You want to keep your wedding flowers — that part you're sure of. What's harder is choosing how. Search for wedding flower preservation and you'll meet three words again and again: resin, pressed, and freeze-dried. They produce completely different objects, cost very different amounts, and suit very different homes — yet most guides never explain the trade-offs plainly enough to actually decide.
This is that comparison, written by people who preserve real wedding flowers by hand here in the UK. We'll walk through what each method is, what it costs, how long the result lasts, what it looks like on a shelf or a wall, and — honestly — which method tends to suit which couple. We make resin and pressed keepsakes ourselves and we'll be straight about where each one wins. If you want the wider picture first, our complete guide to wedding flower preservation in the UK covers the whole journey from bouquet to finished piece.
The Short Answer: Resin, Pressed or Freeze-Dried?
Choose resin if you want a solid, three-dimensional keepsake that holds your flowers' colour and shape permanently and can be made into anything from a block to a ring — it's the most versatile and the most everyday-durable. Choose pressed flowers if you love a flat, botanical, framed look that hangs on a wall like artwork. Choose freeze-drying if you want the bouquet kept whole and lifelike in three dimensions and don't mind the highest price and a more fragile result.
For most couples preserving a wedding bouquet in the UK, resin is the practical middle ground — true to the original flowers, built to last, and available across every budget. It's what we specialise in, alongside pressed frames.
The Three Methods at a Glance
Before the detail, here's how the three compare on the things couples ask about most. UK prices are broad market ranges, with our own as a guide.
| Method | The look | Typical UK cost | Lifespan | Wearable? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resin | Solid, 3D, glassy clarity | £25–£800+ | Decades — fully sealed | Yes (jewellery) |
| Pressed | Flat, botanical, framed | £80–£250 | Long, out of direct light | No |
| Freeze-dried | Whole, lifelike, 3D | £300–£1,000+ | Years — but fragile | No |
Resin Preservation
Resin is what most people now picture when they think of a modern flower keepsake. Your flowers are dried slowly — at our studio, in silica gel over several weeks to hold their colour — then arranged by hand and set into clear, hand-poured resin that's cured, sanded and polished. The result is a solid object you can pick up, turn over, and see your flowers inside from every angle.
What makes resin so popular is its range. The same craft scales from a small charm you can thread on a necklace, through hearts, cubes, paperweights, tealights and photo frames, all the way up to a coffee-table-sized centrepiece. It's also the only method you can wear: a ring for you, matching pieces for your bridesmaids, a pendant for a mother — all from one bouquet. You can see the wearable range on our resin jewellery collection.
Where resin wins: it's the most durable for everyday life, the most versatile in form, the only wearable option, and it keeps your flowers looking closest to how they appeared on the day. The honest trade-offs: good resin takes time — typically six to nine months from flowers to finished piece — and quality varies hugely between makers. A piece poured too fast or dried too cheaply can cloud or yellow within a year. It's a method where who makes it matters as much as the method itself.
Pressed Flower Preservation
Pressing is the oldest method of the three, and the gentlest in feel. Whole blooms and petals are flattened under even pressure for two to three weeks until the moisture has gone, then arranged by hand behind a frame — often with the wedding date or a few words of calligraphy alongside. The finished piece is flat and illustrative, closer to a watercolour than a sculpture.
It suits couples who want wall art rather than an object on a shelf, and who like the soft, botanical aesthetic that pressing brings out. Because it works bloom by bloom, pressing is brilliant for showing off individual flowers and foliage, though it can't keep a dense bouquet's full three-dimensional shape — by its nature it flattens everything.
Where pressed wins: it's beautiful as framed art, sits comfortably in the mid-budget range, and shows the detail of individual petals wonderfully. The honest trade-offs: it's two-dimensional, so you lose the bouquet's depth, and pressed colour will gradually soften if the frame hangs in direct sunlight. Hung on a shaded wall, a well-made pressed frame lasts for many years.
Freeze-Dried Preservation
Freeze-drying is the most technical method, and the one we're asked about most by couples who want their bouquet kept whole. The flowers are frozen, then placed in a vacuum chamber where the ice turns straight to vapour — a process called sublimation — drawing the moisture out over several weeks with very little shrinkage. The result is striking: a bouquet that keeps almost its full three-dimensional form and much of its original colour, usually displayed under a glass dome or in a sealed case.
We'll be straight with you here, because it matters: freeze-drying isn't something we offer — it needs a specialist freeze-dry chamber, and our craft is resin and pressed work. We're including it because it's a genuine option and you deserve the honest picture. It's the most expensive of the three, often £300 to over £1,000 for a full bouquet, and it takes a comparable few months. The finished flowers are also the most delicate: because they aren't sealed in resin, they remain sensitive to humidity and handling, and their colour can fade if the display sits in bright light.
Where freeze-drying wins: nothing else keeps a whole bouquet looking as close to fresh and three-dimensional. The honest trade-offs: it's the priciest route, the result is fragile, and the displays are larger — less "keep it on the bedside table", more "a piece for a shelf or cabinet". For couples set on keeping the entire bouquet intact, it's worth the cost; for most, a resin piece gives lasting three-dimensional beauty for less.
