This was framed and shipped today, to the mother of the bride. I hope she will enjoy reliving the special day her first daughter was married. Her daughter surprised her Mom at the wedding reception by announcing that she was gifting her bouquet to her Mom (since it was so unfair that among the many wedding traditions, there are NONE especially for the mother of the bride) AND she was having it pressed and framed as a keepsake.
Initially I had encouraged the bride to seek someone else, a pressed flower artisan who specialized in preserving bridal bouquets. I explained how most such artists will use colorization, enhancing the flowers to try and keep some permanence to the original colors. My preference is for 'all natural' and appreciating the flowers in whatever state they decide to change to, that I chose NOT to colorize. Further, I noted that many of the flowers in her bouquet were among the more challenging to press successfully.
Then I sent the bride her wedding gifts from my husband and I (I watched this bride grow up, living next door to her for most of her formative years, having babysat her a few times). Among the gifts we sent her were two pressed flower designs I had made. When she saw them, she asked if I would please reconsider and press her bridal bouquet for her, for her mom.
Many of the flowers in her bouquet needed to be pressed petal by petal, then reconstructed. Some just did not press well for me. Three of the roses lost their color rather rapidly. The rose petals were very large, and so different techniques are used to reconstruct smaller-looking roses. The salal leaves press okay, but are prettiest bottom-side up after pressing. Some of the petals dried and pressed to a very sheer glossy white. It was a challenge!
Here are a couple of photos showing some of the planning, thinking that went into the layout:
Though I do not use colorization, I did use mylar tape along the edges and back to try and keep out more humidity and help delay the fading process.
Hanging this out of direct sunlight helps too (I did not use conservation glass, so no UV protection in the acrylic covering). The bride chose the frame and I did the best I knew how with what I had to work with. This frame was not suitable for vacuum sealing (which is another technique I need a lot more practice with).
Hopefully I'll have the opportunity to see this piece now and again in the months and years to come, and can assess firsthand how well or awful my work holds up.
I began my foray into pressing flowers and trying pressed flower art projects in late 2018, and am still frequently surprised by how much I had to learn. Having owned a retail floral shop for several years (and was the buyer and lead designer for) and having worked for a handful of other florists, I thought I knew a fair amount about flowers. As with so many endeavors, often there is a LOT more to learn! Luckily, there is much joy in the learning.
