How NOT to have your bouquet made...

I recently got a bouquet in the mail, and when taken apart, this is what remained. Needless to say, the flowers did not arrive in superb condition since they had not been in contact with water since the morning of the bride's wedding 4 days earlier.

When you discuss your flowers with the florist for your wedding, please let them know that you will be preserving them. Ask how it will be wrapped, and try to get them to use the entire stems of flowers so you can easily keep them in water all day and until it needs to be shipped out. Had this bouquet contained water-loving flowers like hydrangea, there would have been no salvaging it at all.

Molly and David's Spring Bouquet

Molly's bouquet had the most beautiful blues and yellows in it, I was very excited to get to work on it!

There were roses, lilies, tulips, button mums and freesia in her bouquet.

The button mums faded quite a bit during the process, so they were enhanced with some metallic paint to make them pop a bit in the painting.





The background of the painting was done in blue with some neutral ribbons. This will hang in Molly and Dave's kitchen so colors were chosen to compliment that room.

This painting is 12x16 inches.

Salma's Bouquet Painting

Salma wanted her bouquet painting to be very neutral, emphasizing the blush pink from the orchids in her bouquet. She loved the ribbon effect from one of my previous paintings, so that became the background here as well.


The other flowers used in the painting are roses and peonies. White flowers do tend to antique when pressed, which adds a lot of depth to the paintings and for Salma, it helped bring out the neutral colors she wanted incorporated.

This painting was done on a 16x20 inch canvas, and will hang horizontally.

Special Occasion Paintings

I have been asked a few times about paintings from flowers that are not wedding bouquets. Any flowers can be pressed, so of course this can be done!

The painting above was done as a thank you gift on an square canvas. The flowers were taken from a standard store-bought bouquet!

Other ideas for preservation include prom flowers, baby shower, funeral flowers as a sympathy gift, "just because" flowers, garden paintings etc.

A Bridal Show

I would love to get more Southern California business, so I have been going to a few bridal shows to increase my exposure closer to home! They were both first-time shows however, so the turnout was less than desirable...

Fortunately, I have also been networking with various ABC (Association of Bridal Consultants) members and vendors, which has helped get the name out there! I attended the meeting in Orange County in July, and will be visiting the LA meeting on the 17th of this month.

I love my out of state clients, but the advantage to those that are local is that the flowers can be dropped off to my studio! This lends itself to much fresher looking flowers, and a significant savings on shipping costs.

Lorraine's Invitation Inspired Painting

Lorraine had a wonderful "birds and branches" themed wedding, and shared all her storyboard ideas and invitation graphics with me. She wanted the painting to mimic her RSVP card, using her bouquet flowers as the buds and flowers on the branches! I love the result, which is a 16x20 canvas painting to be hung horizontally!

Here is a detailed photo of the flowers, which are all pressed as single petals and then reassembled as whole flowers or buds onto the canvas and sealed into the painting. I add details that are not preserved when pressed, such as the center of the flowers and a few leaves (some bouquets do have real leaves I can use!).

Surprise Painting from Mother to Daughter

Since this painting is waiting to become a Christmas surprise, I cannot post the bride's name! Her mother took her bouquet after the wedding, and shipped it to me to press and preserve on canvas. She had an absolutely gorgeous array of flowers and colors to use!

This is a 20x20 canvas. The flowers used include roses, freesia, stock, and hydrangea which were blended together on the canvas to create a "secret garden" type feel. I can't wait to hear how the bride likes her painting!

Wedding Gift Centerpiece Painting

This painting was done using not a bouquet, but a centerpiece that a guest took home from a wedding to surprise the bride with later! I love the idea of gifting someone a painting!

Ivy leaves, lilies, roses, and a variety of filler flowers make up this painting. The leaves are something you don't see often in bouquets, making it a very unique feature to this 11x14 canvas!

If you like the idea of sending in a centerpiece - make sure to disassemble the arrangement before shipping! Pulling the flowers together in a bouquet-like fashion will keep the flowers from turning as much during the shipping process and will also cut down on shipping costs.

My daughter is a wedding planner in Michigan, and also how I got started in the bouquet preservation business. She wanted to do something different with her bouquet after her 2007 wedding, and this was the result!

To test out the idea of using invitations, I started with one of hers - and the result is pictured to the right. Hers was a letterpress invitation, and the thicker paper used in that style invitation is definitely the thickest consistency I would want to use in a painting!

Invitation paintings make great keepsakes for parents and grandparents as well, and can be added to your order for $100 for an 8x8 size. canvas!

Natalee's White Bouquet

Natalee was married in December, and had an all-white bouquet for her winter jewel-toned wedding. She wanted to incorporate colors from her wedding (green and eggplant) into the painting, with just a hint of gold.

This painting is a 12x12, and the flowers used are roses, ranunculus, calla lilies, and a few leaves Due to the nature of their consistency, ferns were painted in rather than pressed.