Real vs. Fake - A Flower Debate

by Jenny Bryde 27. October 2013 01:20

Recently at our Bride and Groom Garage Sale, I had a discussion with a very good friend who was shopping who spoke about how she could not believe there were so many silk flowers for sale and that she thought silk flowers were a no-no for a wedding. She spoke about how she thought that she would rather splurge on real flowers than on other parts of the budget. This got me thinking. I am wondering how other people weigh in on this subject. Real vs. fake? Which flowers do or do not have a place in a wedding? People, I imagine, will take a strong stance one way or another, so let's look at the pros and cons of both.

Silk Flowers:

Pros -

Relatively inexpensive when compared to fresh flowers.
They will not wilt so you can buy them in advance of the wedding.
You don't have to choose your flowers based on what is in season at the time of your wedding.
You can buy them used and sell them when you're done using them.

Cons -

Unless made to look very whimsical, silk flowers can often be spotted by look, touch, or smell.
Good silk flowers are very good, and bad silk flowers are very, very ugly.
Some silk flowers can cost just as much as fresh flowers.

Fresh Flowers:

Pros -

Hiring a florist takes the artistic guesswork out of arranging a floral centerpiece.
Flower centerpieces make great gifts to guests at the end of the evening.
Fresh flowers look and smell great and add a lot to the ambiance of your wedding.

Cons -

Fresh flowers are often much more expensive when compared to silk flowers.
When selecting the specific blooms for your flowers, you will often be restricted to what is in season at the time of your wedding.
Fresh flowers are at the mercy of the elements of weather; hot or cold weather could impact the look.

And now here is a little test. The following pictures of flowers are a mix. Some pictures show real flowers, and some pictures show fake. Can you tell the difference? Get out a piece of paper and take the quiz. There are five pictures of fresh and five pictures of silk. The answers are at the end of this post!

#1 - Fresh or silk?