Two studios can press the same bouquet and hand back pieces that are not really comparable, at prices that are.
Six things actually differ between floral preservation studios, and this page sets out what they are so you can ask better questions. It names nobody, and it applies to wedding, anniversary and memorial flowers alike. Price is not one of the six, because a price only means something once you know what sits behind it.
We are a preservation studio ourselves, so where we land is at the end and labelled.
Pressed whole, the flower goes in as it arrives. Rebuilt, it is taken apart, dried petal by petal and reassembled. The difference shows most in deep flowers like roses and peonies, which rarely flatten evenly on their own. Rebuilding is slower and costs more, and some people want the bouquet dried exactly as their florist tied it.
Ask to see a close photograph of one rose or peony, not a full frame.
Drying takes pigment out of almost every flower, and correction puts some back by hand with artist pigments. Not offering it is a legitimate position, and some people want the flower exactly as it dried. Done heavily it reads as paint. Done well it is invisible.
Ask whether correction is included, and ask for daylight photographs. Studio lighting flatters everything.
Conservation glass filters most ultraviolet light and ordinary picture glass does not, and sunlight is what fades a pressed flower fastest. It slows fading rather than stopping it, so where you hang a piece matters as much as what is over it. Large pieces are often acrylic instead, lighter and better in transit, though it scratches.
Ask whether conservation glass is standard or an upgrade, and if your piece ships, how it is packed and whether it is insured.
Timelines run from a few weeks to most of a year, and speed is not automatically a shortcut. Method drives it: silica and freeze drying are faster than pressing, and several pairs of hands are faster than one. A six month wait is still a real cost, long enough that a gift will not arrive for the anniversary you had in mind.
Ask for the current timeline rather than the published one, and what happens if it runs over.
Most studios are one person, some are a small team, and they fail differently. A solo artist gives you one hand and a direct relationship, but a full calendar turns a bouquet away and one illness pauses everything. A team has room, though you may not speak to whoever presses your flowers. That matters most with memorial flowers, which are never planned ahead.
Ask what would happen if you called the week after your event, having only just heard preservation existed.
Pressing gives you framed artwork holding most of a bouquet. Resin sets petals into clear castings you can pick up and use. Most studios offer one or the other, so wanting both can mean dividing a bouquet between two of them. Resin uses few petals, travels better than framed glass, and lets a family each keep something.
Ask whether a studio offers pressed, resin or both, before you send anything anywhere.
This part is us talking about ourselves, so read it that way. Preserve My Petals rebuilds every flower petal by petal, corrects color by hand, finishes framed pieces behind Conservation Clear glass, and offers pressed and resin. We are a team, which is why there is room for a last minute bouquet.
Every one of those choices costs something. Our timeline runs to around six months and several studios are faster. Rebuilding by hand is priced accordingly, so we are not the least expensive option in Michigan. And if you want your bouquet dried in the shape your florist tied it, that is not what we do.
If those tradeoffs are the right way round for you, our process is written out here.
Whoever you choose, choose before your flowers are past saving. That part is the same everywhere.
Questions of your own? Read our FAQ or get in touch.