frequently asked questions

Please refer to the Process page to see how we take your flowers from wedding bouquet to Forever Bouquet™.

We also have availability year-round! While we recommend booking in advance to ensure you have everything you need on hand to properly care for and pack your bouquet for shipment, we can usually accommodate last-minute orders. We know planning for life events can be a busy time, so don’t stress if you didn’t book early - we’re happy to help!

In most cases, no, and we offer a Color Restoration service for several different types of florals. While we take careful steps to maintain the color and form of your flowers, natural changes occur as they dry and should be expected in the final artwork. For example, some florals darken and some lose their color. Red flowers tend to dry very dark or even brown, while white flowers often dry ivory or yellow, to list a few examples. Some florals don’t stay intact, so we have to remove the petals for use in the artwork, rather than the whole flower. Some florals will change color once they make contact with resin. For example, “grey” leaves, such as dusty miller, will turn a vibrant green and some white flowers will often take on a yellow hue. Rest assured, we do our best to maintain your bouquet’s integrity and beauty.

It’s also worth noting that florals go through a whole other life before they reach our studio. They are often grown outdoors and endure the natural elements, then they are cut from the plant and tossed into trailers, then sorted and shipped to wholesalers, then sorted and shipped to florists. Then the florists make your bouquet and weave everything together and manipulate it to create the design they want. Then your bouquet has a long, adventurous day at your wedding, getting picked up and put down repeatedly. All this to say, your florals will inevitably endure a lot of wear before they even reach our studio, so changes should absolutely be expected. Our rule here at the Honeybee studio is to joyfully accept nature in all its wonder!

There are some flowers that show signs of wear or dry brown and we highly recommend our Color Restoration service for these botanicals:

• White roses

• White calla lilies

• White orchids

• Monstera leaves

• Anthuriums - all colors

There are some flowers that are more sensitive than others and show signs of wear, but are still beautiful in resin artwork even though we do not color correct them:

• White dahlias

• Blush roses

• Anemones

• Poppies

• Sweet Peas

• Amaryllis

Please note that most flowers in the red family (including orange, magenta and purple) can dry very dark, or even near-black, and we do not apply correction to these colors.

There are some florals we do not preserve:

• Succulents

• King Protea

• Berries

When you order the Bouquet Preservation artwork, you’ll fill out a questionnaire, which gives us a starting point for designing your artwork (see design examples here). You can also drop us an email to let us know you’d like something particular included. Once your florals are dry, we will work on your design and send you a mockup, if requested, for review. We provide up to two mockups free of charge. We want you to love your artwork, but dried florals don't last long once removed from the drying medium (eek!), so we need to get them protected in resin quickly. We also must be able to maintain our creative freedom and integrity as artists - we are not designing together; rather, you are commissioning an artist to create a custom artwork for you.

Mockups are an option for the Bouquet Preservation artwork only and do not apply to the other keepsakes we offer. Any other keepsakes you order will be designed at the artist’s discretion to compliment the aesthetic of your main bouquet artwork.

If you requested a mockup of your main artwork, we will email you an image of the design for your review. Due to the sensitive nature of dried florals, if we haven’t received a response from you via email within three days of us sending you the mockup email you will forfeit being able to make changes to the design and we will make your entire order at our discretion and send it to the shipping address you provided once the order is complete.

Yes! Please click here to see examples. Our artwork composition options are Minimal (1-3 florals with lots of clear space), Something In Between (medium with some clear space) or The More, The Merrier (full with minimal clear space). The examples shown are not intended to be replicated, as each artwork is custom made and will vary according to floral shape and size.

We regularly receive bouquets shipped to us nationwide!

While we are not the shipping carriers and cannot guarantee its safety while it is in transit to our studio, please rest assured that we have received countless bouquets at our studio from all over the country and from various shipping companies that produce the beautiful artwork you see on our website and social media accounts (links are at the bottom of this page).

When you place your order, you will receive an email with a printable PDF checklist of instructions for preparing, packing and shipping your wedding bouquet. It is extremely important to follow these instructions step-by-step so that your bouquet can reach our studio as fresh and safe as possible. Plan ahead for this so you have the right materials ready when you need them. If you are assigning this task to someone else, please ensure they follow the instructions exactly. The beauty of the artwork we create relies greatly on the condition of the flowers upon their arrival to our studio.

Please note that we only accept bouquets that are overnight shipped to our studio due to the time-sensitive nature of fresh flowers. We do not accept other shipping services, such as 2-day or ground. We will not issue a refund if you do not overnight ship your bouquet. We are not responsible for items damaged or lost during transit to our studio.

We require our clients use an overnight shipping service to send your bouquet to our studio, and you will incur that cost. The cost to ship your bouquet varies based on carrier, box size, weight and destination. We recommend using the price calculators on the shipping carrier’s website to estimate how much it will cost for you to overnight ship your bouquet to us.

