Did anyone dry their wedding bouquet?

[mollybrown]

Mine has been sitting in a plastic container for years, and I'm finally ready to do something with it.  I always assumed I'd buy a shadow box and hang it on a wall someplace.  But I have not been able to find one shadow box deep enough to house a bouquet anywhere.  I don't really want to spend a fortune to have anything custom made.

So if you still have your bouquet, what did you do with it?  Are dried bouquets an outdated mid 2000's thing?  I'd hate to just toss it, since I've protected that thing through 4 separate moves.

[mrs.jacinthe]

I did, but a few years ago, I took a good hard look at it (dust, moldy, etc) and was like "ew" so I threw it out.

Now I just ask R to buy me daisies on our anniversary every year. I like fresh flowers.

[Susie]

My only comment is not to spend money on further display/preservation just because you've lugged it through life for 4 moves. If you think it'll be pretty and bring you happiness, then do it. But if you are just doing it because you feel like you need something to show for your effort, cut your losses. Pictures of it on the day will likely be prettier.

I specifically left my bouquet at the B&B that we went to after the wedding, because I knew if I brought it home I'd feel self-inflicted pressure to "do something with it," but I didn't actually want dried flowers around because they're too fragile and not as pretty as they were anyway.

[wildfloweragain]

I saved mine but its not on display. I agree with the allergen build up. Also I was married in 2003, so it very well may be a dated practice!

...sent from my Jedi mind

[TBM]

What about deconstructing it and putting it in a shadow box?  The sentiment is still there without it screaming 'hello! wedding bouquet here.'

Like this:

[Deleted]

I deconstructed mine. It was roses, lilies and hydrangeas and only the roses dried well. I tossed all but the roses, picked the heads off and tossed them in a jar. I bring them out for a centerpiece for V-day. The jar also holds some other roses H gave me.

I just saw it last week and it's starting to look old and dusty, so I might just toss the whole thing.

[mollybrown]

Jan 2, 2014 19:15:47 GMT -5 TBM said:

What about deconstructing it and putting it in a shadow box?  The sentiment is still there without it screaming 'hello! wedding bouquet here.'

Like this:

I actually love the way this looks.  Mine was roses with coffee berries, so I don't think it would be quite as pretty.  I also dried it as a bouquet, so I wonder if the flowers would look wonky if I took it apart.

The only other idea I've found that I like is to take the rose petals off the flowers and display them in a pretty jar.  And then offer them to DD if she wants to use them in her wedding to toss down the aisle. 

[Deleted]

I asked my mom to take it and have it preserved while we were on our honeymoon. Instead she put it in a vase in her dining room and let it die. I was upset at the time but in the 6 years since it happened I have never once stopped and thought, 'man, I really wish I had my wedding bouquet'.

[msmerymac]

I also have a dried bouquet - mini callas, roses, coffee berries and orchids. It's in a shoe box, basically. I had it hanging in our den in the last house, went into a closet in our apartment, and no idea about the new house. Partially, I'm afraid of damaging it if I display it, but the box just takes up storage space.

We do have a lot of the decor from our wedding we use as fall seasonal decorations.

[Blueper]

I did not care what happened to my bouquet. My mom really wanted to save it, it somehow wound up in their cooler and got extremely moldy. Over the years she has started to collect silk flowers of what was in my bouquet, maybe someday she'll have enough to make a replica?

[womet]

I had mine made into jewelry. I have a necklace, bracelet and earrings that I try to wear around our anniversary.

[bunnymendelbaum]

Jan 3, 2014 8:50:11 GMT -5 womet said:

I had mine made into jewelry. I have a necklace, bracelet and earrings that I try to wear around our anniversary.

I'm curious, how did you do this?

My bouquet was just calla lilies wrapped in a ribbon. They dried nicely and I really need to hang them in a shadow box. they are just sitting on the mantle now.

[womet]

Jan 3, 2014 9:51:02 GMT -5 bunnymendelbaum said:

Jan 3, 2014 8:50:11 GMT -5 womet said:

I had mine made into jewelry. I have a necklace, bracelet and earrings that I try to wear around our anniversary.

I'm curious, how did you do this?

My bouquet was just calla lilies wrapped in a ribbon. They dried nicely and I really need to hang them in a shadow box. they are just sitting on the mantle now.

I sent my flowers to this woman right after the wedding (well, my stepmom mailed them) and she boiled them down and made beads out of them. This was 6 years ago, and I think that there are vendors on etsy who can do something similar. My beads are more rustic looking, but I have seen beads that you would never know are made from flowers.

[indylady]

I dried the whole thing but since it was so big, I cut some flowers off and put them in a glass globe container thing with a silver lid I got a few years ago at Pottery Barn. I like seeing the flowers but most importantly, it doesn't gather dust!

[emoflamingo]

I hung mine upside down until they dried. They're in a vase on my dresser, but I really need to just toss them because they're blocking part of the TV and it drives me crazy. We had them on top of our kitchen cabinets before we moved so it wasn't like it was in the way.

[adhdfashion]

My Mil dried my husband's boutonniere and was horrified it didn't dry my bouquet.
LMAO

[katie4253]

I tossed mine before we moved. It was funky. LOL!

[justinlove]

You know, I have no idea what happened to my bouquet after the ceremony. I am not a fan of dried flowers, so saving it wasn't a concern.

[TBM]

Jan 3, 2014 10:22:30 GMT -5 womet said:

Jan 3, 2014 9:51:02 GMT -5 bunnymendelbaum said:

I'm curious, how did you do this?

My bouquet was just calla lilies wrapped in a ribbon. They dried nicely and I really need to hang them in a shadow box. they are just sitting on the mantle now.

I sent my flowers to this woman right after the wedding (well, my stepmom mailed them) and she boiled them down and made beads out of them. This was 6 years ago, and I think that there are vendors on etsy who can do something similar. My beads are more rustic looking, but I have seen beads that you would never know are made from flowers.

I had never heard of that, so I just looked it up online. I found directions for doing it with dry or fresh flowers, so now I am sitting here wondering if I have any dried flowers around that I could try that with. lol

[sillygoosegirl]

I think I threw it at a single friend...

Though I do have a vague memory of seeing it hanging, dried out, in my childhood bedroom... so my friend didn't take it and my mom saved it.