drying your wedding flowers at home for resin preservation

Learn how to air-dry your wedding flowers at home, ready for resin preservation. Follow these simple steps to keep your sentimental petals beautiful and crisp for your handmade keepsakes.

Drying your flowers is the first step in transforming your wedding bouquet into a forever keepsake. Don’t worry - it’s wonderfully simple! All you need are a few sheets of plain paper, a warm, well-ventilated space, and a little patience.

A Few Quick Tips from My Experience

Having dried and preserved flowers since 2020, I’ve picked up plenty of helpful tricks along the way.

Air-drying your petals flat at home is a brilliant, accessible method if you are creating flat or lightweight keepsakes like date frames, keyrings, coasters, and tree decorations.

A Quick Note for Larger Keepsakes: If you are booking a larger 3D focal block, arch, or display piece, I always recommend sending your bouquet to the studio fresh! Fresh flowers are dried here using professional 3D silica techniques to maintain their natural volume and shape.

However, if you are drying flat petals at home for smaller keepsakes, following these simple steps will ensure your flowers stay vibrant and crisp ready for resin casting.

Step 1: Laying Out Your Petals

Place your individual petals and smaller flowers flat onto clean, dry sheets of plain paper (avoid printed newspaper, as ink can transfer onto damp petals). Make sure to leave plenty of space between each item so air can circulate.

There is no need to press them heavy under books or weights - just let them breathe naturally.

Step 2: Prepping Bigger Flowers

If any of your flowers are larger than a 50p coin (like full roses or peonies), gently deconstruct them by peeling away the individual petals before laying them out to dry. Smaller, delicate stems like baby's breath, lavender, or small greenery can stay whole.

Step 3: Deciding How Many to Dry

You don’t need to dry your entire bouquet! Selecting two to four of each stem type from your bouquet is usually plenty for smaller keepsake items. (Note: Any unused fresh or dried stems sent to my studio are always returned safely back to you alongside your finished pieces).

Step 4: The Drying Phase

Store your drying paper in a warm, dry room away from direct sunlight and humidity. Depending on room temperature and petal thickness, drying typically takes about three to four weeks - sometimes less depending on the time of year!

How to tell when they are ready: Your petals are fully dry when they feel lightweight, completely crisp to the touch, and no longer stick to the paper. If a petal feels cool or slightly pliable, leave it to dry for a few more days - moisture trapped in resin will cause yellowing over time!

Ready to Order Your Keepsakes?

Once your flowers are dried and ready, they can be cast into beautiful, bespoke resin pieces that you can treasure every day. View all of our preservation options here.