Wedding Bouquet Preservation in the UK: Compare Intake Deadlines, Proofs and Framing

Compare the flower-receipt plan, design workflow and complete frame specification before choosing a preservation service. Divinity Florals and Smart Floral both publish process details, but their payment and design arrangements differ. [1][5] Ask for a written quote tied to your bouquet and chosen frame.

Divinity Florals vs Smart Floral: three deciding commitments

Divinity Florals

• Intake: Divinity prefers to receive flowers within 1–3 days of the wedding. Drop-off is at its home studio in Frome, Somerset—not London, despite the page’s London wording—or you can request posting instructions. The service is UK-only. [1]
• Design approval: After pressing, Divinity confirms framing and composition preferences and sends a proposal for approval before attaching the flowers to their backing. [1]
• Finished frame: Custom sizes and finishes are available. Divinity specifies double-glazed frames using Tru Vue conservation-grade glass with stated 99% UV filtration. [1]

Smart Floral

• Intake: Smart Floral’s terms require flowers to arrive within four days of the wedding; later arrival may prevent completion. [5] Booking instructions cover posting or arranged drop-off. [2]
• Design workflow: After the final invoice is paid, Smart Floral sends an example layout and accepts alteration requests; charges may follow three substantial redesigns, excluding minor tweaks. [5]
• Finished frame: Its preservation package includes a finished frame and fully insured return postage. [2]

Smart Floral’s price list specifies acrylic frames, either rimless or with a wooden surround. [3] Compare the quoted frame’s dimensions, glazing and backing with Divinity’s specification rather than assuming that two framed-bouquet offers are equivalent.

Reserve before the wedding and plan for receipt

Work backwards from when the bouquet will reach the studio, not when it will be posted. Divinity requests a £100 deposit to secure a booking; its preferred 1–3-day receipt window is not presented as a guaranteed acceptance cutoff. [1]

Smart Floral sends its packing and posting guidance after booking. It instructs customers to select Tracked24 postage at checkout; if insufficient postage is purchased, it issues an additional invoice for the balance. [2]

Before committing, agree the practical arrangements:

• Receipt: confirm availability, the arrival date, receiving address and weekend or bank-holiday arrangements.
• Handover: obtain flower-care and packing instructions, nominate whoever will dispatch or drop off the bouquet, and check the delivery service against the agreed date.
• Responsibility: establish who buys and arranges bouquet transport and what happens if flowers arrive damaged.

Smart Floral’s included insurance concerns return postage of the finished frame; do not assume it covers the incoming bouquet. [2] If the wedding has already happened, confirm acceptance and flower suitability before sending rather than applying Divinity’s preferred window to another service.

Compare the same frame specification and total price

Smart Floral’s product page displays £300, a frame-size selector and insured return postage. [2] Its 2026 price list distinguishes a plain 26x26cm rimless frame at £300 from a plain 60x40cm rimless frame at £425, or £480 with etching; VAT is included and wall fixtures cost extra. [3] Confirm the selected option and whether its written quote includes return delivery.

Divinity’s price list gives Matt Black, Matt White or Ash bouquet frames at £280 small, £325 medium and £375 large, with pressing, design and framing included. [4] Its £100 booking deposit is part of the payment arrangement, not an alternative package price. [1] Compare matching dimensions and finishes before comparing totals.

Divinity charges a small, unspecified printing fee for photographs, vows or invitations. Its finished frames travel by next-day signed-for courier on a pre-agreed day. [1] Ask whether that delivery is included in the quote.

Request an itemised total covering the frame, preservation and design work, printing, agreed extras and transport. Check VAT status, how the deposit is treated and the remaining balance. Neither headline figure establishes which service is cheaper: compare written totals for the same requirements. [1][2]

Agree the design before flowers are fixed

Divinity traditionally presses flowers without chemicals, using specialist papers. It warns that colour and shape change and not every flower presses successfully. [1] The finished arrangement should therefore be judged against an agreed preserved-flower design, rather than an expectation of an unchanged fresh bouquet.

Customers can specify a layout or approve one supplied by the studio. Following approval, the flowers are attached petal by petal to glass or paper backing and framed; the final invoice is sent upon approval. [1]

Smart Floral publishes a layout-and-alteration process, so do not treat design review as absent. [5] Ask it to confirm when final approval happens relative to fixing the flowers. With either provider, record the agreed design, payment point and treatment of unsuitable blooms, substitutions and unused flowers.

Separate pressing time from the dispatch commitment

Divinity quotes approximately 6–8 weeks for pressing and approximately 24 weeks “from pressing to final framing & dispatch”. [1] Do not add those figures together or treat them as a complete receipt-to-delivery promise: the wording does not establish that deadline. [1]

Smart Floral’s terms estimate approximately three to four months from flower delivery, with possible delays if replacement flowers are needed. [5] Obtain a written expected dispatch window from either provider if the frame is needed for a particular date.

Specify the frame and confirm the remaining terms

Divinity offers handmade frames using FSC-certified Italian mouldings, with solid-wood choices rather than veneer. Photos, vows and invitations can be included, subject to the printing fee where needed. [1] For Smart Floral, request the bouquet package’s specification rather than relying on its separate small floral-product listings. [2]

Record the external dimensions, usable display area, orientation, backing, moulding finish and glazing alongside the approved layout.

What to confirm with each provider

Smart Floral’s deposit figures conflict: its 2026 price list says £180 non-refundable, while its terms say £120 credited against the final order. [3][5] Obtain written confirmation of the amount and terms applicable to your booking.

Smart Floral’s terms retain the deposit after event cancellation; cancellation after the final invoice permits a 40% refund of order value excluding the deposit. They offer no lifespan warranty and require written notice of return-transit damage within one day of receipt, with remedies assessed individually. [5] Ask for current contract terms and clarification before paying. Obtain Divinity’s current cancellation, refund, warranty and defect-reporting terms as well.

• Acceptance: the agreed receipt date and condition requirements, plus Smart Floral’s coverage for the delivery address.
• Design: the point of final approval, any additional revision charges and both providers’ treatment of unsuitable or unused flowers.
• Payment: the full total, deposit treatment, payment dates and cancellation or refund conditions.
• Delivery: dispatch expectations, bouquet-transit responsibility and the cost and insurance for each journey.
• Aftercare: inspection deadlines, damage reporting, warranty or remake terms and display instructions.

Check the arrangement and follow its care instructions

On arrival, compare the arrangement with the approved proof and written frame specification; photograph damage and contact the provider promptly.

Divinity emails care and hanging instructions after dispatch. [1] Request equivalent instructions from Smart Floral before delivery.

Preservation is not a promise of unchanged colour: Divinity acknowledges colour and shape changes, and its UV-filtering glass does not establish permanent colour retention. [1] Smart Floral’s “forever” wording is marketing, not independent durability evidence. [2]

Both providers publish design arrangements. [1][5] Choose using the confirmed receipt date, payment and approval sequence, frame specification, delivery terms and complete written total. Resolve conflicting terms before reserving your bouquet’s place.

References

1. Bridal Bouquet Floral Preservation | Divinity Florals | London (divinityflorals.co.uk)
2. Buy Wedding Bouquet Flower Preservation Service | Smart Floral (smartfloralart.co.uk)
3. Wedding Flower Preservation Price List 2026 (smartfloralart.co.uk)
4. Pricing | Divinity Florals (divinityflorals.co.uk, 2026)
5. Terms and Conditions — Smart Floral Art (smartfloralart.co.uk)