Side by Side: Cost, Look, Lifespan and Care
The same flowers, three different futures. Here's how the methods stack up on the practical points once you're weighing them seriously.
| What matters to you | Resin | Pressed | Freeze-dried |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lowest entry price | From ~£25 (jewellery) | From ~£80 | From ~£300 |
| Keeps 3D shape | Yes, arranged | No — flattened | Yes — whole bouquet |
| Everyday durability | Highest — sealed solid | Good behind a frame | Most fragile |
| Can be worn | Yes | No | No |
| Care needed | Wipe clean; keep out of constant sun | Hang out of direct light | Keep dry, dust-free, out of light |
| Made by Artisan Palace | Yes | Yes | No |
"There's no single right method — only the one that fits how you'll actually live with your flowers. We'd rather tell you a pressed frame suits your hallway than sell you a resin block that won't."
Which Method Is Right for You?
A quick way to narrow it down, based on what couples tell us they're really after:
Choose resin if…
You want something solid and lasting for a shelf or to wear, you'd like keepsakes to share across the bridal party, or you're working to a specific budget — resin spans them all.
Choose pressed if…
You picture framed wall art, you love a soft botanical look, and you want to show off the detail of individual blooms rather than the whole bouquet's volume.
Choose freeze-dried if…
Keeping the entire bouquet whole and lifelike matters more than budget or durability, and you have a shelf or cabinet for a domed display you'll handle gently.
And if you're still deciding what to do with your flowers at all — preserve them, gift them, or something else — our guide on what to do with your wedding flowers after the wedding lays out every route. When you're ready to send them, here's how to pack and post your bouquet safely.
How We Approach It at Artisan Palace
We're a small UK studio that has been preserving wedding and funeral flowers since 2023. Every keepsake is handmade by Julie, and we specialise in resin and pressed work — the two methods that, between them, suit the great majority of couples. Across our Etsy and Shopify stores we've completed more than 2,000 orders with over 300 positive reviews, and the studio has been recognised in four industry awards. We mention that only because it helps when you're deciding who to trust with flowers that can't be replaced.
However you preserve them, two things are worth insisting on from any studio: a design-approval step for larger pieces, so you can see the layout before anything is set permanently, and honest pricing without quote-gating. We do both. For larger and bespoke resin pieces you'll review a draft before the resin is poured, and our aim is always a keepsake with a little artistic flair that stays true to your original flowers. There are no deposits either — you choose your piece and pay once at the time of order, then post your flowers to us afterwards, and Klarna is available if you'd like to spread the cost. For the full breakdown across every keepsake, see our UK wedding flower preservation cost guide.
Resin vs Pressed vs Freeze-Dried: FAQs
Which method lasts the longest?
Resin gives the most protection because the flowers are fully sealed against dust, moisture and most light, so a well-made resin piece holds its appearance for decades. Pressed frames also last many years if kept out of direct sun. Freeze-dried flowers can last a long time too, but being unsealed they're the most vulnerable to humidity and handling.
Which is the cheapest way to preserve wedding flowers?
Resin jewellery is the most affordable route from a studio, starting from around £25 for a charm, because each piece uses only a few petals. Pressed frames typically start higher, around £80, and freeze-drying is the most expensive at £300 and up. Pressing flowers yourself at home is cheaper still, though the results are harder to control.
Do preserved flowers keep their colour?
No method is completely fade-proof, but colour holds far better than fresh flowers. Some shift is normal during drying — whites tend to warm towards cream, deep reds may darken. Resin and freeze-drying keep colour best initially; the single biggest thing you can do afterwards is keep any piece out of constant direct sunlight.
Can I have more than one type made from one bouquet?
Often, yes. A single bouquet can usually make more than one piece — for example a resin block for the home plus a few pieces of jewellery to share. Combining resin and a pressed frame from the same flowers is also possible if the bouquet is large enough. We'll tell you what's realistic once your flowers are dried.
What's the difference between freeze-dried and air-dried flowers?
Air-drying simply hangs flowers to dry naturally, which is cheap but shrinks the blooms and dulls colour. Freeze-drying uses a vacuum chamber to remove moisture with minimal shrinkage, keeping flowers much closer to their fresh shape and colour — which is why it costs considerably more.
How do I choose if I still can't decide?
Start with where the piece will live and how you want to see it: on a shelf or worn (resin), on a wall (pressed), or kept whole in a display case (freeze-dried). Then send us a photo of your bouquet and we'll give you an honest recommendation — including telling you if a method we don't offer would genuinely suit you better.
Ready to Preserve Your Wedding Flowers?
Browse the collection to see our resin and pressed keepsakes, or read the complete guide first if you'd like the full picture before you choose a method.
Resin, pressed or freeze-dried — there's no wrong answer, only the keepsake that fits your flowers, your home and your budget. Whenever you're ready, Julie reads every message that comes in.