Your Complete Guide to Dried & Preserved Wedding Flowers
Photography https://www.hollybooth.com/
We felt it was about time for us to give you a complete round up of everything you need to know about dried flowers as you are planning your wedding.
Perhaps you are DIY-ing your wedding flowers or you simply don’t know much about the about the varieties and styles of dried flowers that might be available to you. We would like to shed a little light on your options, what you can do with your flowers and share a few ideas to get you inspired for your wedding day.
Photography https://www.gabrielasphotographyandfilm.com/ and https://www.emmapilkingtonweddings.co.uk/
What is the difference between dried flowers, preserved flowers and fresh flowers?
Dried flowers come in a variety of different styles, all are dried upside down in large bunches to preserve as much of their colour as possible. Dried flowers are slightly brittle and some varieties do dry better than others.
Some dried flowers are painted to achieve a more vivid or impactful colour.
Preserved flowers come in many different varieties but what makes them different from dried is that they are softer in their feel and appearance. They flowers or leaves are picked at their optimal bloom and then they are submerged in a glycerine solution that removes the moisture from them that would make them wilt. So their beauty is almost preserved in time. The colour tends to be more clean and vivid than dried flowers and the look much more closely resembles fresh flowers.
So, preserved flowers and foliage are the closest in appearance to fresh flowers but they don’t die or wilt over time.
Dried and preserved flowers will look gorgeous for upwards of a year and even longer if they are kept out of direct sunlight and damp conditions.
Photography https://www.hollybooth.com/ and https://www.horseshoeflowers.com/
What dried and preserved flower types are available?
As the trend for dried flowers grows and grows, more varieties of both dried and preserved flowers are becoming available.
For dried flowers we love using flowers like statice for their lovely natural colours, wheat and oats for lovely pops of colour and dried gypsophila in an array of colours. Dried grasses are incredibly popular and there are many different varieties. Pampas grass is probably one of the more popular choices but there are other varieties such as stipa grass, reed grass and pencil grass that some in some lovely colours.
Lately we have been loving using a lot of natural wildflower style flowers such as rhodanthe, which has a similar look to daisies and comes in the most amazing pinky purple colour. Other wild flower style flowers we love are achillea, fennel and braze maxima which all come in such an amazing selection of colours, you can really go to town on creating some stunning colour palettes.
Preserved flowers are really becoming more and more popular and we are seeing ever expanding amounts of different flowers options. Our favourites are classic roses and more intricate garden roses, peonies are new news and are an exciting addition, hydrangeas for their amazing fluffy blooms and dahlias and orchids are new flowers that are just emerging in this category.
Photography https://www.horseshoeflowers.com/ and https://www.grace-elizabeth.co.uk/
What are the advantages of choosing dried flowers?
The main advantage is the ability to keep your wedding flowers long after your wedding but there are many other positives too such as being able to see your wedding bouquet before your wedding and help with the design process, no water spillages on the day, no concerns about allergies, the knowledge you are being more sustainable and finally, being able to receive your flowers well ahead of the wedding, taking a huge stress out of the big day.
What are the limitations of dried flowers for weddings?
There aren’t a lot of limitations- some varieties of fresh flowers aren’t available in a preserved form so if you’ve set your sights on lilies for example, we can’t do that.
We also have to be planful as sometimes flowers go out of stock, so that’s why it’s always good to allow as much time as possible with your floral design process.
There is always the risk of breakage with the dried flower stems being somewhat brittle, but they are much more durable than you would imagine and no more delicate than fresh flowers.
Photography https://www.horseshoeflowers.com/
What are the newest ideas and trends in dried flowers for weddings?
The newest ideas are the new varieties of preserved flowers that are available, so no need to just feature roses, we can go to town on your flower styles to make a really impactful look that really mimics the look of fresh flowers and foliage.
As with fresh flowers, there is a large swing towards floral heavy bouquets so keeping the foliage to a minimum or not having any at all. Or, going completely full circle and only having foliage! There are so many stunning new preserved foliage varieties so it’;s no longer limited to classic eucalyptus. Think preserved branches, preserved olive leaves and preserved beech leaves. Also there are so many shades of leaves now, no longer just greens… there are reds, browns, yellows and a huge array of different greens.
Bold colours are also having a moment, so lots of clashing tones and bold, intense colour palettes. We can’t get enough of bold shades of pink or pink and red together, but there are also amazing new rainbow inspired colour palettes using new tones.
Finally, we are seeing a swing towards deeper, moodier colour palettes with lots of black and deeper, darker tones with a nod towards the autumnal.
What are the different styles of dried wedding flowers?
We find our designs usually fit into three categories-
1- True dried flower look- so all dried flowers, usually in a bright and multicoloured look.
2- Preserved roses, preserved hydrangeas and preserved foliage with touches of dried flowers and grasses.
3- Pampas and the ultimate in romantic boho luxe.
Photography https://www.gabrielasphotographyandfilm.com/ and https://www.horseshoeflowers.com
What are the ideal arrangements, using dried and preserved flowers, that you can have for your wedding?
We offer pretty much anything you can think of from bouquets, table arrangements, bud vases and garlands all the way through the arches and large installations such as flower clouds or floor standing arrangements.
What can you do with your dried wedding flowers after the wedding?
The most obvious thing to do with your flowers is the put them into a vase!
And all your bridesmaids can do the same. One bride bought her bridesmaids vases as a little gift and I thought that was a lovely idea.
You can repurpose for different rooms in your house, gift them to other people, frame your buttonholes, reuse for other parties or christenings, the list really does go on.
We hope that our little guide gives you some knowledge about the style of flowers you can choose, the type of arrangements you might want to go for and the benefits of choosing dried and preserved flowers. The floral possibilities are endless whether you want to go for dried flowers, preserved flowers or a combination of both, and just remember you will be able to enjoy your flowers long after your wedding day!