I consider Courtney Raihall of Solidago Studios as THE ‘go to’ wedding bouquet preservation guru here in Richmond. Preserving your wedding flowers here in Richmond, VA has become increasingly popular and a question I find my brides asking me about who I recommend.
I had the pleasure of meeting Courtney on a random Wednesday AM not too long ago. I knew of her name as one of my former brides used her for wedding flower preservation. She wanted to preserve her bridal bouquet from a wedding I did at The Mill at Fine Creek last April. Courtney had reached out to me to connect and strengthen our wedding pathways and I had been eager to write a blogpost about flower preservation. It was perfect timing.
Courtney’s Background
Courtney’s love for wedding bouquet preservation was birthed from a wetland’s ecology study at VCU. An environmental science major at the time, Courtney utilized this one particular study to harness the magic of flower preservation. Needless to say, it became a thing she wanted to pursue.
Process
And so began her all organic approach (with no color preservatives) to wedding flower preservation in her quaint 2BD/1BA apartment in Richmond. She was able to glean farm scraps from Monarch Flower Farm which also served as her post-college employment. The process for wedding bouquet preservation begins with deconstruction for some flowers such as roses, ranunculus and other blooms boasting many petals. All petals and stemmed flowers along with greenery will go through a 3-4 month press process.
Book Early
What Courtney wants you to know………. It’s important to connect with her early. She recommends 2-3 months pre-wedding contact and booking for your bridal bouquet preservation with a 4-6 month final product turnaround, post wedding. Assign a point person who will transport your bouquet and maintain the stems in a vase of water. And also, you can expect a natural fade and patina to your flowers once the process is complete.
Future Goals
Future goals? Courtney would love to pursue large scale, fine art installations utilizing her pressed flower method. For now, she’s also offering a line of pressed flower holiday ornaments as an accompaniment to her wedding bouquet preservation business.
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