Roses are red and cards to keep

"There are three things that last: faith, hope and love,
and the greatest of these is love."

I’m constantly searching for ways to keep trinkets from our wedding. I have some ideas I'm considering (and I'm always open for suggestions) for preserving my bouquet, the cards we receive and other momentos.

Here are a few ideas I’m exploring for keeping my bouquet.

1. Hanging and drying
I’ll take a snapshot of the bouquet to keep for reference. Then, I’ll take the bouquet apart and hang the flowers upside down. This will help preserve the shape of the flower and prevent drooping. Hanging them in a dark place will also help the petals retain more color. I’ll leave them for a couple of days until they are completely dry. Then, I’ll spray silicia gel (available at Michael’s for $10) on them for protection. Then, I’ll reassemble the bouquet.

2. Potpourri
I’ll take the bouquet apart and hang the flowers upside down to dry for a couple of days. I’ll take the dried petals and put them into sachets. The sachets will be lacy fabric cut in a four inch square. Then, I’ll tie the square with a pretty ribbon.

3. Press ‘em
To keep them as souvenirs I could pick out a few from my bouquet and press them in a thick book. They won’t look the same as they did during the day, but it would be a reminder of our floral decorations.

4. Floral painting
I found this great site that will make a beautiful painting using our flowers. They put our pressed flowers into a painting.

I’m leaning toward the potpourri or floral painting option. I think those would be easiest for me since I’ll be away from our house during our wedding. I love the idea of having a painting, but it’s the more expensive option so I guess it will depend on if I have extra funds to support this.

I’m also planning to keep our wedding cards. Here are some ideas I’m considering:

1. Compile a wedding card album
I’ve been told we’ll receive hundreds of cards and most people don’t know what to do with them. Instead of throwing them out or locking them in a box, I’m going to compile an album, just like I would with photos. This way we’ll be able to flip through the album.

2. Bind them together
There are a couple of companies I found that will bind cards together and put them into a book for us. It’s kind-of expensive, but I think it would be worth it to preserve the warm wishes from family and friends.

3. A piece of artwork
I saw this idea and thought it was really fun. We can take the cards and cut them into pieces and use them to make a collage of art. We could use the pieces to create our last name or our initials and put it in a frame.

I’m also hoping to keep some other memorable items from our wedding such as a napkin, invitation, menu card, ribbons, etc. and put them in a memory box or shadowbox.

-Penny