When and Where to Use Real and Fake Flowers in Your Wedding

Lazy Daisy - Pinterest

Brides on a budget are often confronted with this very dilemma: When and where is it appropriate to use fake or real flowers? Most brides looking to save money immediately think of using silks from the craft store for everything from bouquets to centerpieces. But, even when Hobby Lobby has their flowers half-off, their nicer roses are still $4-5 a piece and their premium "bunches" can still be $7-$10 each - even on sale.

Despite the fact that you would likely be separating the bunches to make 2-3 arrangements, it is easy to underestimate how many you will really need to make what you want. Also do not forget that you will have to buy a TON of florist tape and additional stems to make sure every piece is of equal length. I make wreaths as a hobby so I know how costly and time consuming it can be to make one. Realistically, I think making a centerpiece would cost just about the same as making a nice door wreath. I would guess on average each centerpiece would cost $30-60 to make. The last time I made wreaths, I made 5 for around $300 as an example.

Save on Crafts

DO NOT forget the extras you will need as well. You will need vases. If they are clear you will probably want vase filler because the stems of fake flowers almost never match and they look really fake even if the flowers look quite real. You will also probably need something weighted like stones for use in vases that are light weight (like galvanized aluminum) because fake flowers can be very top-heavy and will easily tip over. You could also get really fancy and put candles and things in with the flowers - which is an added expense to keep in mind. 

Also remember anything else you will be using along WITH your vases and flowers such as chargers, a table number, votive candles, bottles, pictures, and so on. Also keep a mental note or do a mock up at home at how much space all of this will really take up. It would be a shame to go all out and make a wide-topped arrangement only to find later you have no room or place for the table number or the table becomes too crowded with "stuff" in the middle.  
 

Hobby Lobby Tutorial

You might also need ribbon and pins to wrap the stems to keep them in a true "bunch". If you are using silk flowers for bridal and bridesmaids bouquets they will also need to be wrapped or painstakingly arranged into a nosegay to prevent them from falling apart. I found the Spring Sophistication pamphlet at my local Hobby Lobby (if you click on the link it has a very helpful image tutorial) that showed how to make a proper bridal bouquet - it is much more difficult and time consuming than you might think. 

Another thing that is a "peeve" of mine about fake flowers is that the heads can just fall off the stem. I also really get upset if I get a pre-made "bunch" and it has those weird Styrofoam balls that end up falling everywhere and making a mess. The last thing you want is for you to head down the aisle and a fake rose falls from your bouquet. From afar no one will be able to likely notice if your flowers are real or fake, but to have a silk flower head fall off mid aisle is pretty much a dead giveaway.

Adventures in Dressmaking

Do not forget you will also need boutonnieres for the groomsmen, fathers, and grandfathers of the bride and groom, corsages for the mothers and grandmothers, and something for a flower girl in addition to the bridal and attendants bouquets. You might also need flowers for your bridesmaids hair! And you cannot just stop at centerpieces for dining tables. You will need arraignments for a gift table, cake table, snack/treats table, pew/aisle, aisle end, altar or head pillars, arches, etc. Basically, if you just go to Pinterest and look at some really extravagant weddings, you can see just how out of hand the flower part of a wedding can become.

Ali Express (Alibaba)

Always remember, your time is in fact worth something as well. You might think you are saving money by making many trips to the craft stores and holing up in your house for several back to back weekends making flower arraignments, but your time is worth something. Furthermore, say you do go ahead and make 25 centerpieces, 10 bouquets, 5 corsages, and 10 boutonnieres, where are you going to store all this? Keep in mind you cannot lay faux flower arraignments down on their sides or stack on top of each other because they will smash down and look horrible (fake hydrangeas smash very easily). You get into the same dilemma if you order really cheap fake flowers from shops online like Alibaba because they will come smashed and crumpled and look really fake and cheap.

Hand Tied Memories

 Ultimately, cost is going to be the primary determining factor in deciding whether to use real or fake flowers. I was dead set on using fake flowers for every aspect of my wedding to save money. But, when it did occur to me that if I had 20 tables that needed decorating, I would not have any place to store the arraignments once they were made. Furthermore, if each centerpiece cost $50 to make, that would be over $1000 for fake table decorations. After I discovered how reasonable some of the local florists could do arrangements ($35-$50) it suddenly did not seem as worth it to me to go to the trouble of buying and storing all these supplies.

After thinking about it for a while and comparing prices of real versus fake flowers and arraignments, this is what I concluded:

Hand Tied Memories

Bouquets: REAL!

