How to Store Your Flower Arrangements After You’ve Made Them
Wondering what to do now that you’ve assembled your works of art? Obviously step one is to congratulate yourself, then step two is to post on insta (tag us @_youfloral)…. and now its time to think about where to put them until your big day! Depending on what you’ve made, your after-care instructions will differ a bit, keep reading to learn what to do!
Proper storage is essential to maintain the freshness and beauty of your blooms. In this blog post, we’ll delve into practical tips on how to store your flower arrangements, so they are in peak condition to brighten your venue space and wow your wedding guests on your special day.
Enjoy reading!
There are a few overall tips that are applicable to all your flower arrangements. By providing the right environment, support, and care before your wedding you can ensure that your blooms will dazzle and delight at your wedding.
Tip #1: Avoid Ethylene Exposure
Ethylene gas, which is released by certain fruits and vegetables can accelerate the aging process of flowers. Keep your flower arrangement away from ripening fruits, particularly apples, bananas, and tomatoes, to prolong their freshness. We don’t suggest keeping your arrangements in the fridge (except for in a few circumstances… read below!) but if you do, you’ll need to make sure your fruits and veggies are removed from the fridge, or sealed tightly in a plastic bags to reduce ethylene exposure to your blooms.
Tip #2: Keep Them Cool:
Temperature plays a crucial role in preserving the freshness of flowers. Find a cool spot in your home away from direct sunlight, heaters, or drafts. A dark basement provides the optimal environment for storing most flower arrangements. Don’t fret though if you don’t have a basement, just keep them away from big windows/fans/heaters.
Boutonnieres, corsages, flower crowns
Storing boutonnieres, corsages, and flower crowns in the fridge can be a great way to keep them fresh before a special event or occasion. You’ll want to create a hydration chamber to keep them hydrated as much as possible. We have a video on how to make a hydration chamber, but the gist is:
- Choose a small, shallow container that can comfortably hold the boutonnieres/corsages/flower crowns without crowding them. I like using tupperware containers (brand doesn’t matter, dollar store variety will work perfectly)
- Cut a piece of paper towel that fits the container.
- Spray the paper towel to dampen it. You don’t want it dripping wet, only damp.
- Put the wet paper towel in the container. Ensure that it is at the right height so that the boutonnieres don’t get squished.
- Put the floral arrangements on top of the paper towel.
- You can then put some more damp paper towels gently on top of the flowers.
- To create a humid environment, seal the container shut (it needs to be tight so the humidity stays in the box and helps maintain moisture around the boutonnieres).
- Keep in the refrigerator. If you notice the flower arrangements looking a bit droopy, you can lightly mist them with water to refresh the flowers. Make sure your paper towel stays moist, it may need a bit of misting as well.
Given that these items won’t have hydration other than the chamber, we suggest making them close to your event, the day before (Friday for a Saturday wedding) is ideal
Vase arrangements
- These are fantastic because they obviously have water with them. Make sure there is lots of water in the vase, no leaves underwater, and just keep these in a cool dry place – don’t refrigerate! You can make these two or 3 days before the event no problem.
Table Garlands
- If you’re loose laying greenery on the table in a garland style, there is really very little prep work, you’ll simply lay the greenery on the table in a whimsical fashion (here is a video showing you how we make a simply ruscus DIY garland). Since you don’t need prep work in advance, just keep them in vases/buckets of water until you’re ready to use them. You can lay out the greenery the morning of your event, or even the night before – eucalyptus and ruscus are quite hardy, so they’ll be fine out of water. If its really hot out, the greenery will begin to dry out, if that’s not your vibe, then minimize the amount of time that the greenery is resting on the tables.
- If you’re wiring the greenery into garlands, you can put the garlands into misted plastic bags (garbage bags are great), and then tie up the bag to keep everything damp. Keep the bag in a cool room, or put it in the refrigerator.
Arch arrangements
- If you’re wanting to make arch arrangements in advance, we suggest using foam (oasis foam is the most popular version, there is also a natural floral foam called Agra-wool). The foam provides hydration for your flowers, ensuring that they won’t wilt before your big day. Since the flowers will be constantly drinking, all the water in the foam may be uptaken, so you can put the foam in a shallow dish to allow it to soak up more water if it gets dry.
- The easiest thing to do is minimize the time the flowers will be in the foam, then you don’t have to worry about hydration loss. We suggest making the arch arrangements the day before your wedding. K
- You can also use a preservation spray that coats the flowers and helps minimize moisture loss, there is a great product out there called Crowning Glory.
Hopefully you find these tips helpful, if you ever have questions drop us an email (hello@youfloral.ca) or reach out on IG @_youfloral. Happy DIY’ing!
xoxo
Sarah
