The Flower Preservation Process: How We Turn Your Wedding Bouquet Into a Keepsake
If you’ve ever wondered how we take your fresh wedding flowers and transform them into a long-lasting keepsake, you’re in the right place.
Flower preservation is a little bit of science, a little bit of art, and a whole lot of patience. It’s not as simple as popping flowers into resin or pressing them between paper and calling it a day. Every bouquet is different, every flower behaves differently, and every piece is created by hand in our studio.
From the moment your flowers arrive at Bloomy Days, they begin a careful preservation journey designed to honour your bouquet, your memories and the story attached to them.
Fresh flowers give us the best starting point
When it comes to flower preservation, fresh really is best.
While we can work a lot of magic, we can’t turn completely wilted or damaged flowers back into perfect fresh blooms. Your flowers are natural, delicate and already have a big day behind them by the time they reach us, so the sooner they arrive, the better.
This is why we only accept a limited number of bouquets each week. Every order needs space, time and hands-on attention from our team, and we never want to rush the process just to squeeze more in.
Step 1: Save the date! Book your flower preservation early.
f you’re not yet sure exactly what you’d like—or you haven’t finalised every little detail—that’s completely okay. You can reserve your event date with a deposit, which secures your place in our preservation calendar. Whether you’re leaning towards resin flower preservation, a pressed flower frame or a 3D shadow box, you can choose or adjust the finer details later.
Alternatively, if you already know exactly what you’d like, you can place your full order through our website, which will also secure your date.
Our busiest wedding season generally runs from September through to May, so we always recommend booking early. This gives you the best chance of securing your date and allows plenty of time for us to send you everything you’ll need before your wedding.
Once your booking is confirmed, we’ll send you all the information you need to get your flowers to us safely.
Step 2: Get your flowers to us safely - how to prepare your flowers for preservation
After your wedding, your flowers need to make their way to our studio as soon as possible.
You can send your blooms to us using one of three methods:
- Using one of our Bloom Boxes: read more here
- Shipping your flowers using your own box: read more here
- Dropping your flowers to our Ballarat studio if you’re local
Whichever option you choose, the goal is the same: keep your flowers cool, hydrated before packing and supported during transport.
There are few steps to follow to keep your flowers as happy as possible:
After the wedding, place your flowers into fresh water as soon as possible and keep them in a cool, dark room away from direct sunlight, heaters and hot cars. If they’re not being sent immediately, change the water daily until they’re ready to travel.
Fresh flowers are tender little things, especially after being carried, photographed, hugged and handled throughout a wedding day. A little care in those first few days can make a big difference to what we have to work with once they arrive.
Step 3: Your flowers arrive at Bloomy Days
Once your flowers arrive at our studio, our team carefully unpacks and checks them over.
We assess the overall condition of the bouquet, check for any damaged or fragile blooms, and match everything to your order. From there, your bouquet is carefully taken apart so each flower can be preserved in the way that suits it best.
This is the part most people don’t see. Your bouquet may arrive as one arrangement, but we don’t preserve it as one big bundle. Each bloom needs to be handled individually, because roses, orchids, natives, lilies, daisies, delphiniums and greenery all behave differently.
Some flowers need to be separated. Some need petals removed and rebuilt later. Some need extra support. Some need a completely different approach depending on whether they’re destined for resin, pressing or a shadow box.
Basically, your bouquet arrives as a party, and then we give every flower its own little treatment plan.
Step 4: Pressing, preserving and resin-casting flowers
Before your flowers can become a keepsake, they need to be properly prepared and preserved and this stage changes depending on your chosen preservation method and the types of flowers in your bouquet.
Flowers being preserved for resin need to be carefully dried so they are ready to be cast. Any moisture left inside the flowers can affect the resin, so this stage cannot be rushed.
Flowers being pressed are individually arranged and pressed using techniques suited to their shape, thickness and moisture content.
Flowers being used in 3D shadow boxes are preserved in a way that helps them hold their shape and dimension, giving your bouquet that fuller, more lifelike finish inside the frame.
This is one of the biggest reasons flower preservation takes months, not days. The flowers need time to dry, settle and stabilise before we can begin designing your final piece. This step alone can take up to 4 months.
