11 ways to preserve your wedding day
If you like tangible, sentimental items. Then this blog post is for you.
You’ll also learn how to make use of the expense of a wedding so nothing is wasted afterwards, but turned into keepsakes instead!
The Wedding’s Over - now what?
No matter how you celebrate your wedding, big or small, there are going to be aspects of it that are uniquely for that day. And because of that it’s a real shame when it’s all over never to be seen again.
However, I'm a keen believer of re usable items and of course displaying memories into artwork.
Here is a guide to all the ways you can preserve memories from your day with tips and guidance on how to do so!
The Wedding Album
Of course as a photographer myself, having prints and albums of your wedding goes without saying. BUT with this digital and fast paced world we live in today, albums especially can fall under the radar when it comes to completing and remembering your wedding.
There isn’t a time where I’ve handed an album to someone and they’ve not been wow-ed by it. The sheer quality of the album with it’s personalised cover, colours and text is just the start! Then you hold it and the weight alone tells you this is gonna be good…then you open it and see the glorious, vivid, dreamy photos of the wedding. Each page quality crafted to be archival and outlive us all.
This is a legacy item indeed. It can be proudly displayed in your home or beautifully boxed away for those special appearances or just to sneak a look into your wedding day again. It will be with your forever and passed to generations to see how your story began. It is a treasure to have – I don’t even have to open mine for it to make me smile. I just know that the best day is sitting there remembered for me for whenever I need it.
To keep things modern, albums now come in various sizes to suit you best. With options of cover colours and any text you want on the front. They are designed to lay flat (meaning you don’t see a fold of the book in the middle of a photo) to have even a single image spread across two pages, allowing you to really dive into your photos and every detail of them.
And these albums aren’t just for the newlyweds! Get the parents involved and have a smaller version created for them of their favourite photos. They’ll love to show off photos of you and your wedding! ;)
Photo Prints
Were in a world where our photos are at risk of staying on our devices and never making it to print. But I can’t encourage you enough to have some of your favourite wedding photos printed. There are so many options; small single framed prints, large single and multi framed prints.
Tip1: Look at the space where you want your photo print. If a desk space, measure the area your frame would sit then look at the dimensions of prints that could sit there. E.g. 6x4”, 7x5”, 8x10” are all great desk or mantle sized prints.
Tip2: Look at the wall space you have to offer around your home. Measure how much you want to use giving an even space around objects, side boards, ceilings and cabinets / door opening etc. At first you may look at quite a small size frame to hang but don’t make the mistake of ordering without measuring! If you were thinking an 8x10” would look quite nice – measure that size out with some paper, hold it against the wall and you will see how tiny it might look. Do the same with any large frame; a 30x24” is huge (but amazing)! And could take over your room if you don’t have the right space for it.
Don’t forget to accommodate space for any framing and mounting as (for example) your 18x12” may actually be a 24x16” once in it’s mounted and frame.
Wedding Flowers
Your flowers are so beautiful on the day but they are the number one throw away from your wedding as they rarely last a few days post wedding as they are left behind or thrown away! They can also be one of the most expensive aspects of your wedding day, so this is one that needs to be saved!
There are a few ways to preserve your wedding flowers really easily from home.
1. Flower press and frame (this is what I did!)
2. Hang them upside down to dry
3. Dry petals out to hold in a jar or glass object
4. Have them painted (by yourself or a pro!)
How to press your wedding flowers into a frame.
What you will need
1. Large books (not rare or sentimental!)
2. Baking paper (and kitchen towel paper to be safe)
3. Scissors
4. Newspaper
5. Heayy weight (I opted for kettle bells)
6. Frame
After the wedding I made sure my bouquet’s and buttons holes were placed in water. Then a few days after the wedding I did the following…
1. Placing down newspaper first. I lay out all the stems from my bouquet on a large work surface. Separating carefully the best stems from the discoloured or broken ones.
2. With the flower stems, carefully cut at the base of the flower head, getting rid of the stem.
3. Gently press the petals outwards so the flower opens up. (this can be difficult with thicker flower heads)
4. Place the flower flat on the baking paper on the page in your book.
5. Repeat for the rest and place a couple on each baking paper piece, making sure that when you close the page / book the flowers and stems do not touch each other. Otherwise they will stick to each other.
