuss whether your flowers may be suitable for preservation and what options could work best for you.
At Nogard Creations, we specialise in preserving wedding and sentimental flowers into handmade resin keepsakes and framed displays. We welcome flowers delivered in person and also accept flowers sent to us by post from across the UK.
Your wedding flowers may only last a short time, but with the right preservation process, they can become a keepsake filled with memories that you can enjoy for many years to come.