Roots

I’m Jessica Allen, and I own and operate Atlanta Flower Press. My business is just me, which means I’m the only person drying your flowers, color correcting them, designing your frames, emailing you, and packing and shipping your orders. I value keeping my business small, so I limit the number of orders I take on to ensure that I can provide an individualized experience for each customer. Quality is extremely important to me, and I’m always willing to go the extra mile to make sure your flowers are prioritized and cared for while they’re in my hands.

I am the luckiest mom to two sweet little girls, and a wife to Alex, the most supportive and kind husband I could ask for. He’s always willing to troubleshoot and listen when I need to clear my head. We got married in 2019, and I preserved my own wedding bouquet (visible peeking from behind me in the photos above). I practiced flower preservation with clearance grocery store bouquets and foraged wildflowers, and slowly gained the confidence to preserve the wedding bouquets of brides across the United States. Prior to bouquet preservation, I was a pediatric operating room nurse for 9 years, and I think of my sweet patients often. I love to do crafts, thrift, paint, play outside, and read. I even tend to my own cut-flower garden, and I love trying my hand at making arrangements.

Flower preservation is my dream job. It’s creative and challenging, and I love helping people remember their wedding days and loved ones. I’m incredibly thankful for each and every Atlanta Flower Press customer, and I can’t believe I have the honor of being trusted with such sentimental, special memories.

Pressing and Framing

The Process:

1. Message me via email prior to purchasing to reserve your date and inquire about availability.

2. Ship me your flowers! Detailed instructions on how and where to ship them will be sent to you once your reservation is made. I will also send a link to an information sheet that should be printed and included in the box with the flowers.

3. I will message you to let you know when your flowers arrive safely. They will dry over 8-10 weeks on my flower press, and I will watch over them carefully to make sure you get a wonderful preservation result.

4. Once your flowers are completely dry, I will arrange them in the frame! Each bouquet is unique, so you will have a completely original piece of art to hang in your home! 16x20 and 18x24 inch customers will always receive photos of the layout prior to framing for approval.

5. I will ship your frame to you once it is finished. I use USPS, and I will send you the tracking info once your preserved flowers are in the mail.

The Frame:

The solid wood frames are a classic option that have a timeless style, and they’re made in the USA. They are double floating glass panes and are about 1.5 inches deep so that the natural textures of your bouquet will stand out.

I make each metal frame by hand! They consist of two panels of glass, solder, and jute string to hang it with. I cut the glass panels to size myself and hand-solder the edges together, sealing in your bouquet to protect the flowers for years to come.

The Flowers:

-Each bouquet is unique, so the frame arrangement will be unique as well. You will select a general design for your frame, but every frame will look a little different. I will arrange your bouquet in a way that artistically flatters your flowers.

-I can use fresh or dried flowers. Fresh flowers must arrive within 1 week of the wedding day. Once the flowers age, the risk of mold and browning increases, so the fresher they are, the better the result typically. Dried flower bouquets will be arranged in a wood shadow box frame of your choosing.

-The amount of flowers I can include in the frame depends on the size/number of the frames you choose as well as the quality of flowers. I only frame the best results of the flowers once they are pressed to preserve the quality of the overall aesthetic of the finished product.

-I can frame fully or partially faux bouquets in my wood shadow box frames as well!

- I cannot preserve succulents. They hold too much water to dry out without molding/browning.

-Certain flowers are too thick to frame whole (example: pinecones, proteas, sunflowers etc). I can deconstruct some things and rebuild them more flat for the frame, and other flowers I will have to exclude from the frame. Just send a message and ask if you are concerned! Most of the time I will find a way to include them.

-I offer color natural correction as a standard, so if you would like natural flowers, just let me know! Color correction protects the flowers from fading and yellowing over time. The colors of natural flowers change as they dry. White flowers turn creamy, brown, or yellow, purples darken and may brown, pink flowers lighten and may turn yellow, reds turn darker/maroon, oranges hold their colors well, blues may darken some but keep their color, yellows hold their color really well but may darken slightly, and greenery keeps it’s color and may darken. All flowers will fade slightly as time passes due to the nature of working with real flowers, but I use a UV spray for ultimate color hold.

“Love is the flower you’ve got to let grow.”

- John Lennon