Keepsake Floral

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

So, sell me on this...Ok I really want to do it...but sell me on the cost...

 

[Swmhc]

Personally, I couldn't justify it. I went with a silk bouquet instead. Disney uses really high quality and they looked fabulous. Best thing...my bouquet looks the same today (3 years later) as it did the day we married and it wasn't another $700 for a faded, dried version of the original. Just my own opinion.

 

[girli565]

I opted out of this. I couldn't justify the $700+ cost to save a lesser version of my gorgeous bouquet. I have pictures of it and that's all I need. Besides, my bouquet was HUGE, and the shadow box I would have needed to house the bouquet and anything else we would put in would have been enormous. Where was I going to put it? it would have taken up a whole end table or stuck out too far from the wall if I hung it.

So it wasn't for me, much to my mother's dismay. She had to throw it out while I was gone on my honeymoon and she told me she was almost in tears. lol!!!

 

[lurkyloo]

Sorry, I can't sell you on it either! My dahlias just woulda looked weird dried, and I can't think of any way they could have framed my bouquet that would have gone with the decor of our house.

In the same way that I preferred to have a new small cake made for our anniversary rather than try to freeze the top layer, I would rather have a new bouquet or smaller, similar flower arrangement made on my anniversary!

 

[kmaclou]

Ditto for me. I looked into Keepsake and almost choked on the cost. I found a woman here in Richmond who does it for nearly a third of the cost and it looks nearly identical. My mom brought my bouquet home and the woman met her the same evening to get it and put it in the dryer/freezer thingy.

 

[pezaddict231]

I won't be doing this, but my MOH did and she has the shadow box with her bouquet and a picture of them in her house and it looks very nice. So it just depends on if it will fit in with your decor and you have a place to display it. I think they are gorgeous and thought about getting one of the smaller ones that look less like a bouquet, but it doesn't really fit in with our other stuff and I figure I have to draw the line somewhere.

I know there was a thread on this where brides showed the finished product and if you want to do it, I say go for it.

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

Thank you for all the responses. We don't have a house yet-so I don't know if I could find something that would fit with our decor. While it looks like some start off at about $170 or so (not sure this is the exact amount...but the smaller ones were cheaper and about this price range...and it's ridiculously early in the AM for me to be quoting anything correctly ) And I agree that it is kind of a waste. Part of me wants to do it...and the sane part of me thinks I'd just be throwing money away. I'm good with picture and the hidden mickey that will be on the stems....Thanks for making this an easy choice...I thought everyone was doing it!

 

[Sapphire_Ag]

Can anyone post your pictures of your shadow boxes from Keepsake Floral?

 

[lpizzuro123]

I did not do this and was a little sorry. It just killed me to throw my bouquet away after our Disney stay. I would not have done a large one but am sorry I did not do a little one. One of my bridesmaids saved her flower wand and it is sitting in a pretty vase in her bathroom (two years later). I should have tried to take out a few of the flowers from my bouquet and keep them.

Linda

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

I hadn't thought of doing this until I saw my bouquet (and loved it ) then the thought crossed my mind but I really couldn't justify the cost of it. I did keep a little swatch of the ribbon and the pearl pins from the stem wrap. I'm thinking of doing a small shadow box with a picture of my bouquet and then somehow incorporating the ribbon and pins.

 

[Skylarr29]

Personally I love having my bouquet on my wall. I purposely chose a light colored bouquet so my flowers would stay true to color and not look faded. I love looking at it and it reminds me of our wedding every day. I think it is a unique keepsake.

The orginal

 

[Ember]

If it's something you'll cherish, like Skylarr, then it's absolutely worth the cost. I'm not overly sentimental (heck, I threw out our sand ceremony when I found the layers didn't survive the trip home) and it's not something I would have really enjoyed. For me, the pictures were the most important memory of the day. But don't let anyone else determine what's "worth it" to you, because only you really know if it would be money well spent.

 

[ChocoKat]

I won't be doing this, mostly because I am not fond of dried flowers, that's all. I think I will have plenty of photos of my bouquet to remember it by, no need for any extra keepsakes to take space on my walls or shelves.

Plus I can use the money for something else.

Like Ember said it is up to you to decide what you want, if you would cherish it, then I'd say do it! If it would just take space and money away, I'd say, don't. There really isn't a wrong answer for this one.

 

[pezaddict231]

I just wanted to comment again since I just had my wedding and my thoughts on this have really changed. I really do wish I had done this because I loved my bouquet so much. I am not a flower person and didn't think I would care, but every time I look at a picture of my bouquet I wish I had preserved it. My mom did take it and dry it out for me but it does not look good at all, think Mrs. Havisham's dead flowers or something out of the haunted mansion...so needless to say that will probably end up being tossed.

I think the full bouquet display may have been too much but I probably could have swung one of the smaller arrangements. Or ideally, I should have cut my DP menu a little since there was so much waste and used the savings to do this instead. So just some thoughts from a former bride.

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

So, after a lot of back and forth about wanting a keepsake from the wedding...instead of flowers, we ended up choosing a kaleidoscope. We are doing a glass breaking ceremony and the kaleidoscope will house the glass shards after the glass has been broken.
Total cost-with engraving was like $150. So, for us it was do-able.

I think the one thing that I could not get past was the price of keepsake floral. Yes, they have cheaper packages and I probably could have swung the smaller package...but it wouldn't have been my whole bouquet.

 

[Ember]

We are doing a glass breaking ceremony and the kaleidoscope will house the glass shards after the glass has been broken.

I've never heard of this, it sounds delightful! Do you have pictures or a link so we could see more??

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

http://www.collectgaryrosenthal.com...d&utm_medium=mail&utm_campaign=kscopepostcard

Our glass is multi-colored...so it should look cool in the scope...

 

[lpizzuro123]

We also did the glass breaking ceremony. It is a jewish tradition. As I am catholic and my DH is jewish we did both the candle lighting and the glass breaking ceremonies.

Here is some info on the glass breaking ceremony.

Wondering where the breaking glass Jewish wedding tradition comes from and what it means? The breaking of the Jewish wedding glass is at the end of the Jewish wedding ceremony when the groom stomps on a glass to crush it and the guests shout, “Mazel Tov!” . The glass symbolizes the love and relationship of the couple and is fragile, so it must be cared for and not broken.

Here is a picture from our glass breaking ceremony. I purchased a frame for my DH's birthday a few months after our wedding and there was a holder for the broken glass. I put some of the broken pieces of glass in the holder and then put a picture of my DH breaking the glass in the frame and gave it to him for his birthday.

Linda

 

[Ember]

http://www.collectgaryrosenthal.com...d&utm_medium=mail&utm_campaign=kscopepostcard

Our glass is multi-colored...so it should look cool in the scope...

I love this!! What a fabulous idea! I knew about the breaking of the glass in the Jewish tradition, but I've never seen such a unique keepsake!

I love the frame, too! I really do enjoy when couples do something so creative. I kinda wish I had something like that...

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

Ember-Thanks...We put a lot of effort into finding that! There was a website that sent you a glass and after you broke it, you sent it back to them and they blew it into a either a plate, bowl or vase..but again...it came down to $$$..Then we found this! I can't wait to get it!

Linda, What words did you use during this??? I can't find anything I like. I'm Jewish DH is not...but wants to do this I'm having a hard time finding what should be said before this happens...HELP!
Also, did you have a problem getting the glass shards home??? I'm worried about this as well...