It’s almost impossible to host a wedding without feeling a strain on your budget, and it’s particularly hard to order fresh wedding flowers without feeling the pinch. For example, a lovely bouquet of roses, orchids and gardenias runs upwards of $120!
As a result, some brides choose to order silk flowers instead of changing their flower choice or downgrading the size of their bouquet. Not only will they often save money with this option, they can also keep the bouquet long after the ceremony is over. Many silk or velvet bouquets even look quite realistic.
But, then again, they aren’t fresh flowers and they certainly aren’t traditional. What do you think? Do silk wedding flowers make you want to rant or rave?
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October 9th, 2009 at 10:20 am
My bouquet was real, but the flower arrangements for my bridesmaids were fake. We were budget-minded in selecting the flowers and it worked out well.
I don’t think silk flowers take away from the look of the wedding, but I do think a good floral designer should be behind the arrangements whether they’re real or not. Some creative projects shouldn’t be attempted just because you have a Michael’s coupon.
October 9th, 2009 at 11:01 am
I don’t mind silks at all. They can be much easier to work with. The biggest draw back is what to do with the gobs of flowers once you are done with them. That is where a decorator comes in handy. Not only will the arrangements look professionally inspired, but the designer will take the flowers off your hands so you don’t have to worry about decorating your whole house with them.
October 9th, 2009 at 11:03 am
I got married in ‘97 during my vintage, old-becomes-new phase and desperately wanted dried flower bouquets. Well, you can image what a mess real dried flowers would be, so I opted for silk. These flowers were soooo pretty and a lot of people came up to touch them, thinking they were real.
Also, I was able to keep my bouquet fully in-tact and in a shadow box with my personally custom designed invitation (fast forward 10 years and I started my own invitation company).
There is such a variety in florals available that if you pick quality, well-designed pieces and have a great florist, you can accomplish something beautiful, classy, and within a tighter budget!
October 9th, 2009 at 11:26 am
For our daughter’s wedding this past June, we actually used a combination of silk and real and nobody could tell. This was our florist’s suggestion and it allowed us to have all the flowers our daughter wanted and still have rather large and beautiful bouquets.
October 9th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
My first wedding (when I was younger & couldn’t afford much!) was a “destination” wedding in LasVegas. I made my bouquet using silk flowers I found on sale at a craft store! I had to bring everything with me in suitcases… dress, flowers, etc.
Fresh flowers wouldn’t have traveled, and since we were getting into Vegas on Friday night, and getting married the next day, it would have been impossible to locate fresh flowers there.
I’m sure with the right budget anything is possible, but I think silk works… esp. for DIY brides!
October 12th, 2009 at 8:55 pm
i like the idea of silk flowers — at least you can use them after the event!
October 14th, 2009 at 7:19 am
Go real. So worth it. I’m sorry, I will say it: Silk looks and feels cheap. I can spot a silk flower from a mile away.
October 15th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
A friend of mine had silk flowers and I thought they looked very good
October 19th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
Silk flowers are pretty but they are not fragrant like real flowers.
October 27th, 2009 at 9:43 pm
We supply all kinds of silk invitation boxes and customer can order samples of faux silk and real silk to compare quality. Frankly spoken most customers order faux silk (fake silk) as the effect is almost the same. Check out our website handbag-asia.com for more information.
Kind regards!!