I had the pleasure of sitting down with one of our lovely brides, Andrea Cole, to talk about her floral preservation business and the meaning behind the work she does. Andrea is the Founder, Design Director, and Lead Visionary of Designs By Andrea. She embarked on her journey of flower preservation after receiving a stunning bouquet of flowers for Valentine’s Day in 2016 from her now-husband, Justin. Her passion for pressing and preserving flowers led her to hone her craft over the years. Today, Andrea leads the DBA team, working together to offer the best flower preservation service in the world. Follow along to hear more about her stunning creations as you get to know Andrea!
Why do you recommend brides and MOB to preserve their wedding bouquets/flowers?
Aside from the cherished union with your spouse, there are only a handful of tangible keepsakes that will continue to bring back the joy of your wedding day. Among them are your rings and your photographs, and just as precious—your preserved flowers. These flowers are the ones that you carefully selected, that you held in your hands as you walked towards your future. Just as you wear your ring every day and smile at your wedding photos, your preserved flowers serve as a constant, beautiful reminder of one of the most heartfelt moments of your life.
What kinds of preservations do you offer?
We offer a variety of unique preservation options designed to capture and showcase the beauty of your memories in a lasting and artistic way.
One of the classic choices is our pressed preservation framed under glass. You can choose between traditional matting or double matting, which gives a layered and elegant look to your pressed items. For a more modern and striking presentation, we offer floating frames where the item is sandwiched between two pieces of glass, creating an effect as if it’s levitating within the frame. This method truly highlights the intricate details of your keepsakes.
In addition to our framing options, we also craft floral blocks. These are stunning resin pieces that encapsulate your items within clear resin, ranging from small 4-inch blocks to larger, custom-sized pieces that can even include furniture. The resin perfectly preserves the color and form, making it a popular choice for items that you want to keep untouched and visible from all angles.
Lastly, we’re excited to introduce our newest innovation, the Press-3D™. This method involves using shadow boxes to create a three-dimensional display, reimagining the traditional approach to shadow boxes. This option adds depth to your preserved items, making them pop and giving a dynamic feel to the display.
If you had to pick a favorite, which one would it be and why?
If I had to choose a favorite among all the beautiful preservation options we offer, my heart leans towards the pressed pieces in a classic frame. There’s something profoundly artistic about these pieces that truly transforms them into the centerpiece of any room. Imagine a large, elegantly framed display that not only captures the essence of a special moment but also complements and enhances the style and décor of the space it inhabits. The possibilities for customization are virtually limitless, allowing each piece to be uniquely tailored to reflect personal tastes and interior designs.
What sets you apart from others?
At DBAndrea, what truly sets us apart in the world of flower preservation is not just our portfolio and experience, but the depth of care, craftsmanship, and customization we bring to every piece we create.
With over 30 years of combined experience, our team has served more than 5,500 clients, crafting over 25,000 individual pieces that each tell a unique story. What makes each of these pieces truly special is our proprietary Flower Restoration™ process, a meticulous 200-step procedure designed to restore and maintain the natural shapes and colors of each bloom. This intricate process ensures that the flowers look as vibrant and fresh as they did on the day they were picked, with added measures to prevent fading over time. On average, our dedicated team spends about 30 hours on each piece, pouring their passion and precision into every detail.
Our offerings are vast and varied, with over 50,000 customization options available—making us the market leader in terms of variety. Whether clients are seeking a simple and elegant display or a complex and bespoke piece, our selections are unrivaled.
Behind every preserved flower is our team of 12 full-time specialists. These experts ensure that from the moment a client entrusts us with their blooms, they receive nothing less than exceptional treatment. Each client benefits from our 1:1 white glove service, which includes personalized assistance and consultation throughout the entire preservation process, ensuring their vision is perfectly realized.
Our capabilities are further enhanced by our 6,000 square foot studio, which is not just a workspace but a hub of creativity and innovation. This spacious environment is where ideas blossom into stunning floral artistry.
DBAndrea is not just known locally; our reputation for unmatched quality and craftsmanship extends globally. Our commitment to excellence is why those who choose DBAndrea know they are receiving a product that truly stands apart in the realm of floral preservation.
What are some unique products you offer?
We pride ourselves on our ability to turn the natural beauty of flowers into stunning, personalized works of art. With an expansive selection of 100 product options and over 50,000 customization possibilities, our offerings are designed to cater to a wide range of tastes and styles, ensuring that each client can create a truly unique piece that reflects their personal story and aesthetic.
One of the more unique offerings we have is the de-constructed bouquet. This concept allows clients to take the individual flowers from their bouquet and showcase them as standalone pieces. Each flower can be preserved in its own right, either encased in a sleek resin block or as a delicate pressed piece. These individual presentations can be arranged across a wall or spread out on a bookshelf, transforming them into a dynamic and sprawling exhibit of floral art.
For those looking to make a more dramatic statement, we offer the option to create a set of large pressed pieces designed to be displayed as a gallery wall. This option turns a collection of flowers into a cohesive art installation that serves as a focal point of a room, inviting viewers to engage with each piece’s intricate details and the collective beauty of the display.
We love collaborating with our clients and their planners to brainstorm and bring to life these bigger-than-life ideas. Whether you’re envisioning something bold and avant-garde or subtle and classic, our team at DBAndrea is excited to work with you to create a preservation that not only captures the essence of your flowers but also enhances the space it inhabits. Let’s create something extraordinary together!
Do you work with local and nationwide clients?
Yes! While our studio is located in Dallas, TX, we serve couples across the country. If you’re local to Dallas, you can drop off the flowers or we can coordinate pick up. If you’re anywhere in the USA, care and shipping instructions will be provided after placing your order. Do you have an international wedding? We have also worked with clients across the globe! While there may be shipping restrictions depending on where you’re shipping your flowers from, we’re happy to guide you through the process and your options when it comes to international weddings/events.
Do you only work with wedding flowers?
Nope! While more than 75% of our clients are brides, we work with flowers for any event. From special occasion flowers like anniversaries, birthdays, baby showers, to memorials and more. We also work with air-dried flowers! While the process of working with air-dried flowers is a little different, we encourage you to reach out if you have flowers that are accumulating dust! We are able to restore the colors of your flowers and bring them back to life. Fun fact, the oldest flowers we recently received, restored and preserved were from a 1989 wedding! Don’t have flowers to ship but want to have a real-flower piece of art? We have every flower you can think of in inventory for both types of preservation, pressed and 3D preservation! Let’s work together to create a custom piece of art!
What are some of your most popular items?
Our most popular items are:
Pressed pieces: 20×24 in a double matted frame, as well as our 12×24 duo
Floral Blocks: 14” hex, 9-10” bookends, 8×6 block for single stems
Press-3D™: 16×20 and 20×24
Small add-ons: Ring Diamond ®
What does the preservation process look like for a bride?
Book your preservation by ordering online at www.dbandrea.com. Not sure what to get? Our customer experience team is here to help! You can always call or text us at 833-426-3732.
Ship/drop off your flowers Monday following the wedding (please keep your flowers in water after your event)
Let the preservation begin! You will be contacted with arrival photos as soon as your bouquet gets to our studio and again 2-3 months after we receive your flowers
A 1:1 consultation will take place once the flowers are out of preservation, so that we can go over your selections and create a beautiful piece that matches your style, decor and preferences!
While we recommend booking ahead of time, we do accept last-minute requests. We also recommend getting the flowers to us within 5 days of the event to be able to preserve the essence of the flowers the best as possible, anything older than that will be considered air-dried.
You can always book us with a small piece and upgrade or add-on throughout the preservation process
