What Happens to Wedding Flowers After the Event?
It’s a question many couples ask, and it’s easy to understand why. Wedding flowers play such a central role in creating the atmosphere of the day, and some designs use hundreds, sometimes thousands of stems to bring that vision to life. So what happens once the celebrations wind down? At Yesca’s Flowers, sustainability is at the heart of everything we do, and we’ve developed several thoughtful ways to ensure your flowers continue to bring joy long after the last toast.
Guests’ Choice
After a wedding, it’s quite common for guests – or the couple themselves – to take a few blooms home. Many like to place flowers on a loved one’s grave or bring a small arrangement to someone special. As we return very early the following morning to clear and dismantle our designs, it’s always helpful to know in advance if guests plan to take flowers. This allows us to ensure the arrangements remain complete and beautiful for the duration of the celebration while still making it possible for guests to enjoy a few stems afterwards.
Staff Surprise
We also love sharing flowers with the people working behind the scenes at your venue. Once we’ve checked whether any arrangements are needed for the following day, we’re more than happy to offer a few stems to the staff. It’s a small gesture that often brings a great deal of delight, and it ensures that flowers which can no longer be used decoratively still brighten someone’s home or workspace.
Repurpose
Back at the studio, we carefully sort through the remaining stems. Some flowers are set aside for training purposes, allowing us to practise new techniques and refine our foam-free methods. This ongoing development is an essential part of what keeps our work fresh and modern. It’s important to note, however, that we never reuse flowers from one wedding for another. Every couple receives their own bespoke florals, created entirely for their day.
Donate
Whenever possible, we donate leftover blooms to nursing homes or community initiatives. Even if a little older, these flowers still have the ability to lift spirits and create a sense of warmth. The donations usually come from arrangements carefully dismantled after the wedding, as well as the ‘spares’ that never made it into the final designs. We always ensure that the flowers we share are as fresh as possible so they can be enjoyed for several days.
Compost
And finally, some flowers naturally reach the end of their life cycle. Any stems that are too wilted or damaged to be repurposed or donated are added to our compost. This organic matter enriches the soil in our cutting garden, helping to nourish the next generation of Irish-grown blooms. In this way, even the most tired petals come full circle, supporting future growth and contributing to a more sustainable approach to floristry.
Every wedding we create is designed to be both beautiful and thoughtful. By giving careful consideration to the life of each stem, we honour the natural materials we work with and ensure your flowers continue to make a positive impact long after the day has ended.