Delivery Instructions & Flower Care

Here are our simple instructions for posting your flowers to us. We promise, its not as tricky or scary as it first sounds. We receive lots of bouquets every week through the post and they are always arrive safely if you follow these instructions carefully.

Don't leave the preparation until the morning after your event! I recommend booking a FREE collection online here for the Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed by 1pm service. You will need to book this at least one day prior to posting.

If your event was on a Friday, we recommend keeping the flowers over the weekend in your care and posting on the following Monday. Royal mail do not deliver on Sundays and they will be sat in a warehouse.

Packing Kit List:

Useful Packaging Items available on Amazon:

Gold cardboard gift box with decorative cut-out top

Bouquet Gift Box to support your flowers in during transport

Open cardboard box with floral design and black stripe
Brown packing tape roll
Close-up of a black Sharpie permanent marker with its cap off.

How to send your flowers

Cardboard box labeled 'FRAGILE' and 'THIS WAY UP' with an arrow, open and empty on a carpeted floor.

Step 1: Find a box

  • Find a box the right size to fit your bouquet. If it is not quite tall enough trim a little off your stems to fit.

  • Make sure the box is not more that 60cm tall and weighs under 2kg or postage will increase and it will be sent with ParcelForce.

  • Clearly mark the box with FRAGILE and use a bold pen to draw some arrows pointing upwards marked, ‘THIS WAY UP FRESH FLOWERS.’

Top-down view of an empty open cardboard box with flaps spread outward on a tiled floor.

Step 2: Create a support for your flowers.

Open cardboard box filled with crumpled newspaper for packing

Step 3: Pack out the box

  • Screw up newspaper pages and stuff them around the edges of the box to hold it securely in place.

  • Do NOT use any bubble wrap or any plastic wrapping as it might make your flowers sweat and rot.

Hand holding a bouquet of purple and white roses with green leaves, wrapped in white fabric.

Step 4: Preparing the flowers

  • Carefully trim the edge of your flower stems at an angle to enable them to collect some moisture during travel. The bottom of the stems will have sealed up since your florist made the bouquet so you will be helping them to drink better.

  • Pop them in a vase and give them a soak in water. (Minimum 1-2 hours)

  • Once they have had a good drink of water, dampen some kitchen paper and fold it up around the BOTTOM of the stems to keep them moist for travel.

  • Do NOT spray or wet the flower heads as they may rot.

Hand holding a bouquet of white roses with variegated leaves, wrapped in green cellophane and secured with a rubber band.

Step 5: Securing the stems

  • Put a sandwich bag around the kitchen paper and the bottom of the stems. This will stop the water from leaking all over the rest of your box. (You can also add kitchen foil wrapped around the kitchen paper before putting them in the sandwich bag as a bit of extra protection if you’d like.)

  • Use an elastic band to secure the plastic bag in place.

Cardboard box with bouquet of purple and white roses wrapped in newspaper

Step 6: Place in box

  • Put the bouquet carefully into the cardboard vase. It should fit quite snugly and not move around too much. Put some more newspaper in the vase if your bouquet is too wobbly.

Open cardboard box with newspaper packing around flowers

Step 7: Pack out the box

  • Pack some more newspaper loosely around the sides and top of the bouquet.

  • DO NOT USE CLING FILM AROUND FLOWER HEADS/ BUBBLE WRAP OR ANY PLASTIC PROUCT TO PAD OUT THE BOX.

Open cardboard box with crumpled newspaper and a pink information card on top.

Step 8: Leave your details

  • Please ensure there is a note inside on top of your flowers clearly stating your name and contact details as well as the date of the event. Please remove any charms or ribbon you would like to keep. I can not be held responsible for any sentimental items and I’m unfortunately unable to include them in the preservation.

Cardboard box with 'Fresh Flowers' handwritten and 'Fragile' label on a carpeted floor.

Step 9: Seal the box

  • Post to: Petals Preserved, 84 Runnymede Road, Ponteland, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE20 9HH

    Please send me an email with the tracking info on the day of posting so I can make sure I'm available the following day for delivery - petalspreservedwithlove@gmail.com. If I do not recieve this I can not guarantee I will be available for your flower delivery.

Royal Mail Special Delivery advertisement with a logo, stating "Guaranteed by 1pm next-day" with a brick wall background.

Step 10: Take to Post Office or Book a FREE collection (at least one day prior to posting)

Please use - Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed by 1pm

The safest way to send your flowers is to take them to your local post office before 3:00 pm, or at least an hour before it closes, and choose the Royal Mail Special Delivery Guarenteed by 1pm service. This helps keep your flowers fresh and reduces their time out of water.

Make sure to book at least one day before sending. If you're unsure about size and weight, choose medium parcel up to 5kg and that will be more than adaquate.

Stack of labeled cardboard boxes with "Fragile" and "Fresh Flowers" markings in a tiled room, near a wicker basket.

Step 11: Send Tracking Info

** MOST IMPORTANT STEP**

Please send me an email with the tracking info on the day of posting so I can make sure I'm available the following day for delivery - petalspreservedwithlove@gmail.com. If I do not recieve this I can not guarantee I will be available for your flower delivery the following day.

A quick photo of the postage receipt is fine.

"Thank You for Supporting My Small Business" text with pink and gold watercolor background.

Step 12: Delivery Confirmation & Updates

Please use your tracking info to confirm if your flowers have been delivered rather than emailing. As long as you have sent me the tracking info to confirm you’ve posted them, you can assume they have arrived safely unless I get in touch with an issue. I’m usually very busy with your orders - drying flowers in silicia, taking flowers out of silica, photographing them, creating designs, mixing and pouring resin, sanding pieces, top coating, more sanding and polishing, photographing finished items and packaging/posting orders… I am also Petals Preserved administrator, stock and supply coordinator, customer services, bookkeeper, marketing and social media manager and most importantly a wife and mum to 2 small people. As a small business (just little old me) it can be tricky to juggle. I will try to keep you updated in the process as much as I can but if I’m not able get back to you straight away, please understand :)

Ideas for packaging flowers securely

Open cardboard box containing flowers and newspaper
Arrangement of pastel flowers including pink orchids, orange blossoms, and baby's breath in a white plastic container on a countertop.
Hand holding a bouquet of mixed flowers including purple orchids, pink roses, and orange blooms, wrapped in blue plastic.
A hand holding a bouquet of flowers wrapped in brown paper and foil, featuring pink and purple orchids and roses.
Bouquet of flowers including pink roses and white buds in a cardboard vase inside a partially open cardboard box on a marble surface.
Cardboard box containing a bouquet of mixed flowers with roses and greenery on top of a layer of packing material.

So you’ve sent (or about to send) your flowers – what to expect next….

Please take the time to read the order stages of the flower preservation process so you understand what to expect next. If you have any questions or wondering when to expect updates this guide will help answer those and save emailing.