These Wedding Bouquets have all been preserved by our highly technical Freeze Dry process! The cost of haveing your bridal bouquet preserved is well worth saving your treasured floral memories for years, out weighs the small cost compared the the total cost of your Wedding or Event!
How Much Does It Cost To Preserve My Flowers By Freeze Drying?
We have to charge individually per flower listed on our "Pricing of Flowers" tab...depending on the ease or difficulity and the condition of the flower. That price's may sound outrageous, however the cost does include touching up or completely restoring (restore not replace) all or part of your bouquet or flowers. We count the main flowers like roses, stephanotis, lilies, freesia and gardenias, at their assigned costs to perserve. Filler flowers and greenery is usually a smaller charge.
We are the only freeze dry specialists who color treat with scientifically made floral tints, created exclusively for flowers where they will not change color over the years. Naturally dried flowers, no matter how they are dried turn to wheat color.We match the original color as best we can since our preservation designers are Artists also. Other floral preservationists cannot do this reconstruction repair or color treatment as well, because we have been working, living and breathing flowers since 1961. They don't have the years of award winning floral design experience like we have. In addition, other freeze dry preservation specialists charge more than we do but cannot come close to the talent we offer.
Display Containers is an additional cost which range in price from as low as $60 to as high as $1,000 with theaverage being $275 - $875.For example...
This is actually not a lot of money when compared to the total cost of your wedding or event. This way you are saving, preserving, and displaying all of your floral memories and mementos in a breathtaking floral keepsake display case you will cherish and treasure for years to come. Of course we understand you have just spent a lot of money on your wedding or event…we can make special arrangements if preserving and displaying your flowers is a little out of your reach. Just talk to your Freeze Dry Specialist when you call three weeks after your event and we will set you up on one of our special payment plans.
What makes Frosted Floral Memories so special compared to other floral preservationists?Facts you need to know! Not all floral preservation specialists are the same!If they do not say FREEZE DRY you are NOT getting the very BEST in modern technology to preserve your flowers. Many websites have popped up lately that say they are flower preservationists and bla, bla, bla! BUT THEY DO NOT process your flowers by FREEZE DRYING! WATCH out! Ask the Freeze Dry Question! There are very few experts in this industry with THE machine because the FREEZE DRY MACHINE is very expensive, and requires extensive training to operate and years of knowledge about flowers and floral design is critical to have your flowers become cherished “work of art”! Good Housekeeping Magazine and Martha Stewart Weddings, rated the top floral preservation methods and rated , vacuum freeze dry, as producing the most natural and long –term results.our method It is not necessary to have a “special” box shipped to you before your wedding event happens.That creates a lot of anxiety and an extra step you do not have to do before your already, crazy time before your wedding.Most brides don’t know if they want to even keep their flowers until AFTER the wedding.It is easier to just find or buy a box to ship your flowers in…after all you have to go to the Post Office, UPS FedEx, etc. anyway to ship your flowers to us!
It is also not necessary to have a “special spray” to mist on your flowers prior to shipping to us.Water will actually be better…you do not have to expose yourself to chemicals.Our process of not putting chemicals on your flowers have been proven through years and years ( we started Freeze Drying since 1991) to be the best!Our flowers are soft, supple and long lasting as well as more natural looking.See our close up pictures in our Client Gallery. We pre-treat and re-hydrate your flowers prior to the preservation process, so that every cell of your flower will retain its natural beauty.We digitally photograph and log information about your flowers when we receive them.Our experience has proven to NOT to disassemble your bouquet before the Freeze Dry process!We leave your wedding bouquet whole, this way the flowers dry EXACTLY the way they were before preserving.We keep your flowers on their natural stems generally most of the time, to insure your bouquet will look exactly the same.Our powerful freeze dry machines can completely dry your bouquet perfectly! After your flowers are preserved…is when our talented design artists disassemble your wedding bouquet.EVERY flower is inspected to check what condition it is in.We often get damaged and wilted flowers so this is where we restore (restore not replace) each flower to its original shape.
We color treat and seal every flower with a thin, transparent layer that seals and protects them from light and humidity. Ask Ouestions...I am about the ONLY freeze dryed preservation specialist that color treats your flowers. In one year, flowers NOT color treated will eventually turn to a wheat color...all color goes away. Some "experts" say " The flowers become antique...phooey...they do not know what they are doing! My flower colors last in vivid colors for decades!!!
