In brief: the gestures of the day
1. The bouquet is delivered the evening before, or early on the wedding morning, depending on your timing.
2. Set out a clear, low, narrow glass and a little fresh water — not a tall vase.
3. Lower the stems into the water slowly, watching that the water stays well below the ribbon. Pour little, add more if needed.
4. Keep the bouquet in a cool room, away from direct sun, radiators and warm draughts.
5. Just before leaving for the ceremony, lift the bouquet out and gently pat the base of the stems dry.
6. Take the glass with you. Between the ceremony, the cocktail and the photos — every time the bouquet isn't in your hand, slide it back into the water.
7. During the photoshoot, especially in the sun, ask someone close to keep the bouquet in the shade the moment it leaves the frame.
8. That evening, put it back in water for the night. At home, it will live several more days.
In detail
Why a bridal bouquet asks for different care
A bouquet sitting on a console at home lives in its vase. A bridal bouquet has to be beautiful in the hand, in the photograph, through the ceremony — often six to ten hours out of water, sometimes longer. It's an object made for the hand: stems bound tight, ribbon wrapped up the full height, sometimes all the way to the tips. You can't drop it into a vase like an ordinary bouquet — too much water and the ribbon soaks through, stains, loses its shape. Too little, and the flowers don't drink enough between their dry stretches.
The balance is a matter of a few centimetres.
That's why this guide exists.
Delivery: the evening before, or the morning ofIn Paris, we deliver the bouquet the evening before or early on the wedding morning, depending on your schedule and where you're getting ready. An evening-before delivery gives you a buffer in case of any hiccup; a morning delivery means a bouquet that has barely had to wait.
Either way, the moment of receiving is the same: lift it gently from its wrapping, holding it by the ribbon, never by the heads. Lay it flat for a few seconds on a clean surface while you prepare its glass of water.
The glass of water, shallow
This is the central gesture, and the one that changes everything. Take a clear glass — low, narrow. A water glass, a whisky glass, a small glass jar. Not a tall vase.
Why clear and shallow? Because you need to see exactly where the ribbon ends. The water has to stay strictly below the ribbon. If it climbs higher, the fabric soaks, stains, and the bouquet stops looking presentable.
Pour a little water at first — two or three centimetres are enough. Lower the stems gradually. If the water climbs too high, take some out. If it doesn't reach the tips, add a few drops. It's more precise than a full vase: you stay in control of the level.
The water should be fresh, clean, at room temperature — not iced. No additive is needed for a few hours.
Where to keep it while it waits
A cool, shaded room, away from any heat source. Most Paris flats between May and September run warmer than a bouquet wants — move it away from any south-facing window, from a radiator (even when off), from candles, from electronics that warm up. An entrance hall, an aired bathroom, a north-facing room — often the best places.
About the fridge
Yes, it works — but only in a near-empty fridge, with no fruit or vegetables (the ethylene they release ages cut flowers faster), set around 4–8 °C, and for a few hours only. For a whole night, a genuinely cool room is usually safer than a family fridge. A florist's walk-in fridge at 4 °C is the ideal; the kitchen fridge is a compromise.
The morning: lift it out of the water
Half an hour to an hour before you leave, take the bouquet out of its glass. Gently pat the base of the stems dry with a clean cloth — only the bare stems, not the ribbon. Set it somewhere visible but safe while you finish getting ready.
Don't lay it flat on a table — the most delicate flowers can crush, and the silhouette goes off. Prop it against something, or slip it back into the glass if you've got another moment.
Take the glass with you
Here's the gesture most brides don't think of: slip the glass of water into the bag that goes to the ceremony venue. Ask your witness, your mother, your planner to keep that glass within reach.
Every time the bouquet isn't in your hand — during the cocktail, between group photos, through dinner — it goes back into the glass. It's the simplest, most effective gesture for a bouquet that looks as fresh at 10 p.m. as it did at 2 p.m. An hour in water between two moments and it's hydrated again for whatever comes next.
The photoshoot, especially in the sun
The riskiest moment for the bouquet. An hour of posing in direct June sun without a second in water, and the most fragile flowers — peonies that haven't fully opened, very open roses, ranunculus — start to tire.