After comparing prices between buying materials myself, the time it would take me to make them, and storage I decided I want real flowers for my bouquet and my attendants. Having only 3 bridesmaids will keep this cost very reasonable. I am also still debating making a brooch bouquet for myself to walk down the aisle with. These are extremely heavy however - and you will still need something to throw if you are going to do a bouquet toss. Brooch bouquets are amazing to use for photos and to display in your home after your wedding. But, I still would plan on having an additional bouquet since brooch bouquets can be so heavy, cumbersome, and fragile in some instances.

Red Heart Creations - Etsy

Boutonnieres: FAKE!

Buying real boutonnieres is a total waste of money in my opinion. Not only do the guys not care at all what is pinned on their lapel, but no one will pay any attention to them - unless of course you get crafty and make some really cool ones! There are gobs of tutorials available on Google or you can get them cheap from Etsy sellers if you are not very crafty. I also have seen first hand the issues with wilting that comes with boutonnieres. 

If it it hot and humid out, daisies and asters will wilt in 45 minutes and look like a blob. After about 3 hours of body heat, roses and tulips can start to open up and lose petals. I attended one wedding where the bride had about 10 boutonnieres made from small Gerbera daisies - they did not even make it to after ceremony photos without falling apart. Luckily, the fake Gerbera daisies on the market today are incredibly realistic and can be substituted and no one would be any the wiser!

Wedding Decors

Chair, Arch, & Aisle Decorations: FAKE!

It really does not make much sense to fork over a gob of cash for real flowers to use for the arch and aisle if they will only be visible for the duration of your ceremony. Furthermore, guests will likely never get close enough to the arch to tell the difference nor remember if the aisle flowers were real or fake after the fact. If you are having your ceremony and reception at the same place, you can have an usher bring the arrangements into your reception area after the ceremony for additional decorations as well. 

I have also seen some photos where brides put single flowers in the centers of chair bows or a sprig of lavender. If you are like me and will be making your own chair bows, you really need to go with fake flowers. You can save a lot of money by purchasing some "bunches" of fake flowers and getting 10-20 sprigs from one bunch. 

A Bride Beautiful

Flower Girl Petals: REAL!

For the sake of nature and cleanup - please do NOT use fake flower petals for your flower girl to throw. If you are getting married outside or at a park, fake flower petals are usually banned anyway because they blow away eventually and become trash since they do not bio-degrade. Yes, they make paper/tissue petals that are *supposed* to decompose but they really do not and you cannot use them in parks. Silk or paper petals might work better if you are getting married in a church since they can be swept up for disposal, but check with the rector to make sure before you buy one or the other.

Depending on where you get your flowers, rose petals can either be somewhat pricey - or really cheap. If your local grocery store has a floral department, sometimes they will just give you left over petals for free if you call them ahead of time. If you use a florist for your center pieces, often they will give you all the extra petals removed from your arrangements. Also, you do NOT have to use rose petals...  If you are getting married in the fall you can have your flower girls throw autumn leaves from your yard, or they can toss fern fronds, daisy petals, shamrocks, etc.

Oh Joy

Hair Up-Do Flowers: FAKE! 

If you want your bridesmaids to have flowers in their hair, fake flowers are much easier to work with. Silk flowers will not wilt or lose moisture. If it is humid out, real flowers will eventually wilt and begin to fall apart. This is not so much an issue if you just want something like Baby's Breath, but lilies, daisies, and other delicate flowers might be an issue. You also do not have any issues with accidental stem breakage when using fake flowers. I have only been to one wedding where the bride had real flowers in her hair. They looked gorgeous, but the stamens of the lilies got yellow stuff all over the shoulder of her dress and she could not wait until the ceremony was over to get them out of her hair because they itched so bad.

Weddinggomania

Centerpieces: BOTH!

Brides have become extremely creative with centerpieces in recent years. Some are opting not to even use flowers at all - floating candles, twigs, feathers, pine cones, stones, etc. There are SO many options now, brides should not feel compelled to use ONLY real flowers for centerpieces. What I think I will do is use a combination of fake roses (with burlap and glitter), real accent flowers, real greenery, and preserved sticks for my center pieces. My arrangements will not be tall, so that helps keep things simple. I will also probably use single stem flowers in bottles around the cake table and at the head table. Going all out with massive centerpieces made from real flowers can set you back $100 a piece. By using cheap fillers like twigs or Baby's Breath mixed in with a few real flowers can make them very budget friendly.

Brocade Designs

Corsages: REAL!

Not all brides do this, but I think it is extremely important to make sure you have lovely corsages for the mothers and grandmothers in attendance at your wedding. Do not skimp and just do a single rosette either - they should look much more substantial than boutonnieres. Trust me, your mother-in-law will remember her corsage, especially if it is quite nice! If you make your own boutonnieres, you will have quite a savings there to splurge a bit more on corsages if need be.