Faux flowers have come a very long way in recent years. The silk flowers available today closely resemble their living counterparts. While many brides choose real flowers, silk flowers have notable advantages. Silk flowers are relatively easy to get, useful for matching a specific color for wedding party dresses and tux colors, do not wilt or die like real flowers, can be made to look completely natural and are much more economical than real flowers.

Because the blooms do not perish, a silk flower bouquet is a lasting keepsake. Silk flower designs can be made well ahead of time, “previewed” by the client and can also be an economical choice for the bride and groom. 

The decision to use real flowers or faux flowers at your wedding can involve many factors; i.e., cost, scent, type of flowers you'd like and if you would like to preserve them. There are pros and cons to going each route.  If you want premiere silk flowers, you might end up paying as much or more for faux flowers than you would for real ones, depending on the types of flowers you'd like to use, the season and the supplier you work with. You can find absolutely stunning silk flowers theses days that people will have to touch or try to smell before they realize they aren't real. But you'll pay a lot of money for these.

Or it could be impractical or too expensive to have real flowers. If you're getting married in December in Alaska and you want roses, it would be much less expensive to have silk flowers than to have a bunch of flowers imported for your ceremony. If your ceremony is going to be in a remote location it will be easier to make stable floral arrangements from faux flowers than from real flowers, and they travel much better. Likewise if you're getting married in the heat of summer and have no place to refrigerate the flowers before the ceremony, faux flowers may be your best option since they don't wilt.

Another consideration is preservation. If you want to keep your wedding flowers forever, the easiest way to do this is to have faux flowers. They'll always look good and can be a treasured keepsake of your special day. Depending on the types of flowers you use, you can dry them or have them freeze-dried or otherwise preserved. If preservation is not an issue for you, real flowers are fine.

Using real flowers lends an air of romance to your celebration. The colors, shapes and smells seem to let people know something special is going on. If you don't have a huge budget for flowers, consider only getting flowers for the bride, a smaller bouquet for the bridesmaids and small boutonnieres for the groom and groomsmen. 

To save money, buy flowers that are in season locally. Buying from a florist saves you time making bouquets and boutonnieres yourself, but it can be cheaper to buy directly from a grower. 

If you want flowers everywhere and don't want to settle for just what's in season, perhaps a combination of fresh and silk flowers will suit your needs. For example, carrying fresh and faux flowers, using different types of silk flowers in the altar arrangements, reception tables, on the ends of the pews and wherever else you'd like a splash of color.

When combining silks and fresh flowers, make sure you know what your fresh flowers are going to look like before you start choosing silks. You don't want the colors to clash with each other, even if they won't be that close together. Everything should look like it belongs together, even if the flowers come from very different places.

And if you really want to go all-out, have fresh flowers everywhere. Flowers are great for setting the mood for your event, from an informal garden party to a formal black-tie gala. The help of an experienced florist can make a world of difference in selecting the right type flowers and the right amount of flowers to make your event perfect.

The bottom line when it comes to flowers, or anything else relating to your wedding, is that you need to do what will make you happy. What do you want to remember thirty years from now? If you don't think you'll care that there were flowers on every surface of the church and reception site, spend your budget elsewhere. 

Research is the key to getting what you want. Know what flowers are in season, what colors you want and what other preferences you have in terms of scent, height, etc., before you talk to a florist.

Photograph compliments of Personalized Effects - www.personalizedeffects.com

                     The Master's Touch Floral & Gifts

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