Real Flowers vs Fake?

[pinki]

Does anyone here have experience with researching real flowers vs fake for the bouquets and boutonnière''s?

I''m on a pretty small budget and was hoping that I could save money by doing fake flowers, but I''m not sure if this is even a cost savings or if they''ll look to cheesy. I''ve found some neat boutonnière''s on etsy that are only $7.00 each, but I have not had as good of success finding bouquets - they''re still around the $100 mark.

Thoughts?

 

[ChemGeek]

Hello!! I actually was just recently toying with the real vs. fake florals. I took a trip to Michael''s last night actually and bought some stuff to play around with just to see what style and arrangements I wanted and whether or not I would even like what I pictured in my head. Honestly, the flowers I want are about $1.25 per stem by ordering them online vs buying silks. I want peonies and the wedding is in July so I''ve gotten a lot of people telling me "oh you can''t have those in July..." yeah, well watch me!

I found bridesnblooms.com and they have good reviews and won a Bride''s Choice Award recently, and the prices are great!! We are most likely going to be having 20-22 tables, so we need a LOT of flowers!
What kind of flowers are you looking at specifically? That may also help in deciding which type to go with. Also, ordering in bulk online saves a ton vs hiring a florist and having them buy your flowers--it is possible to DIY real floral arrangements!! I am also extremely lucky to have a mom with 10 green thumbs to help out!

If you have a good friend or family member that is good with flowers, you could very well order your own flowers for your bouquet and have someone make it for you to save money.
I''m sure there are a LOT more ideas for flowers, bouquets and boutonnières that I''m not thinking of or other people can think of also, but hopefully this will help a bit! Good luck!!

 

[february2003bride]

I might be wrong, but I think fisherofmengirlie did fake flowers? I'll try to find her thread...

ETA: I found one thread: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/okay-is-this-cute-a-good-idea-horrible.49915/

 

[D&T]

we had real flowers for everyone in our party (just the BMs, GMs, and the parents is all) and really only costed us $200 (yellow roses and calla lilies)... but the rest of our decorations came with the reception center...centerpieces and staircases full of fake. It did not look cheesy at all, at least we didn''t think so. My BIL that recently got married and divorced did fake for everyone, and it was really beautiful (from afar it looked real) think they picked up the supplies at Michaels but they had one for every immediate family member

 

[zoebartlett]

I think you have to be very careful when considering going with artificial flowers. I don''t think they look as nice, and if you were able to find some that looked almost as real, you''d probably pay a lot for them. I could be wrong though, but that''s my take on it.

You could consider using real flowers but just not have as many. Instead of doing bouts, you could have the groomsmen wear pocket squares in their jackets, and your FI could wear one in a different color. Instead of a full bouquet, you could have a smaller one with flowers that didn''t cost as much as others. I''m sure you''ve already thought of that though.

 

[Sabine]

Have you looked into pricing for real flowers yet? I bet you could find real bouts for under $7 (depending on where you live I guess) if you aren''t into really expensive out of season flowers.

 

[pinki]

Thanks for all the advice ladies. I''m doing bulk fresh flowers from Sam''s Club for the centerpieces to help save, but I was mostly just looking into fake for the bouquets and bouts. I''ll look into everyone''s suggestions and let you know what I decide!

Everything''s been coming together so well for me and this is the one nagging thing that I''m struggling with!

Cj

 

[LilyKat]

It''s personal preference, really. I''m not keen myself on fake flowers, and I would rather do minimal fresh flowers than have fake. I think fake can look beautiful (and I know brides on here have used them and looked stunning), but I like the smell and feel of real.

Have you tried putting together your own bouquets using flowers from grocery stores/the market? I feel that fresh flowers are so inherently beautiful that even if you bunch them together quite inexpertly, they still look lovely. There are lots of resources on the internet about how to make your own bouquets, so maybe it''s worth trying out?

Also, I''ve been to weddings that have just used rose petals and candles on the tables in lieu of traditional floral centerpieces, and these have looked amazing. If you try this, it might free up some money that you could use on professional bouquets?? Just a thought.

 

[Winks_Elf]

Do a search on the net and on Ebay for Real Touch flowers. They''re the new generation of artificial flowers. They look so real you''d expect them to smell real! I''ve been thinking about using them myself.

 

[HappyAnniversary]

The only thing I regret about my wedding 30 years ago is that I used "silk" flowers. They had just come out and I thought how cool, I can keep my bouquet forever. BUT,when I go to other weddings and see the real flowers and know it was the wrong decision for me (maybe not for you, though) I am so embarrassed that I would never admit this in real life--only since I am at least somewhat anonymous here. I will deny, deny, deny if you ask me in real life.

 

[Inanna]

If I were to go fake for anything, I''d be more inclined to do fake centerpieces and do real bouquets. Aside from just the look of real bouquets, the smell and feel of them are wonderful! I can''t imagine missing out on that.

Have you contacted any florists yet? They may be able to work within your budget. Bouts can certainly be done for around $7 and I bet you can get a bouquet for under $100 depending on the area you live in and the types of flowers you want. Initially I had considered DIYing all of our bouquets, but the flowers I wanted were expensive varieties (mainly peonies and green cymbidium orchids) and would have cost at least $800 if I bought bulk through fiftyflowers.com. The florist I ended up hiring was able to order, assemble, and deliver everything I wanted for less money. I was incredibly pleased with the results and it was so much less work for me! She also did our centerpieces, which were on a separate bill (gift from MIL), but I know they were also cheaper than DIY, especially considering the florist lent out her shop''s vases and glass hurricanes that were used on our tables. With DIY we would have needed to purchase those vases, etc. and then be stuck with the question of what to do with them the next day.