Preserved bouquet
Over the last week and a half, I preserved my wedding bouquet in resin! I saw offers for this kind of service on Etsy, but it seemed like such a fun and meaningful keepsake that I wanted to learn how to do it myself. The day after the wedding, I chose the best stems and covered them in silica gel in a sealed box. This helps preserve the color and prevents shriveling/shrinking as the flowers dry. I dried them for several days, and once they were free of moisture, I set them on top of the gel within the box to prevent them from absorbing humidity while I waited to cover them in resin. Epoxy resin sends off toxic fumes (respirator required), so I figured I would wait until spring when I could open the windows. I ended up having to wait until late June because I was worried about pollen polluting the resin as each layer dried.
When it was finally the right conditions, I got out a 10”x10”x3” silicone mold specifically made for resin casting and deep pours. I ended up doing about 3 cups for each layer, for a total of 7 layers, and allowed for 24 hours of curing time between each. According to the Internet, Culture Cast DIY is one of the best options out there, and they make a UV-resistant artist resin that creates a hard surface and water-like transparency. After each layer, I let any microbubbles rise to the surface (and urged as many larger bubbles as possible up to the surface by using a pin), then popped them all with a heat gun.
I’m pretty happy with the result! The block is about the size of a large dictionary, and I love how well it captures the actual bouquet. The original was humungous and probably at least 10 pounds, so it was hard to pick and choose what to include. But I was able to get in some large cream roses, rubicon, red dahlias, orange freesia, peach stock, hypericum buds, and loose petals. There are also stems of silver dollar and gunni eucalyptus, agonis, and ruscus. Sadly, I also had boat orchids and bronze mums, but the silica gel didn’t preserve their rich color (they actually turned brown) so I didn’t use them. Aside from taking these photos in a north-facing window, I’ll be keeping the preserved bouquet on a shelf that doesn’t get any sun because resin yellows over time and UV light accelerates that process. But I keep staring at it, remembering our wedding day :D
Photo by Tim Nosenzo
The original bouquet was created by Floral Design by Melissa, whose services were completely magical (read more here) — I still can’t get over it. Also, I learned about resin casting materials and techniques from Heather of Artsy Madwoman. The gorgeous photos above from the wedding are both by Tim Nosenzo Photography.
