HELP!!!!
New DIL wants me to dry her wedding bouquet. Is there a way to do this without taking the bouquet apart?
I bought some silica sand that suppose to dry it in the microwave but it says that I have to take the bouquet apart so the flowers aren't touching. Can I use this stuff with out taking the bouquet apart. Or is there a better way.
Flowers are birds of paridise, canna lillies, orchids both lasrge and small.

Laurie in Bradenton

My daughter just hung hers upsidedown in her sunroom. It looked dried but she was able to keep it for a while.

I hung mine upside down until they were dry. However, then they became very brittle. I ended up taking all of the petals off and putting them in a pretty jar. I then took the ribbon that was wrapped around the stems and tied that around the jar.

I know there are companies that will dry them and then frame them for you - but I couldn't tell you where to find them. I heard about them AFTER I had already dried mine.

When we did mine (1999) we put it into a big rubbermaid box and filled the box with little bead-like things... I think they were silica like you're talking about, but I can't swear to it. We left the bouquet in tact and let it stay in there for months. It looks dried- the colors weren't preserved- but it's still in one piece.

My sister had hers professionally done after her wedding last year, and it is gorgeous. She had it framed & it actually matches their bedroom colors. If you want to really preserve it, I think paying for the pro service would be worth it.