Personalised motifs: Wedding day blooms turn heirlooms

Wedding flowers — a fleeting motif of a couple’s celebrations — are being preserved by couples in a new way! This wedding season, newlyweds are opting to use the blooms to create wearable souvenirs — sarees, shirts, and ties. These are created using a technique called eco-pressing. After Reels showing the process started trending on Instagram, new couples began vying for such one-of-a-kind pieces.

A saree-torial keepsake

“I wanted to wear something meaningful for my marriage registration,” shares Harini Sundaralingam, a business analyst from Chennai. Her wedding garland thus got preserved into the saree she wore for the day: “It took 10–15 days to get the saree made and it came out extremely beautifully.”

Bhumika Gusain, a Delhi-based designer, adds, “The saree is the perfect medium symbolising tradition, emotion, and timelessness. I knew I’d always carry a part of that day with me, not just in memory, but in something tangible.”

Similarly, Bengaluru-based application executive Preethi Sri opted to preserve the flowers given by her fiancé at their engagement: “It’s the perfect way to keep a piece of our story close to my heart, forever.”

The fabric of love

Turning wedding flowers into garments as unique, wearable tokens of love has quickly become a business model for fashion entrepreneurs across the country.

The idea struck Bhuvana M Suriya, a Chennai resident and owner of House of Murah, after her own nuptials. “I wanted to make sure my wedding flowers are with me forever in a sustainable manner. I made two sarees for myself, and with the support of my husband, I’ve been doing it for people across the country.”

One might just wonder why this trend has taken off. Is it just the romance of it? Partly, yes. But it’s also a deeply nostalgic trend that promotes eco-consciousness, explains Sangavi Manickam, natural dye artist and founder of Tamil Nadu-based Avira. “Flowers and leaves have a soul. Couples want to transform the petals that have witnessed their most intimate and emotional moments into wearable keepsakes that last a lifetime.”

Alisha Maindoliya, founder of Uttarakhand-based Mulya Creation, agrees: “Wedding flowers are cherished, but eventually, they fade away. I wanted to create a way to keep those memories alive in a tangible, beautiful form.”

Creating this wearable art

The first step is sourcing the air-dried flowers — sent by the couples. These are then treated, and arranged on natural fabrics. Using a technique called eco-printing, the pigments from the flowers are transferred directly onto the fabric. The process is delicate, with no two sarees looking alike. The most commonly used flowers are roses, marigolds, and jasmine, owing to their colour and symbolism. White flowers tend to be the most difficult to work with since they don’t easily release colour.

Unique tokens starting ₹8k

Such customised pieces typically range from ₹8,000 to ₹25,000, depending on fabric, floral density, and intricacy of print. Bhuvana M Suriya, owner of House of Murah, says, “We use chanderi silk organza and I recommend strictly dry cleaning only, avoiding direct sunlight, and storing them in a breathable cotton bag to preserve the delicate natural colours and impressions.”