Something magical happens to flowers when they have been dried. Their vibrancy is dulled slightly, but their beauty is enhanced. Ever since I started my wedding flowers business – I have regularly been asked by brides after their event; ‘how do I dry wedding flowers?’

RESPECT THE FLOWERS!

Whether you decide to ‘Do-It-Yourself’ or have your flowers preserved professionally, always ensure that they are placed in water as soon as is possible, after the wedding ceremony and professional photos. Ask your florist to provide a pretty vase and display them on your card table or elsewhere in the venue. Ensuring the flowers have as much hydration as possible will enable the flowers to be dried at their best and therefore preserve their beauty.

The best areas to dry wedding flowers are either in a dark cool cupboard, garage (where I tend to dry my flowers), or a garden shed which is mostly dark inside when the door is shut. Always make sure whilst the flowers are drying that they are kept away from direct sunlight, otherwise the light bleaches the colour of the flowers.

SILICA DRYING TECHNIQUE

This method is a bit more fiddly, but worth a try, you can purchase silica gel from Hobbycraft or Amazon which costs (at the time of writing) about £14 for a 1.5LBS bag.

Silica gel is a bit like porous sand. Silica works by drawing the moisture out of the petals and leaves whilst also holding the flower in shape. Because the flowers are not exposed to any light, air or heat, once dried, this method retains the original colour!

Most good silica gel comes with coloured beads which change colour as they become full of moisture. Silica gel beads can be re-used by drying them out in an oven on a very low heat for a few hours.

To use this drying technique you will need to find a container big enough to hold both the flowers and the silica gel with the lid firmly sealed. I suggest an old biscuit tin or a large tupperware box – with lids. This method is especially suitable for smaller flowers. However, it can limit the quantity of flowers that you can dry in one go.

Depending on the flowers you are drying, it can take between 2-8 weeks to fully dry out.

find an air-tight metal or plastic container
put a layer of silica gel at the bottom of the container

cut the flowers stems short enough to place in container
carefully pour the silica gel around the flowers
once you have enough around your flowers sprinkle lightly over the top of the flowers until your flowers are completely covered
after several weeks, once the flowers have dried, slowly pour out the silica gel until you are able to see the flowers
pick them up gently by the stem and carefully shake them free of the silica
use a small paint brush with a soft tip to clean up the small bits of silica gel leftover on the flowers that are stuck to it

AIR-DRYING TECHNIQUE (UPSIDE DOWN)

The most effective method is air-drying your bouquet upside down. This is one of the simplest and quickest ways to preserve them.

to prepare the flower bouquet, snip the ribbon and tying point. Carefully separate the stems and start stripping down all the unwanted foliage from the stems. Try to leave some of the top foliage surrounding the flower as this adds a more natural appearance.

gathering the stems together, wind a length of string or twine around the top of them a few times, and secure with a tight knot at the end, leave enough string to form a loop to hang them with. You will find the stems themselves will shrink as they dry, so make sure that you have tied the bunches tightly enough to keep them together, but not too tightly in case this breaks the stems.
separate the flowers into smaller bunches of the same flower and ensure that when you hang them to dry they’re not sitting too closely together – this will allow for air circulation.
attach the flowers to a ‘washing-line’ of taut string or wire, in a cool dark environment and wait! This method can take several weeks, but once thoroughly dried can be re-arranged in a vase or container of your choice.

AIR-DRYING TECHNIQUE (UPRIGHT)

While most flowers traditionally are dried upside down, there are a few that I dry with their heads facing upwards. I tend to recommend this method with bigger headed blooms, as I find this results in the blooms drying with a more open appearance, and if it has particularly heavy heads, ensures the flower heads don’t droop.
find some chicken wire – or cardboard box lid with holes punched through will do the job.

strip the foliage off the stems and slot each stem individually through small holes until the head of the flower rests on the chicken wire or cardboard.
attach a wire loop to the top of the chicken wire or cardboard box lid and hang in a cool dark room.

This method works well if you are drying sunflowers, zinnias, gerberas, dahlias or any large headed flowers in fact.

Either of the above techniques tends to take about 3-5 weeks and can be left hanging where they are, until ready to arrange or transferred to storage boxes lined with tissue paper.

MICROWAVE DRYING TECHNIQUE

A relatively new invention is the ‘Microfleur’ microwave flower press, these can be ordered via Amazon. Unlike the traditional method of pressing flowers or plant material, the fresh flowers/foliage are pressed between two cotton liners, two thick wool pads and two vented pieces of fabric, held together by 4 clips. The press is then placed in a microwave for about 30-40 seconds or up to a few minutes, depending on the thickness of the plant material. Once all the moisture is gone from them, they appear just as the traditional method – almost ‘paper-like’ – and you have ready to use pressed flowers. This rapid drying of ‘Microfleur’ flower Press keep the vibrant colours of flowers, stems and leaves. Recommended flowers to use are violets, daisies, cosmos, pansies and geraniums.

So, there we have it, plenty of different techniques to try out! If you worry about damaging the flowers, then there is always the professional method which is done by way of a freeze drying machine. There are several companies online who provide an excellent service of courier collection the day after your wedding day – and although more costly – you have options to have 3-D pictures or have some of the flowers preserved in a paper-weight.