6. Once you have placed all your petals, stems, leaves, flowers into the book – gently close shut and place somewhere safe. If you have a lot of flowers to press, use multiple books and stack a few on top of each other – then place a weight on top.
7. Do not touch or open the books for up to 4 weeks at least! At this point slowly and carefully check them and if you think they need a bit longer then give it another week.
8. When you are ready to, gently open the pages to each baking paper page at a time and carefully take out each sheet. Place on a flat surface and check out the result! Some may not have made it but if you preserved more than you needed you’ll have plenty of back up to use.
9. Next you’ll want to get out your frame. I ordered mine from Etsy as I wanted clear glass all the way through to hang on my wall.
10. Now you want to arrange your flowers onto the frame. Have a play to see what fits where best, this can take a few attempts. I started with layering my eucalyptus leaves and stems first, giving it a base. Then I layered some smaller leaves for texture before finally placing my anemone on top.
11. Now is the tricky part, take your time. Placing the frame on top without any of your hard work ruined. As the flowers and stems are loose, you need to carefully place the frame on top. Then make sure the frame is tightly secured – if you stems move or fall down then that means you didn’t layer enough or the glass of the frame isn’t thick enough to press down on them to stay in place.
12. You should now have your beautiful flowers preserved and displayed to ooh over!
I preserved my bouquet and my husbands button hole along with spares. I also gifted my girls flowers and my dad’s button hole in a 6x4” frame matching the style of mine so they can display and remember it too!
Wedding Outfits
It’s a killer to put that gorgeous outfit away in it’s box. I’m determined to have mine on display as soon as I have the space for it!
Again, there’s a few ways of doing this.
1. Have the outfit framed
It would need to be a very large frame but it can be done. You can have the outfit pressed in a frame or a box frame is used to give it more shape. I do think black background to frames make them look a bit haunting! So maybe opt for a lighter or white colour for this!
2. Mannequin and display case
If you have the space to, display your outfit on a mannequin in a glass case. This will look amazing in a walk in wardrobe or a relaxing space.
3. Alteration
Have a seamstress alter the outfit to a more modern evening wear. Take away the fabric you don’t need so you can wear it again and again with it being less formal. This is especially handy if you have opted for a large dress or one with a train that is very difficult to get around in!
Stationery
Much like the flowers, frame your stationery and maybe use some of your dried flowers with it.
Speeches
Have your speeches re written or printed in elegant handwriting or the type font used for your wedding to be framed. You could always invest in a large frame to combine your flowers, stationery and speeches to create one big artwork!
Wedding Cards
Place all your cards in one book or folder. For a book you can have it bound professionally or place them in a personalised folder, which is what I did! I purchased mine from here: Harris & Jones
You could always do the old school cut and paste into a scrap book too!
Rings
Of course you are going to be wearing these daily but what’s great to preserve is the ring box. I love my black velvet ring box that held our rings in, so when I take it off for any reason I place it in my ring box and make use of it every day. I got mine at Etsy - Bijou Boxes
First dance / Wedding music
Another piece of artwork! Choose your first dance or favourite music from the day. You could find a vinyl of the song to frame or the sheet music can be printed.
Another idea is to have your lyrics printed over one of your wedding photos.
Freeze your cake
No matter the size of wedding cake you order, it is always more than needed – which isn’t a bad thing! Next day wedding cake is the best!! But it can be a lot to stomach after most likely a big day of eating and drinking.
Before your wedding, make it clear with your cake maker, co-ordinator and event staff that you want the top tier or any left over cake boxed up so you can take it away with you. Then freeze it! You can freeze cake for up to 3-6 months and sometimes up to a year (all depends on the type of cake you have – Ask your cake maker for guidance). Simply take a piece out 24-48 hours before you want to have it and it’ll be like your wedding day all over again!
Wine and Champagne bottles
Taste’s and smells can take us back to our memories, so taking note of your wedding beverage of choice is super handy for anniversaries, post wedding celebrations or just because you want to taste those sweet memories over and over again. Now you can’t save your wines or champagnes for too long (they are there to be drunk!) But with the empty bottles you can save the cork and put it in your memory box. And with the bottle you can create artwork from it by turning it into a candle or vase, just something decorative. Then you’ll always be reminded of that special drink!