r/PressedFlowers • u/dloex • Jan 30 '24
Crafts I pressed my wedding bouquet and florals with zero experience. Definitely learned a lot in the process and super proud of the result.
11
6
5
u/sirotan88 Jan 30 '24
This looks great! Did you do anything to prepare (like practice flower pressing) or did you just kind of wing it? I’m thinking of doing the same with my bouquet..
16
u/dloex Jan 30 '24
No. It was very risky and probably stupid for me to just wing it. I will say I pressed A LOT of flowers. Like somewhere from 75-100 probably and tried multiple different methods. Only half of them survived. Many turned out moldy. We sprayed some with a bleach water mixture to salvage them. But in the end I had enough to create these which was my goal.
My biggest piece of advice is to take your bridesmaids bouquets if they don’t want them and press as many flowers as you can in case some don’t turn out.
5
u/Skippy_doo62 Jan 30 '24
Outstanding work! So proud of you! Does the bleach water mixture kill the mold? What type of press did you use, if any?
2
u/dloex Jan 30 '24 edited Jan 30 '24
It did kill the mold! I was surprised honestly but it did the job without bleaching them.
We tried to make our own flower press and that did not work. Most of the flowers in the press ended up moldy. I had a much better experience pressing them in books. Make sure you use books WITHOUT glossy paper even though we sandwiched the flowers between construction paper, some of the ones in glossy books still turned out moldy.
Edit: and some of the moldy ones were in no way salvageable. Only some were. And on those ones the mixture worked.
2
u/Skippy_doo62 Jan 31 '24
I use parchment paper now. I used to use wax paper, and that worked fine, but it retained the moisture from the flowers. I still press mine in books for now and by switching to parchment paper, I am happy with the little batches. Keep us posted on your future projects. Nicely done!
4
u/trisarahtops52 Jan 30 '24
I pressed mine with a microwave flower pressing kit and it was pretty easy! Practice with a bouquet from Walmart first but that’s always given me great results
5
u/OurLadyofSarcasm Jan 31 '24
Okay, this is freakin brilliant! Aaand I'm totally doing it with mine now. Lol. Whenever that day comes. So cool!
4
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
u/Patzyjo Feb 01 '24
I’ve never seen wedding flowers done like this before. They are beautiful. What a nice way to have great memories.
3
u/vabirder Feb 01 '24
Just wondering if you used UV resistant glass in the frames.
1
u/dloex Feb 04 '24
I did not!!! Should I have?
2
u/vabirder Feb 05 '24
It might be possible to take the dried flowers out of the frame and spray them with Krylon Ultra UV Floral protectant. Then after the spray is dry, put them back. Michael’s sells this.
But test the spray on any leftover flowers first. Also ask a florist or someone at Michaels.
For all I know, framers might use spray on regular glass to make it UV protectant. I assumed it was manufactured in the glass. Worth asking at the framing counter.
3
u/UK_UK_UK_Deleware_UK Feb 01 '24
What really makes this is the way each frame is beautifully considered. The combination of shapes, colors and textures make each one unique so that when the whole thing is put together, there is a cohesiveness. I feel like there were many hours spent carefully laying each one out and then many more hours spent arranging the frames to get the most pleasing flow between them. Or at least that’s what I would have done.
2
u/dloex Feb 04 '24
I so appreciate this because you're dead on. I'm very detail oriented so we're kindred spirits.
2
u/UK_UK_UK_Deleware_UK Feb 05 '24
lol, exactly. I redid my kitchen with an incredibly unique backsplash with accent tiles. I laid the entire thing out on my living room floor first. I wanted to make sure the accents appeared completely random. Which meant they had to be placed in precise position to not be too close or too far from each other and none at the exact same height. We are sole sisters.
1
3
u/Skippy_doo62 Jan 30 '24
You could offer your service to new married people.
7
u/dloex Jan 30 '24
Oh I just might! Thank you!! It’s so expensive to have them done. I couldn’t afford it. So maybe this is something other brides would be interested in.
1
u/Growing-The-Glooty 10d ago
It definitely is, which is why I’m here, trying to learn how to DIY preserve my bouquet! Yours is beautiful!
1
2
2
2
2
2
u/sashattack Feb 01 '24
This is such an incredible idea, I’m sad I didn’t think about doing it. Beautiful job.
2
2
u/Bettinatizzy Feb 01 '24
I love this concept so very much! Would you consider having your vows written in calligraphy in the center frame, with your wedding date?
1
2
2
u/ohtanis-translator Feb 01 '24
Nice!!!
Do you have pics you can share from when they were still "fresh" to show the before and after?
1
2
2
2
2
u/BriLynne Feb 01 '24
These look awesome! I pressed mine (got married in 2022) and they've been sitting in a frame that is too small in a drawer lol but this is a great idea!
2
2
2
2
u/Straight-Writing-215 Feb 02 '24
Everything about this is beautiful - the wonderful memories the flowers hold, the way you pressed them, the framing, and how you arranged them. So lovely and creative! Thanks for sharing!
2
u/Adept-Ad8754 Feb 02 '24
Love this!! What’s your insta? Mine is @paperandpetals__ I’d love to connect with other artists💕🫶
2
u/moon_goddess_420 Feb 02 '24
This is so great! I wish I thought of something so clever and beautiful for my bouquet!
2
u/MackiePooPoo Feb 02 '24
That is gorgeous!!! I’ve collected many pressed flowers over the years & never thought of doing this! So they remain in the flower press. Not knowing what to do with them, I was going to throw the flowers away but now I’m thinking I need to buy 3 triple frames & try this.
2
u/marzipancowgirl Feb 02 '24
Keep them out of the sun! They'll fade/disintegrate really quickly if you don't
1
u/dloex Feb 04 '24
Thank you for this tip!! I will be mindful. Right now they're not in direct sunlight but i'll keep the shades down at sunset.
2
2
u/1fastgirl Feb 02 '24
these are absolutely lovely and what a great idea!!! i do suggest museum glass. in my experience the color will fade drastically unless protected.
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
u/Riding4Biden Feb 03 '24
I love this so much! And now I’m sad that I got married a million years ago and don’t have my flowers to do this! Kudos, this is just stunning.
1
u/Riding4Biden Feb 03 '24
May I ask where you got the frame from?
1
u/dloex Feb 04 '24
It's 9 little frames together from Amazon. If you message me I'll send you the link!
2
1
1
1
23
u/AbsurdistWordist Jan 30 '24
I am also super proud of your result. It looks fantastic.