Some flower preservationists say you must have an air tight display container.The only way this is so is if your display container is under intense vacuum pressure.Not necessary!The importance of a display container is to protect your treasure or flowers from being bumped or eaten by the cat, to keep dust off of the flowers and to make it harder for insects to infest the flowers.
Our expert Freeze Dry Preservation Specialist take special care of your flowers when we receive them. We have multitudal selections of display containers for you to choose from. Our experienced design artists will help you choose which container is best for you!
FROSTED FLORAL MEMORIES will preserve your wedding bouquet.
FROSTED FLORAL MEMORIES Here is the picture of one of our THREE FREEZE DRY MACHINES! They are lovingly named Alexander, Sampson, and Alexendra. We keep our highly technical pretty busy preserving thousands of Frosted Floral Memories!
What is Freeze Drying?
Freeze-drying is accomplished by a scientific process called "sublimation" which the flowers are frozen at 20 degrees below zero, in a special machine which combines super-cold temperatures and intense vacuum pressure. The moisture from the flowers turns into a gaseous vapor and collected in a –80 degree chamber. (See pix of the Freeze Dry Machine) Everyday our freeze dry experts increase the temperature in the chamber one degree until they are dry. The process takes about 42 to 56 days (6-8 weeks) depending on how wet and how many flowers there are in the machine. The flowers have no choice but to remain beautiful in their frozen stiff state. After removal of all the moisture, their cells remain in almost the exact position as when they were fresh. The final product is a beautiful "life like" product for you to treasure for years!!!
If any other 'preservationist' says 'they can do the process in 2-3 weeks, 'Run Do Not WAlk'...for they cannot absolutely create, a 'Masterful Work of Art' like we can and probably NOT using the "Freeze Dry Method"!
How did Freeze Drying Start?
Originally introduced in 1813 by William Hyde Wallaston the royal society in London. The ancient Indians in the high AndesMountains also practiced a form of freeze-drying. Other processes have tried unsuccessfully to compete with the results of freeze-drying. Processes involving chemicals, Others have attempted cryogenics, sterilization, irradiation and dehydration, but freeze-drying is still regarded as the finest method of capturing the original state. With the development of mechanical refrigeration and vacuum systems during World War II, freeze- drying was developed to assist the storage of human plasma. Currently, scientists, museums, insurance companies, pharmaceutical manufacturers, food producers, florists, insurance companies, taxidermists and pharmaceutical manufacturers are the strongest sectors employing the use of freeze-drying technology.
Can I Freeze Dry My Flowers Myself?
NO!! Only this special scientific equipment machine, called a ‘freeze-dried machine’ can freeze-dry your flowers. It has a large chamber for freezing the bouquets and flowers and a huge vacuum pump to remove the moisture from the flowers. Your flowers in your freezer WILL TURN BROWN AND WILL DIE once they are re-introduced to normal air temperatures!The flowers thaw out and become mushy messes much like after the “first freeze” at Fall time.Keep your flowers COOL, not freezing!
Can I Put My Bouquet in My Home Freezer?
NO! The freeze-drying machines and holding freezers are very special! We are the only ones to freeze-dry your precious flowers! You need to transport the flowers to us as soon as possible. If you are traveling a long way to get to us, on a hot day, put the bouquet in a freezer chest, raised up on small layers of towels (not to allow frozen temperatures from the ice to freeze the flowers before we can.) If you don’t have a freezer chest on a HOT DAY, at LEAST, put your car into air conditioning or open the windows!
Your flowers while being shipped to us on a plane will have very cold temperatures while traveling because of the high altitude.This is cold enough to get your flowers to us safely.
KEEP THE BOUQUET COOL is all we’re asking. THE BETTER THE BOUQUET COMES INTO MY FREEZE DRY STUDIO THE BETTER THE RESULTS!
FROSTED FLORAL MEMORIES preserve your wedding bouquet.
FROSTED FLORAL MEMORIES will preserve your wedding bouquet
What is color treating? Will my flowers look natural?
ALL flowers fade to wheat color and/or brown eventually through the years. After spending so much money on preservation and a display container for the flowers to be brown is just not pretty! The alternative...is to color treat all the flowers by using flower pigments made expressively for the flower industry. Our staff are artists as well and flower experts and know the color of the flowers naturally fresh. We do our very best to mix colors to get almost the right shading of the flowers. We will ask for a photo at the time we are finishing your flowers.
