Pressed vs. Resin Bouquet Preservation: Which Is Right for Your Wedding Flowers?
Somewhere between choosing your florist and finalizing your palette, you've probably seen them on your feed: a bouquet suspended in a clear resin block, or pressed flat and framed like a botanical painting. Both are ways to keep your wedding flowers. They just end up as very different things in your home.
If you haven't decided yet (or didn't know this was a decision), here's how they compare.
The quick answer
Choose pressed and framed if you want wall art: a larger piece that shows the whole shape of your bouquet and hangs in your living room, bedroom or entryway.
Choose resin if you want a small object: a paperweight, a block for a shelf, or jewelry with a few petals inside.
Neither is better across the board. They're built for different places in your life.
How each one is made
Pressed preservation. Your bouquet is photographed, taken apart by hand, and each bloom and leaf is pressed until it's fully dry. Then the flowers are rebuilt into a composition inside a frame, often matched back to photos of your original bouquet. This is what we do at ADONIA Studios.
Resin preservation. Flowers are dried first, usually in silica, then arranged in a mold and covered in layers of clear epoxy resin that cure into a solid, glass-like block.
Side-by-side
Pressed & framed | Resin | |
What you get | Framed wall art | A solid block, paperweight or small keepsake |
Size | Can hold a full bouquet, plus extra stems and keepsakes | Limited by the mold; large bouquets are often split or trimmed |
Look | Painterly, layered, botanical | Glossy, dimensional, "frozen in time" |
Where it lives | On the wall | On a shelf, desk or table |
Personal details | Room for your invitation, vows, a photo, ribbon or lace from your dress | Small items can be set in the resin |
Care | Hang out of direct sunlight | Keep out of direct sunlight; clear resin can yellow over time with UV exposure |
Weight | Light, like any framed art | Heavy for its size |
What to ask yourself
Where do you picture it? If you can already see it above the sofa in your first home, pressed and framed is the natural fit. If you'd rather keep something on your nightstand, resin might be what you want.
How big is your bouquet? Garden-style, cascading and trailing bouquets (all over 2026 weddings) have long stems and loose shapes. Pressing keeps those lines. A resin mold usually can't.
Do you want to keep more than the bouquet? Pressed pieces can include boutonnieres, a few stems from your ceremony arch, your invitation, or a piece of lace from your dress, all in one frame.
Who else do you want to include? Smaller pressed keepsakes make a lovely thank-you for your bridal party or parents, made from the same flowers.
Why we press
When you've spent months choosing flowers that feel like you, the goal is to see the whole bouquet again, not a few blooms under glass. Pressing lets us rebuild its shape, its colors and its movement, then frame it as the first piece of art in your home.
It's slow, hands-on work: every petal is handled individually, and each piece takes about 6 to 8 weeks from pickup to frame. It should look like it was always meant to hang on your wall.
Frequently asked questions
Is pressed or resin preservation better?
It depends on what you want to keep. Pressed and framed preservation is best for wall art and larger bouquets. Resin is best for small, solid keepsakes like paperweights or jewelry.
Does pressed flower preservation fade?
All natural flowers change gently over time. Keeping a pressed piece out of direct sunlight is the best way to protect its color, just as you would with a photograph.
Can you press any flower?
Most wedding flowers press beautifully, including roses, peonies, ranunculus, hydrangea, lily of the valley and greenery. Very thick or waxy flowers like anthurium take extra care, so share your flower list when you book.
When should I book?
Before the wedding. Flowers need to reach your preservation artist within a day or two, so it helps to have the plan set in advance. Many brides book when they finalize their floral design, about 3 to 6 months out.
ADONIA Studios is a floral preservation studio in Hull, Massachusetts, turning wedding bouquets into pressed, framed floral art for couples across the South Shore, Boston and beyond. See our work.
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