Dos and Don'ts for Bouquet Freshness

Suppose you're getting married on a Saturday and wanting to keep your bouquet as fresh as possible over the weekend to be sent to your flower preservation artist on Monday -- how should you store your bouquet? Follow these tips and tricks for keeping your bouquet in tip-top shape.

 

DO have a dedicated vase available during your wedding to store your flowers.

Having a vase with water helps keep your bouquet hydrated throughout the day. It also helps with keeping your bouquet upright, which is important to prevent your flowers from smashing or bruising that may occur from laying your bouquet on its side.  Most florists will provide a vase for your bouquet on your big day, just be sure to use it!

 

DO refrigerate.

I said refrigerate, NOT freeze. Have you ever noticed that florists keep their flowers in a cooler? This is because cooler temperatures slow down the aging process of flowers and helps with water loss. Your bridal bouquet may be too large to fit in a refrigerator, but boutonnieres, corsages, and small centerpieces are also good candidates for refrigeration.

 

 

DON'T freeze your blooms.

While refrigeration may be good for your blooms, freezing them is a whole different story. If you have ever filled up a water bottle and put it in the freezer, that is essentially what your flowers will do in a freezer as well. As your flowers thaw, they will bruise and brown.

 

DO trim stems daily and give fresh water daily.

Stems should be trimmed daily with a sharp pair of scissors or knives. Try to trim at a 45 degree angle as this ensures best water absorption. Fresh water should also be given daily.

 

DON'T wet the blooms.

While it's important to keep them hydrated by having them in water, you do not want to wet the blooms or petals or submerge them in water. Most flowers drink water from their stems, not their petals. You also do not want excessive moisture to be embedded inside your blooms as this may cause problems in drying them out for flower preservation.

 

DO avoid putting flowers in direct sunlight.

When flowers are hit with sunlight, they will behind to absorb the heat which is bad for flowers. While the temperature in the room may be cool, flowers sitting in direct sunlight will be warmer, thus shortening their vase-life.

 

And lastly, DO book your flower preservation ahead of time!

Booking ahead of time will ensure a smooth process for your artist to receive your bouquet in the best and freshest condition possible.