How to Frame Bouquets

Preserve and frame a boquet of flowers with complementary items.

Frame a meaningful bouquet to preserve the flower arrangement, allowing you to display and enjoy the flowers long after the normal fresh period. Flowers from your wedding, your child's baptism, a funeral, graduation, anniversary, meaningful birthday or first date might have special meaning that you wouldn't want to discard. You can hold onto the meaning of the bouquet by framing the flower arrangement and adding special mementos that tell the story of why the flowers are framed.

Things You'll Need

• Frame
• Adhesive
• Mat

Instructions

1. Preserve the bouquet or pay a professional to freeze dry the flowers. You can hang the flowers, press the flowers or use a drying agent to rid the flowers of moisture. The process can take up to 4 weeks to completely dry the arrangement.

2. Select a large frame that will comfortably hold the flowers. A shadow box that's a few inches deep will hold a fuller arrangement, whereas thinner frames can hold pressed arrangements.

3. Arrange the bouquet in the frame. Use a dab of hot glue or spray adhesive to hold the flowers in place. A solid mat will add further decoration, or use a glass frame that allows the wall to peek through the frame behind the flowers.

4. Place mementos or complementary items around the flowers if you want to display other related memories with the bouquet. For example, hang the baby's first picture and announcement around the flowers you received after giving birth, or arrange your wedding invitation, picture and the groom's boutonniere with the bridal flowers.

References

• The Knot: Homemade Wedding Bouquets: The Basics
• For Keeps: Framed Memories and Bouquets
• Frosted Floral Memories: Don’t Toss Your Wedding Bouquet
• North Dakota State University Agricultural Department; Methods of Preserving Flowers; Ronald C. Smith; April 1992