Flowers are a very important part of a wedding. They are traditional and help to create atmosphere, set the tone for the day and add décor – but then what? What do you do with your beautiful wedding flowers after your special day?
The sad thing is that they are so often thrown away – and they don’t have to be! There are so many wonderful things you can do with your wedding flowers rather than them ending up in green waste.
So with that in mind, we've put together a list of 10 great things you can do with your flowers after your wedding:
- Gift/Keep Them
- Preserve Them
- Dry Them
- Press Them
- Make Potpourri
- Make Flower Or Petal Confetti
- Make Candles, Soap, Bath Bombs & Draw Sachets
- Make A Flower Arrangement, Bouquet, Wreath Or Flower Garland
- Home Décor
- Wedding Bouquet Painting Or Photography
Without further ado, let's dive in!
The 3 Types Of Wedding Flowers
What you can do with your flowers after your wedding depends on the type of flowers you chose. The three different types of wedding flowers include:
Fresh Flowers are beautiful but need water and have a short life especially in hot/dry weather conditions so you will have to act quickly after the wedding day to ensure they are in the best possible condition
Artificial Flowers also known as ‘fake’, faux or silk flowers are made from long lasting fabrics and other materials. With minimal ongoing care, they should last for a number of years, retaining their shape, colour and overall appearance.
Dried/Preserved Flowers have been dried or preserved and are an increasingly popular choice for wedding flowers as they are ‘real’ but are also long lasting which has many advantages. With care they should have lasted well on the wedding day and with ongoing care they should be long lasting afterwards, retaining their shape, colour and overall appearance.
1. Gift/Keep Them
Suitable For: All Flower Types
Wedding flowers can be kept by the bride or gifted to the bridesmaids or other wedding guests as momentos of the special day. For example you may like to gift the bridesmaids bouquets as a way of saying thank you – other arrangements can be given to family or other special guests.
They may also be given to charities such as hospitals, aged care facilities or community groups which must be pre-arranged. Fresh flowers have a short life so will only last for days so if gifted it must be done quickly after the wedding where as dried/preserved or artificial flowers are long lasting so are ideal for this purpose.
2. Preserve Them
Suitable For: Fresh Flowers
A great way to increase the life of your fresh wedding flowers is to preserve them. This must be done asap after the wedding to ensure they are in the best possible condition and therefore give you optimal results. You can preserve them yourself such as in resin or with silica gel.
Alternatively, you can have them preserved professionally. This will have great results but can be expensive, so the costs should be factored into your wedding budget.
Dried/preserved flowers are long lasting and artificial flowers will last indefinitely with minimal care so neither need special treatment after the wedding.
3. Dry Them
Suitable For: Fresh Flowers
Another way to increase the life of your fresh wedding flowers is to dry them. Drying flowers involves removing the moisture or drying them out. This can be done in several ways including in the microwave and air drying which involves hanging them upside down in a dark, cool, dry room for a period of time until they are completely dry (usually a few weeks).
Dried flowers are very low maintenance and if kept out of direct sunlight, wind and humidity they can last for years. They can then be used for many great craft projects and decore around your home – such as hanging them in bunches or putting them in vases.
Dried/preserved flowers are long lasting and artificial flowers will last indefinitely with minimal care so they don’t need to be dried after the wedding.
4. Press Them
Suitable For: Fresh Or Dried/Preserved Flowers
One of the easiest ways to preserve your wedding bouquet or wedding arrangements is to press them. This can be done by placing them between two sheets of paper and then putting them in a heavy book.
Once they are dry you can do many great things with them such as putting them in a frame or making cards or wedding thank you cards.
5. Make Potpourri
Suitable For: Fresh Or Dried/Preserved Flowers
Another great idea for your wedding flowers is to make potpourri out of them. Fresh flowers will need to be dried first but dried/preserved flowers can be used straight away.
To add some lovely fragrance to the potpourri mix you can add citrus rind, herbs such as rosemary or lavender as well as spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves or some all spice – or you can add a few drops of your favourite essential oil.
Potpourri has many fabulous uses including draw sachets and placing it in open bowls around your home.
6. Make Flower Or Petal Confetti
Suitable For: Fresh Or Dried/Preserved Flowers
It is easy to make flower or petal confetti from your wedding flowers and is a great idea especially if there is another family member or friend’s wedding coming up after your own.
Fresh flowers will need to be dried first but dried/preserved can be used straight away. Flower or petal confetti is a great and sustainable alternative to paper confetti.
7. Make Candles, Soap, Bath Bombs & Draw Sachets
Suitable For: Fresh Or Dried/Preserved Flowers
Among the great options for using your wedding flowers around the home include candle and soap making, bath bombs and draw sachets. They are easy and fun to make with great results. Fresh flowers should be dried before using them.
Draw Sachets are a great way to keep your clothes smelling fresh – fresh petals must be dried before adding scent such as essential oils and putting in sachet bags that you can buy or make. They are then tied with a drawstring or sewn up and placed in draws they add a light and refreshing scent to your clothes.
Soap Making is a great craft activity and you can buy soap making kits which come with everything you need and dried petals can be added to the melted soap flakes before it cools and resets.
Candles are a beautiful way to decorate your home and are fun and easy to make. You can buy candle making kits which come with everything you need and dried petals can be added to the melted wax before it cools and resets.
Bath Salts in a nice warm bath are a great way to relax and unwind at the end of a busy day. Home made bath salts are easy to make and the addition of dried flowers increases the pampering as well as providing colour and fragrance to your bath experience.
8. Make A Flower Arrangement, Bouquet, Wreath Or Flower Garland
Suitable For: All Flower Types
Your wedding flowers can easily be rearranged into a flower arrangement, bouquet, wreath or garland. Fresh flowers can then dry out in situ and dried/preserved while artificial flowers can be used as they already are.
Arrangements can be placed in vases and bouquets, wreaths and garlands used as décor in your home or gifted to friends and family.
9. Home Décor
Suitable For: All Flower Types
Wedding flowers can be used as great home décor. You may like to keep dried/preserved or artificial flowers ‘as is’ such as bouquets but you can also ‘change them up’ by mixing or rearranging your wedding arrangements or by adding or removing flowers over time to change style or colours – so they are very versatile. Fresh wedding flowers can be placed in vases and left to dry in situ.
10. Wedding Bouquet Painting Or Photography
Suitable For: All Flower Types
Our final suggestion is to have your wedding bouquet painted or photographed. This will allow you to enjoy you wedding bouquet for years to come as a piece of artwork or a photograph displayed in your home.
Photo by Katie Jobling
Final Thoughts
Wedding flowers are a very important part of your wedding day. Rather than just throwing them away, there are many great things you can do with them after your wedding day. It is a good idea to consider what you would like to do prior to your wedding day so it becomes part of your wedding planning.
We wish you all the best with your wedding planning! We hope that this guide has given you some great ideas for what you can do with your wedding flowers after your special day.
If you would like more information about wedding flowers, please see our other articles/blogs below:
Fresh vs. Artificial vs. Dried Wedding FlowersWhat To Do With Dried Flowers: 13 Ideas
Decorating With Flowers At Home
Want To Know More?
If you are looking for long-lasting wedding flowers that you can keep for years after your wedding day, feel free to enquire about our wedding flower packages. Here at Milla Rose, our expertise is in dried and preserved wedding flowers and we offer a range of options to suit your needs. Click here to enquire now.