THE PROCESS

Step 1 – Browse & Reserve Your Date

Firstly please do take some time to browse through my work, this can be found on my Instagram/Facebook pages and please navigate my website reading through my FAQ’s, T’s & C’s and browsing my product/price list.

Once you believe that I am the preservation artist for you, please head to the “Reserve Your Date” page and let’s get you booked in.
Please select your actual wedding date. If you cannot select your date this will be because either I’m fully booked or I have booked that time off for a specific reason.
You will then be asked to read through my T’s & C’s and tick a box to confirm this before you can continue.
Please Note this is very important – I’m very transparent regarding the process and what can happen so if you are looking for perfection Flower preservation is not for you… Preserving anything is what I like to call “Perfectly Imperfect”
If you are ok with this and are happy to proceed, simply complete your booking with the non-refundable deposit, and I will be in touch close to your wedding date.

Step 2 – Instructions

4 weeks before your special day you will receive a detailed email from me with packing instructions along with my postal address and any other information you may need. Please do check your junk email as unlike most vendors, most communication from me will happen after your wedding so I would hate for you to miss any updates.
This is also the time where I will need to know a list of items you would like me to create and I will advise how many flowers I will need for these.
Please note I do not dry all of your flowers, I only dry enough to cover your order plus a few extra just in case.

Step 3 – Receiving Your flowers & Updates

Once I have received your flowers I will revive them for a few hours in water containing flower food before being put to dry.
I will then start cutting the flowers and arranging them before placing in silica gel. Depending on what flowers you have they can take anywhere from 10 days, to 4 weeks to dry and once they are dry, I will take photos and either send them via email or tag you on social media where applicable.
After this stage is complete you will then be placed in a queue, the length of this will be dependent on my workload at the time. Do not worry they will be well looked after until the next stage is ready to be started.

You will receive emails at various stages of the process keeping you informed, these are stated below ;
Flowers Received
Flowers Prepared
Orders Started
Order Complete
If you do not hear anything from me between the above stages it’s simply because I do not have an update for you and I’m busy creating orders. I wish I could contact everyone individually but that’s just not possible.

Step 4 – Payment / Invoicing

As above, once your flowers have completed the drying process you will be sent pictures / tagged on social media posts and your final invoice will be sent where you will be given 2 weeks to pay. If your invoice becomes overdue, after the 2 week timeframe you will receive two automated invoice reminders. I will follow up with a third reminder manually. The fourth communication will be a cancellation of your order, to let you know your flowers will be disposed of if payment has not been made.

I will send your final invoice via email to the address provided at booking (so please ensure this is entered correctly) 

Payments can be made securely via bank transfer (bank details will be on your invoice) and please note that work will not commence until full payment is received.

**If you decide not to go ahead with your order after paying your final invoice you will only receive a refund for 40% of your total order value back, this is excluding your deposit amount

Flower Preservation is a long and very delicate process with lots of moving parts so please allow up to 6-12 months (sometimes longer) from your flowers being dried for your order to potentially be started. This does not mean your order will take that long and I will always do my best to send them sooner, however it is not always possible during busy periods. Sometimes, due to circumstances beyond my control this time-frame could be extended several times. 

It’s difficult to put a timescale on creating such beautiful pieces, I only get your flowers for a few months, but you will get to keep them forever.

Please do not panic when you see an order created where the wedding was after yours. This is simply because either your invoice has not been settled, I’m waiting for moulds to be freed or I’m being as efficient as possible and fitting as many orders on my table as I can.

Step 5 – Creating & Finishing Touches

I will start by preparing flowers, this includes flowers for frames and placement in blocks. This is a part of the business you don’t see and is very time consuming. Resin is then poured in layers every 24-36 hours (depending on the type of resin used for your order) and can take up to a couple of weeks depending on the items.

Once the items are fully cured these can then be demoulded (my favourite part)
It is then at this time that I will see what extra finishing touches each piece needs.
Some will need their shiny topcoats adding, some will need sanding and some will need a lot of love and attention. These factors are the reason that time frames will no longer be given and if they are they are only an estimate. I will give each piece all of the love and attention it deserves to ensure quality is not compromised and the pressure of deadlines/timescales are when things can go wrong.
Please note, these steps do not always go to plan the first time and may need to be repeated several times, which can increase the time to complete your order.

I love working with your flowers and strive for handmade perfection… I wouldn’t send anything out that I wouldn’t want to receive myself.

Step 6 – Completion of Your Order

When I am happy that your order is complete I will treat it to a little photoshoot and send you pictures for approval along with an email for you to confirm your delivery address.

Once I have heard from you I will then package your beautiful items and post them as soon as possible.
Orders are posted in bulk and you will be provided a tracking number so you know when to expect it.

Then all you have to do is find your items, their perfect spots so you can enjoy the reminder of your special day.

Step 7 – Extra Info

Please be aware that currently I run all aspects of the business myself with no help.
I am Doodlebug Designs Photographer, Receptionist, Administrator, Accountant, Material Coordinator, Customer Service Operative, Finance Manager, Sander, Designer, Resin Mixer/Pourer, Silica Dryer and most importantly a wife and mum. These are all jobs that you don’t see via social media but are very much being done on a daily basis. I am hoping that in the future I will be able to hire someone to help but I’m just not at that stage yet.

Amongst all the above steps please remember that I am a small business. I am not a big corporation, I am human and I make mistakes like everyone else.