A few simple gestures change a lot:
- Between photo sets, hand the bouquet back to your witness so they can put it in the glass, in the shade. Five minutes in water are worth twenty minutes in the sun.
- Look for shade for close-ups of the bouquet alone. The light is more flattering, and the flowers don't suffer.
- A fine mist. A small spray bottle with cool water, lightly misted on the leaves and the outer base of the heads (never into the heart of peonies or wide-open roses), gives an immediate boost of freshness. Once between sets is enough.
- Hold it by the ribbon, not by the bare stems. Prolonged warmth from the hand is an underrated cause of fading.
Evening and the day after
At the end of the day, put the bouquet back into a glass or small vase, clean water, in a cool room. A pinch of Chrysal if you have any, or simply plain water — that's enough.
The next day, you can:
- Leave it as it is in its glass for another two or three days — it's lived a lot, but still very beautiful.
- Gently undo the ribbon, recut the stems on the diagonal by 2–3 cm, and move it to a wider vase. The flowers will breathe more freely and last a little longer.
After the wedding: where we stand, plainly
Many brides ask how to keep the bouquet forever. We want to be honest here.We don't offer dried bouquets, stabilised flowers or bell-jar mounts. Not out of snobbery — everyone is free to choose. It's that our reading of a bouquet is a different one: a living object, made to live one intense day and then go. That's what gives it its weight on the day itself.If you genuinely want to keep something physical, here's the trade reality:
- Air-drying upside down, at home, in a dark dry room, gives you after three or four weeks a dusty, faded bouquet that no longer resembles the fresh flowers. Peonies, especially, don't dry well — they crumple.
- Professional preservation, by a specialised preservationist, gives a much cleaner result, sometimes for several years. It's a separate service, ordered in advance, and only worthwhile if you know exactly where the bouquet will live in your home.
- A bell jar or shadow box, by a bouquet preservationist, works for people who want a keepsake object. That's a preservationist's craft, not a florist's.
Our quieter advice: the most beautiful way to keep a bouquet is the photograph your photographer took of it, and the scent your body remembered. Many brides come back to that, years later, saying the dried version never matched the memory of the day itself.
One last thing
The bouquet is a part of you that day — in the first photograph, at the altar, in the portrait taken after the ceremony. It carries weight. What keeps it in shape isn't a miracle product. It's water, coolness, and the attention of someone on your side you can hand it to between moments.
If a question comes up on the morning itself — a petal that worries you, a flower that seems to be opening too fast, a doubt about the glass — write to us on WhatsApp at +33 6 13 94 14 74. We answer quickly.
FAQ
Should I put my bridal bouquet in the fridge the night before the wedding?
Not in a family fridge full of fruit and vegetables — the ethylene they release wilts cut flowers faster. If the fridge is nearly empty, clean and set to 6–8 °C, yes, for a few hours. For a whole night, a cool, dark room (15–18 °C) is often safer.
How long can a bridal bouquet last out of water?
Several hours, as long as it returns to water between each stretch. A bouquet delivered in the morning and held all day without going back in water once starts to fade after 4 to 6 hours, sooner in the sun.
Should the glass of water be large or small?
Small and shallow. A water glass or small glass jar, clear, with only two or three centimetres of water. The point is to wet the very tips of the stems without wetting the ribbon.
Can I mist water directly on the flowers?
On the leaves and the outer base of the heads, yes, with a fine mister and water at room temperature. Avoid the heart of peonies, very open roses and ranunculus — water that pools in the centre of a flower damages it.### What if a flower opens too quickly the day before?Move the bouquet somewhere cooler (around 12–15 °C if possible) and darker. Warmth and light accelerate opening. The opposite holds too: if a bud stays too tight, give the bouquet an hour in a warmer room.
Do I need to recut the stems before the ceremony?
No. The bouquet arrives bound and cut to the right length. Touching the stems can throw off the silhouette. Only recut the next day, if you want to extend the bouquet's life in a vase.
What if the wedding is in a heatwave, around 35 °C?
Lengthen the stretches in water, shorten the stretches in the sun, ask your witness to whisk the bouquet into the shade the moment it's not in the frame, and accept that it will live a shorter life. For very hot weather, we can also pick more resilient varieties — a conversation worth having at the time of the order.
