Advice on how to resuse, recycle and donate wedding flowers after the big day. A lot of resources are required for a country wedding to run smoothly, and they have the potential to create a large amount of waste and pollution – including food waste, plastic packaging, confetti, single-use utensils, air miles and leftover wedding flowers. There's nothing more beautiful than a decadent display of wedding flowers arranged carefully by a local florist. But the question many brides face after their big day is what to do with the wedding flowers once it's all over... Whether you decide to donate them or use them in craft projects, there are plenty of ways you can reuse your wedding flowers.

"Be prepared! Reuse flowers from arrangements by transferring to jars and giving to friends and family. Or, if you’re London-based, contact the voluntary organisation, Floral Angels and the team will recycle your event flowers and give to those in need in the community. Having worked with and donated to Floral Angels, I can really recommend getting them involved," Miranda Hackett, Devon-based florist, tells Country Living.

You can also...

• Collect the flowers from table centrepieces and make them into a beautiful wreath for your front door

• Create bunches to give to guests or staff helping out as they leave

• Dry out the flower heads to create sweet-smelling potpourri for your home

• Ask friends to deliver them to local hospitals, hospices or care home – just be sure to contact them first to ask if they would like them

• Use a clear epoxy resin to preserve them in decorative shapes

• Hang the flowers upside down to dry and preserve them — they'll look pretty decorated around your home

• Have some of the flowers pressed and preserved in a book