Step 5: Designing your keepsake. Our favourite part.
Once your flowers have completed the preservation stage, the design process begins.
This is where your blooms get their second life.
Each piece is designed by hand in our studio using your preserved flowers. We look at the shape, colour, movement and condition of each bloom before deciding how to place them. No two bouquets are the same, and no two keepsakes are either.
Depending on your order, we may be designing a resin block, arch, bookend set, pressed frame, 3D shadow box, pendant, ring holder or another custom piece. We work with the flowers we have, the shape of your chosen piece and any design preferences you have provided.
Our aim is always to create something beautiful while still respecting the natural character of your flowers.
The resin preservation process
Resin flower preservation is one of our most detailed processes.
Once your flowers are fully dried and ready, they are carefully placed into their mould and cast in layers. This layered approach helps create the look of your flowers being suspended inside the resin.
Each layer needs time to cure before the next one can be poured. Resin is sensitive to temperature, humidity, flower type and placement, so this stage requires a lot of patience and precision.
Once the main pour is complete, your piece is removed from the mould, sanded, refined and finished with a glossy top coat. It then needs additional curing time before it can be safely packed and sent home.
Resin is beautiful, but it is not a quick process. It takes time, skill and a whole lot of “don’t touch it yet, it’s still curing” energy.
The pressed flower framing process
Pressed flower frames have a softer, more delicate feel, but they are still incredibly hands-on.
Each flower is pressed, dried and monitored before it can be used in your frame. Some blooms press as whole flowers, while others are carefully separated and rebuilt to create the best possible result.
Once your flowers are ready, our team designs your frame by hand. This may include your bouquet flowers, greenery, ribbon, photos, vows or other sentimental details depending on your chosen design.
Pressed frames are all about composition. We look at flow, balance, colour and negative space so your finished piece feels intentional, not overcrowded.
The 3D shadow box framing process
Our 3D shadow boxes are designed for couples who want to preserve the fuller shape and dimension of their bouquet.
Rather than pressing the flowers flat, we preserve the blooms in a way that helps maintain their structure. Once they are ready, we carefully arrange them inside a deep frame to create a dimensional floral display.
This style is perfect if you love the shape of your bouquet and want your finished piece to feel more like a floral arrangement inside a frame.
Like all preservation methods, we still need to work with the natural behaviour of the flowers. Some blooms may change colour, soften or shift during the drying process, but this is part of working with real flowers.
One of the most important things to understand about flower preservation is that your flowers will not look exactly the same as they did fresh. That’s part of their beauty. They are your real flowers, preserved from a real moment in time, not artificial replicas.
A note about colour and natural changes
Flowers are a natural product, and colour changes are part of the preservation process. Whites and creams can become warmer in tone, reds and pinks may deepen, and some flowers may become more muted as they dry.
We do offer colour correction options for some designs, but even with colour correction, preserved flowers will always have natural variation. You can read more on colour correction here
Why does flower preservation take so long?
Because every step relies on the one before it being done properly.
Your flowers need to arrive, be assessed, conditioned, dried, preserved, rested, designed, created, finished, checked, photographed, packed and prepared for collection or delivery.
Some stages can’t be rushed, especially drying, resin curing and final finishing. Rushing those steps can affect the quality of your final piece, and that’s not something we’re willing to do.
Our current turnaround times vary depending on the type of preservation you choose, the size of your order and the way your flowers respond to preservation, we aim for between a 6-8 month turn around. You’ll receive updates along the way so you know where your flowers are in the process.
The floral homecoming
Once your order is complete, we’ll send you an update along with photos of your finished pieces.
From there, your keepsakes will be carefully packed for collection or delivery, ready to make their way home. And then the best part begins: you get to enjoy your wedding flowers long after the day itself has passed.
Flower preservation is a slow, careful and deeply personal process. Your bouquet becomes part of our studio for months, and by the time it leaves, we know those flowers very well.
If you love the idea of turning your wedding flowers into a keepsake you can hold onto forever, you can book your preservation date here.
From fresh to forever, we’d be honoured to preserve your blooms.
