How to Dry a Rose Wedding Bouquet

Preserve the roses from your wedding bouquet using a drying technique.

Brides usually spend a significant amount of time choosing the perfect flowers for their wedding bouquet. Preserving your wedding bouquet will leave you with a one-of-a-kind keepsake to cherish long after your wedding day is over. Drying the petals of your bouquet is one of the most basic forms of preservation you can use to ensure it stays beautiful for years to come.

Things You'll Need

• Paper towel
• Newspaper
• Shears
• Floral wire
• Coat hanger

Instructions

1. Place the bouquet in a vase as soon as possible after the wedding ceremony is over. The water will keep the flowers hydrated and alive for the maximum amount of time. This is especially important to do if some of the roses are still partially closed, as it will provide all of the roses with the chance to open before being preserved. Keep the flowers in the vase for up to three days.

2. Remove the roses from the vase in which they have been stored before they begin to wilt. If the bouquet is still tied together, remove the binding and carefully lay the roses out on a flat work surface.

3. Remove the stems from the roses as close to the base of the rosebuds as possible, using the shears.

4. Wipe down the stems of the roses with a paper towel to remove any excess moisture. Lay the stems out on a sheet of newspaper to dry.

5. Insert a piece of floral wire through the bottom of each rose. Carefully wrap the wire around the bottom of the coat hanger securely. Once all of the rose blooms have been placed on the hanger, hang them up in a cool, dark environment that is free of humidity. Heat and light can cause the petals to wilt, while humidity will interfere with the drying process.

6. Allow the roses to dry all of the way through before taking them down. This could take up to one week.

7. Use floral wire to attach the blooms of the dried flowers onto the stems.

Tips & Warnings

• Removing the stems from the roses will accelerate the drying process and reduce the chances of the flowers developing mold.

References

• Your Healthy Garden: Drying Roses is Fun and Easy