Please note that we only accept bouquets that are overnight shipped to our studio. We do not accept other shipping services, such as 2-day or ground. We will not issue a refund if you do not overnight ship your bouquet. We are not responsible for items damaged or lost during transit to our studio.

All resin is a type of plastic. We use epoxy resin in our studio, which cures to a hard, shiny finish, making it durable and beautiful to set out on display. It is important to note that the type of resin we use remains in a liquid state for several hours before the curing process begins. This means that during that time, your artwork design will slightly shift, rotate and float in the medium until that curing process begins. In other words, the design mockup you see is a very close representation to how the final artwork will look, but not exact.

It’s also worth noting that florals go through a whole other life before they reach our studio and resin can bring out the wear that was otherwise invisible, such as bruising, which shows up as translucent spots on petals in the final artwork. Some florals will change color once they make contact with resin. For example, “grey” leaves, such as dusty miller, will turn a vibrant green and some white flowers, such as ranunculus, will often take on a yellow hue. Additionally, our resin is poured in layers and the sides of your artwork will indicate the layer lines.

If your bouquet contains botanicals that are larger than our current product sizes, we will use parts of them (such as petals) in your custom artwork. If you really want to keep the floral fully intact, please contact us prior to placing your order so we can discuss alternative shapes, sizing and pricing. Our current product sizes are listed with each product’s description under the Shop tab for reference.

The whole process, from bouquet arrival to artwork completion, can take approximately 3-4 months, depending on the types of florals and your approval of the artwork design. Each flower dries at a different rate and we have to ensure they are completely dry before moving forward to the encapsulation process. Once your keepsakes are complete, Honeybee will carefully package your artwork and ship it to you via USPS Priority Mail. You will receive an email with your tracking number so you can follow its journey to its new home and love it always!

Forever! However, all epoxy resins will yellow over time. This is natural, and we use UV protection in our process to prolong it from occurring.

We recommend displaying your artwork away from heat, windows and direct sunlight to avoid UV exposure and protect it for the long term. As needed, wipe with a water-dampened microfiber or lens cleaning cloth. Please do not set anything on your artwork, as scratches may result.

Bubbles are a natural occurrence in the encapsulation process. Botanicals contain a lot of air and this gets released and trapped within the resin as it cures. We just think this is a fun and unique addition to your one-of-a-kind floral artwork! Also keep in mind that bubbles will be more visible on darker flowers, including those that dry dark, such as red roses.

This means your florist artificially colored your florals in some manner, such as with dye or spray paint. Resin begins as a liquid and as your florals sit in that liquid, the pigment starts to run off, creating colored streaks throughout the artwork. While this cannot entirely be stopped, if you let us know before we begin the resin process, we can take steps to try to minimize it. Once the resin process begins, however, there is nothing we can do besides accept it as a characteristic that makes your florals and artwork uniquely yours.

We do not return unused portions of your bouquet. If there is anything you want to keep, such as the ribbon or certain flowers, please remove them prior to shipping it to us.

Yes! We have worked with countless florists over the years and have compiled a list of our favorites, organized by state. We’ve added these florists to the list because their florals were high quality, which helps us in creating beautiful artwork for you! View the list.

Absolutely! There are many occasions and life events you might want to preserve flowers from, and we are here to help. The process will be the same, but please let us know and we will be happy to accommodate and work with you to provide you with keepsakes you love!

Due to the time-sensitive nature of fresh florals, we can accommodate only those events occurring within the United States.

Due to the nature of commissioned custom artwork, we do not accept returns or issue refunds. All art is subjective. To ensure you like our style, we urge you to review the artwork we’ve already created, which can be found on this website and on our social media accounts (links are at the bottom of this page). We want you to love your Honeybee custom keepsakes and therefore put the utmost care into creating your one-of-a-kind artwork and stand behind what we do with our years of expertise. However, Honeybee cannot be held responsible for occurrences out of our control, such as the natural changes that happen throughout the drying and resin processes. We are also not responsible for damaged or lost items during transit to or from our studio.

There are no refunds due to the subjective refusal of finished work. Your flowers will change as they dry, and change again once encapsulated in resin. If you elected to see a mockup when you placed your order, you will have the opportunity to see how your florals changed during the drying process. You can opt to have color correction done for a fee, however not all florals can be color corrected. Please see our FAQ or contact us if you have questions about color correcting specific florals.

All payments made remain non-refundable. We have one exception only: if we have not yet received your bouquet at our studio and you would like to cancel your order, we will gladly refund 50% of your purchase price. We will not refund your full purchase because we reserved a spot just for you, which means we had to turn away someone else since we can only accept a limited number of bouquets at a time. We also purchase supplies for your order, which have a very limited shelf life, and therefore cannot give a full refund due to the costs incurred.