DIY wedding confetti

As I've mentioned a couple of times in previous posts, one of my best friends is getting married this July. As with any upcoming wedding the to-do list is rather large and so to relieve the teeniest bit of pressure off Emma (if that is even possible!), I was officially put on confetti duty. Now, I'm not married, nor engaged, but if I were planning a wedding then there would be several moments in particular on my special day that I would wish to be captured by the photographer. One of these moments is the classic 'confetti shot', which equals beaming smiles, walking through a sea of your favourite people - family and friends - who are cheering you on and showering you with love and beautiful flower petals. Wedding confetti shots can look incredible and if I can make this dream a reality for one of my best girls, then that's what I'll aim to do!

 And so a few months back, I began preparing for what would be a rather long but satisfying process of collecting, drying and preserving flower petals...

I have myself a little confetti system going on now. Each week I purchase a couple of bunches of flowers from the supermarket. I wont complain - this of course means that our flat has been constantly filled with the most gorgeous dusky pink and fuchsia roses for the past four months. They're so beautiful! I've found that darker pink roses tend to come out prettier colours when dried than lighter pinks, and cream roses can end up looking a little yellow and manky. I've also used some purple tulips too and will continue to do so throughout the Spring months as tulip petals look delicate and dainty when dried.

Obviously it's nice to enjoy the roses around the flat for a couple of days but the fresher the petals, the better the confetti so they never stay around for too long unfortunately. To avoid any unpleasant odors it's best to use petals as fresh as possible so after a day or so I get 'de-petal-ing'! I've got a large, old, cardboard shoe box which I have lined with tissue paper/baking parchment. I then place the petals onto the paper, one by one, spreading them out and trying to avoid them touching each other too much. Once you've done one layer of paper you can place another layer on top and place more petals on. I usually have around 4 layers of petals on the go at once! It's a bit of a mundane task after a while so I usually do it sat in my PJs infront of the TV. I'm sure Rob thinks I've gone crazy but there we go...!

I then store the box in our super-warm airing cupboard for about three days. They dry really well in there. I've read online a few times that you can place the petals onto a sheet of kitchen towel and microwave them for a few seconds, or put them in a warm oven but I've never tried these methods myself so I'd be hesitant in recommending them...

And once they're dry and slightly crisp in texture, I preserve them in kilner jars and airtight containers. Our DVD cupboard is now a confetti store! 

Doesn't it look beautiful??! I'm so pleased with the results so far and I can't wait to see photos of the newly-married Emma & Matt being showered with pretty petals. You can never have too much floral prettiness at a wedding. I've got a whole lot more confetti making to do before the big day in July... I'm aiming for each guest to have a handful each! I'm yet to work out how I'm going to present it, Pinterest has given me some good inspiration but that can be sorted nearer the time. For now at least, I'm enjoying roses in abundance!

Are you planning a wedding or do you know anyone who is? Perhaps this can be a bit of inspiration for you!

Lydia xxx