We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Marie-Pierre Sander a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Marie-Pierre, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I learned flower pressing by going in all in! I joined every group I could find, signed up for classes, and connected with some amazing experts who were so generous with their knowledge. Then came the real work—practicing nonstop and learning through plenty of trial and error. Flower pressing takes a ton of patience and a little bit of magic. There are no shortcuts; every step is important, and each flower has its own unique way of being pressed. Every success and all the disasters taught me something valuable. I learn something new with every bouquet I work on. Then came the framing part of the process. That’s when I realized I wanted my frames to be truly unique—crafted from scratch, right here on our amazing island. The thought of ordering mass-produced frames online or using ones made overseas made me cringe. Most of my couples make Key West their destination wedding spot, hiring local vendors and creating memories with florals all designed right here. It became my mission to honor their story by keeping everything local, right down to the frames. That’s when I connected with a local framer, Art Warehouse. I brought in one of my pieces, shared my vision, and the rest is history. Now, every framed bouquet is as unique as the story behind it.

Marie-Pierre, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m Marie-Pierre, and my journey into bridal bouquet preservation has been quite the adventure! Originally from France, I moved to the U.S. at 19, fulfilling a lifelong dream of living in this amazing country. Within five years, I was a hairstylist, and soon after, I’d opened my first salon. Fast forward 16 years—I was married, had welcomed my first baby girl, and felt it was time for a new chapter. My family and I moved to Key West, where my love for weddings really blossomed, inspiring me to open a bridal beauty-focused salon.

As I worked with brides, I kept hearing the same concern: “Why isn’t there anyone in Key West who preserves bouquets?” Brides wanted to save these cherished florals but the whole shipping process was a hassle: complicated, costly, and stressful. That question stuck with me, and around that time, I’d been experimenting with creating geode art using epoxy. It sparked an idea—what if I could preserve flowers, too? That was all it took to set me on this new path. I jump right in, signed up for pressing classes, and spent days completely immersed in flower preservation techniques. I fell in love with the craft instantly.

Back in Key West, I was determined to make this dream a reality, but the process was anything but easy. For months, I experimented with traditional pressing methods, only to face one frustration after another. Pressing flowers between paper often gave inconsistent results—some molded because of their high moisture content, and tropical flowers were especially tricky due to their extreme water content and bulky shapes. I’m a perfectionist, I wanted each flower’s shape and color to stay as close to its fresh look as possible. The limitations had me so frustrated and I kept thinking to myself “There has to be a better way!”

The Universe has a funny way of stepping in at just the right moment. That’s when I met Rich, botanical freeze-drying expert who introduced me to sublimation—a process that removes moisture from flowers while preserving their color and shape. I was blown away and thought, “What if I could combine freeze-drying with pressing?” And here’s where the “go big or go home” part of me kicked in. I took the plunge, invested in an industrial freeze dryer, and designed my own custom presses to achieve a beautifully pressed look with all the vibrancy and structure intact.

Every preserved bloom and piece of greenery carries its own energy. Each bouquet I work on becomes a piece of art, celebrating one of the most unforgettable days in my clients’ lives—something as unique as their story. I love having the opportunity to immortalize these cherished moments in a meaningful way, helping couples hold onto their beautiful memories for a lifetime.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

After deciding to add bouquet preservation to my bridal beauty services in Key West, I poured myself into learning everything I could about the craft. I trained with an expert, experimented with traditional flower pressing, and even invested in a freeze-drying machine to get the quality I wanted. However, it wasn’t as easy as I’d envisioned.

At first, I faced a lot of unexpected challenges with traditional pressing methods. Some flowers didn’t retain their shape or color as I’d hoped, which was frustrating as a perfectionist and as someone who wanted the best for my clients. I spent countless hours refining my process, often feeling like I was going in circles. It was tough—I was building something brand new, with few resources in Key West for this kind of specialized work.

Eventually, I came across an expert in botanical freeze-drying who introduced me to the sublimation technique. I knew this was a huge leap forward, but it meant a major investment in new equipment, and it wasn’t a guaranteed success. Still, I felt this was the way to create something truly unique for my clients, so I took the risk. From that point on, I experimented endlessly, combining freeze-drying with custom presses I built myself to achieve the look I was going for.

Looking back, the resilience to keep pushing through those setbacks and self-doubts was essential. This journey taught me that sometimes the path to achieving our vision is longer and more challenging than we anticipate, but if we stay dedicated, the results are absolutely worth it.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Absolutely—my mission is to preserve memories in a way that respects the beauty and the energy of each bouquet. Flowers from a wedding day hold so much sentiment; they’re not just decorations but symbols of love, joy, and promises. It’s a whole story. When brides entrust me with their bouquets, I see it as my job to keep that moment alive for them, capturing it in a form they can cherish forever.

My goal is to make bouquet preservation accessible and stress-free for all our a Key West destination weddings. In the past, many brides found it too complicated or costly to ship their bouquets right after the wedding. I wanted to change that by offering a local, high-quality preservation service here in Key West.

At the heart of my creative journey is a desire to provide something truly meaningful, something that lasts. For me, each preserved bouquet is more than a beautiful piece of art; it’s a way to hold onto memories and emotions that might otherwise fade with time. This keeps me inspired every day, and I feel so grateful to help couples keep these treasured memories close for a lifetime.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.pressedbloom.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pressedbloomkw/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100095495416457
• Other: Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pressed.bloom

Image Credits

Iris Moore Photography