The preparations for many weddings can start early in the morning and extend right up to the wedding it self. If you are taking pictures before the ceremony the flowers will need to be delivered early. Please notify us of your picture time so we can have the flowers there on time. During the summer, here in Oklahoma, as you know it get’s HOT! You and your bride’s maids might be wilting along with the flowers, if you are out in the sun. Here are some things that can help your flowers last through the wedding…
Keep it cool!
Your bouquets and other floral arrangements will come in vases, urns or pots, except for the corsages & boutonnières. Your flowers are still living and the containers are there to keep them moist and alive. The flower arrangements that are used for decorating are designed in vases or pots with special foam that serves to not only hold the flowers in position but also give them a water source to drink. When we deliver the flowers and stay at the wedding as day coordinator, we will make sure that all of the flowers have water. If we only deliver the flowers, position them, then leave, if the wedding is outdoors, hot weather will cause the flowers to drink a lot and use up the water in the container. If the flowers start to droop or wilt, have someone refill the containers with cool tap water. (NOT ICE)
Your bouquets will usually arrive in vases (if they are hand tied), or a box covered in plastic. These flowers are kept refrigerated until just before delivery. They should be kept in a cool place until the wedding or photographs. When you take pictures, you can take the bouquets out of the water, dry them off with a paper towel and stand and pose. If you have taken pictures outside on a hot day, once you are back inside, you should put the flowers back into the water, to make sure that they get the most amount of water they can before the ceremony. If the bouquets start showing signs of stress, place the stem end of the bouquets under cool water as you re-cut the ends at an angle. This will open up ends of the stems again so that the water can flow through. Replace the bouquets back into their original container so they can continue to drink and they should regain most of their life in about an hour.
A bouquet built with a holder also has a water source; you just cannot see it like the vase. At the base of the bouquet is a holder filled with that foam that we talked about earlier. The only water that is available for the flowers is the water in the holder. In most cases the flowers have been properly hydrated at the shop so the bouquet should be fine for quite a while. If you have been outside taking pictures for a while in hot weather the bouquet could start to show signs of stress. You cannot re-cut the stems on this bouquet. You can locate the base of the bouquet. This is the place where all of the stems are anchored. You may be able to see some of the green foam. Place the bouquet on a table top covered with a cloth or paper towel. Carefully move the foliage of the bouquet until you can see the foam, slowly pour about ½ cup of water on the foam. This will rehydrate the foam and restore the bouquet’s water source. Allow the bouquet to sit for a few minutes to allow excess water to run off. (This is why the table top is covered in towels.) Keep the bouquet cool until the ceremony.
For the corsages and boutonnières we recommend just keeping them as cool as possible. They don’t have a water source, but, fortunately they don’t have a stem that will droop either. The corsages and boutonnières should be fine as long as they are kept as cool as possible. Just don’t leave them out in the sun.
If want to preserve your bouquet, we can help you. You can also do it yourself. One way would be to hang the bouquet upside down in a cool dry place as soon after the wedding that you can. The flowers will keep their shape as they air dry. Air drying will take quite a while depending on conditions. If possible spray the bouquet down with hair spray right after the wedding. The hair spray creates a layer of protection and helps the flowers hold their original shape.
Another way to preserve bouquets is to spray them with hair spray immediately following the wedding and hang them upside down. This creates a sort of layer of protection around the petals and can shield the flowers from losing their original shape.
The flowers can also be freeze dried. This enables the bouquet to almost look as fresh as the day it was created. You can call us at 918-392-1726 for more information on flower care or bouquet perseveration.
The Master’s Flowers
71st & Garnett
Broken Arrow/Tulsa, Oklahoma
918-392-1726
