Just Engaged? Why to Think About Your Wedding Flowers Now

Congratulations!

If you just got engaged, you're probably buried in venue tours, guest lists and a dozen Pinterest boards. Flowers might feel like a problem for much later.

But here's something I wish more couples knew early: your bouquet is the one part of your wedding day you can actually keep. The cake gets eaten, the dress goes in a closet, and the flowers usually wilt in a vase by Wednesday. Pressed and framed, they can hang on your wall for decades.

A little planning now makes that so much easier. Here's what I'd tell a friend who just said yes.

Why think about it now?

Most couples find me the weekend of their wedding. Sometimes it's the Sunday after, with the bouquet sitting in a vase and a quick "do you have room?" email.

The trouble is that I only take a handful of preservation clients each weekend. Every bouquet gets pressed by hand within a day or two of the event, and there's only so much press space and so many hours. During wedding season, weekends fill up, and I'd much rather say yes to you than "I'm so sorry, I'm full."

Thinking about it early also means you can plan the bouquet itself with preservation in mind, which brings me to your florist.

What to tell your florist

You don't need to change your vision for your flowers. Almost anything can be pressed. But a few things are worth knowing as you plan:

• Flowers with thinner petals press beautifully. Think delphinium, larkspur, cosmos, anemones, pansies, ferns and most greenery.
• Big, thick blooms take more care. Peonies and full garden roses are lovely pressed, but they're often taken apart and pressed in pieces so they lie flat.
• Tropical flowers need a little extra care. They hold a lot of water, so they take a few extra steps to dry, but they can still become part of your piece.
• Colors shift a little. Whites soften to cream and ivory. Deep reds press to burgundy or nearly black, which gives a moody, beautiful look. Blues and purples tend to hold their color well.

If you'd like a piece with lots of variety, ask your florist for a few extra small blooms and some greenery. Those little extras give me more to work with when I design your frame.

Not sure what size you'll want? My guide on choosing a frame size walks through it. Larger frames (16x20 and 18x24) can also hold your vows, a photo or your invitation.

Hold your date now, choose your frame later

You don't have to decide everything this early. A $100 deposit holds your wedding date so there's room in the press for your bouquet. That $100 goes toward your final order.

Then you can wait to pick your frame. A few weeks before the wedding, I'll send a reminder to choose your size and color. Plenty of couples wait until after the wedding to decide, once they see which flowers they ended up with, and that's completely fine.

If you're wondering what the whole thing costs, my flower preservation cost guide lays out current prices by frame size.

What happens after the wedding

The most important thing: your flowers need to reach me within a day or two of the wedding. The fresher they are, the better they press.

If you're heading off on a honeymoon, that's no problem. Usually a parent, a bridesmaid or a friend drops them off for you. My porch drop-off station in Franklin is open day or night and has vases of water waiting, so nobody has to leave their own behind. If you're not local, you can ship them overnight. My guide to shipping wedding flowers explains how.

From there, your flowers spend weeks in the press, then I design your piece and send it to you for approval before anything is glued down. The whole process takes about 22 to 24 weeks, so plan on your finished piece about five to six months after the wedding. You can see every step on my process page.

Enjoy this season

Being engaged goes by fast. Soak it up, and know that one day, long after the last thank-you note is mailed, your bouquet can still be right there on the wall.

When you have a date, reserve it here. And if you have questions in the meantime, I'm always happy to help. Just reach out.