The flowers are painted as naturally as possible and will not look exactly like when they were fresh. The alternative is brown ....remember! So...the flowers will have a little painted porcelain look and no one has complained. Look at all the pictures in this website...all the flowers pictured are all colored treated and beautiful!!!
In order to restore any flowers and color treat, we will have to take the flowers apart. We are very good at getting the flowers back into the original position but since the flowers are not fresh now, they will not nestle together as good as when they were fresh but we try our best to get the flowers into the original design. We might ocasionally have to re-settle a flower in a different position only to get the flowers fit back into a good design.
Will The Freeze Dried Flowers Change Their Color?
There will be some color changes that will occur during the freeze-drying process, such as reds and peaches. Red Roses will darken a lot turning a deep burgundy and peach Roses will turn hot pink!Our design artists will restore the colors back to their original color.Any other red or peach flowers will remain red or peach…just the Roses seem to change their colors. Almost all flowers will turn to wheat color unless our preservation artist’s colors enhance each flower with our special floral tints.
We come as close to the natural color as we possibly can. We are the ONLY freeze-dry artist that goes to the extreme measure to insure your flowers will stay colorfully gorgeous for a years to come.Some preservationists say the whites or other colors will age to a crème color or antique gold.This is totally unacceptable by us and we make sure your whites or any other colors stay the same for years.
Why Should I Have My Flowers Preserved?
Once flowers are enjoyed in any kind of ceremony, or given by a special person, the flowers become very sentimental. The flowers become very special treasures, especially when you enclose the flowers under glass or Lucite. When you look at your beautiful flowers, the memory will always come back to you, for years and years.
FROSTED FLORAL MEMORIES will preserve your bridal bouquet!
FROSTED FLORAL MEMORIES will save your bridal bouquet!
What Flowers Freeze Dry Best?
Almost all flowers freeze-dry well except Chrysanthemums, Daisies and Dahlias. These flowers can go thru the process, but they fall apart easily after they are dry. Because the repair process takes so long, I have to charge extra for putting them together again. I am almost the only freeze-dry expert to even try to process these difficult flowers and I believe I am the only expert to process Bouvardia. Bouvardia now turns out good in my care!
When Will I Get My Flowers Back?
The freeze-dry process takes about 6 - 8 weeks. If your bouquet is delivered to us mid-cycle, your bouquet will go into holding freezers. We have kept flowers in suspension like this and the freezing temperature ( 20 below zero) holds the aging process perfectly (very much like freezing embryos perfectly). We have three freeze dry machines.As soon as one machine has completed its cycle with its present load and is empty, we reload it with the flowers from the holding freezers. Your wait time could be a little longer 12 - 16 weeks. We take advantage of this time to order your display container, frame or dome. You can call anytime for an update. Like fine wine...true Art takes time!
HOWEVER...Once there were flowers in holding for 8 weeks waiting for a load to finish and it was early in the year. It took 2 months for the machine to collect enough bouquets to begin the Freeze Dry process...then it took 8 weeks in the machine which means the flowers were not dry for 6 months! This never happened before...I notified my clients to let them know about the delay and all were patient because we are creating "PURE ART"!
After the time in the Freeze Dry Machine...2 more steps complete the PRESERVATION PROCESS. Step 2 is to RESTORE every flower and step 3 is to COLOR TREAT every flower and greenery. These two steps might take 5-7 days to complete. Then a few more days to install flowers into Display Containers.
Often, you might get your flowers back before the 1st Anniversary. Most of the time "I" am waiting for you...to catch up on the 'money vaccuum' after a big event that eats money in an instant...Sometimes it takes a couple of months for 'you' to catch your breath and re-coup. Many times 'you' might need a month or two to think about a 'Display Container' . This is an important decision...like choosing furniture...thinking time is good. Then it takes 3-4 weeks to get the Display Container once finally ordered. All these things delays the delivery of preserved flowers...
So...understandly...preserving flowers take a long time... so please be patient. We do not work on an assembly line and cannot 'twitch our noses' to hurry up the process. Every bouquet or precious memorial flowers are 'one of a kind' and are lovingly handled and not mass produced...
FROSTED FLORAL MEMORIES will save MY wedding bouquet!
Payment Schedule
Flowers that have been preserved...gone through the Freeze Dry Machine Process, MUST be paid in full before we do the finishing touches...restoring the flowers and color treating. If you are purchasing a Display Container...the Display Container MUST be paid in full before ordering...then the finishing touches payment will deferred until later...and collected just prior to shipping back to you or pickup.