Post # 1

Member
300 posts
Helper bee
I want to start off by saying that I am not a huge flower lover. I think flowers are a major waste. You use them for one day and then throw them away. I am doing brooch bouquets with handmade satin flowers for for myself and bridesmaids. I want to know if I should use real flowers or silk flowers for my centerpeices. Please help. I have attached photos of what I would like my centerpeices to look like.


Post # 3

Member
2564 posts
Sugar bee
Go on etsy for flowers – I never wanted to spend a ton on flowers and my bouquet was perfect and she threw in the buitonniere for free!
Post # 4

Member
2295 posts
Buzzing bee
I used silks. Do not regret it AT all. I was the same way you were – I wanted pretty centerpieces and bouquets but not really a huge flower lover. I ran the math 100 ways to Tuesday and even buying bulk flowers online and DIY’ing them, it was more expensive to have real flowers than silk.
I ordered silks from afloral.com and they were great (not the fancy real touch ones either, just regular silks). They were done way ahead of time, cost me a fraction of what real flowers would have cost even if I did them myself, and were SO low stress – no dripping water, no worries about wilting, no problems transporting them.
I am very glad I went with silks. I think if flowers are important to someone, they should do real and have a florist do them, but if they aren’t, I think they are a great place to save.
Post # 5

Member
245 posts
Helper bee
Personally, I am a flower lover so I might be biased. But I think that real flowers are nice because of the nice smell and vibrant look of the tangible/texture flower itself. If you are worrying about price, I am DIYing my flowers from Bloomsbythebox.com and my cousin used them, and the flowers came out gorgeous. My cousin isn’t that crafty and she used the tutorial videos on the website, and they looked similar to what a florist would do! I think it is totally your preference on what you want to do, but you can always give the centerpieces to someone whoever sat there, it will be a good reminder to them of how special your wedding was after they go home!
Post # 6

Member
1966 posts
Buzzing bee
Personally I really dislike fake flowers, its the first thing I notice when I sit at a wedding. I would definitely go with real flowers.
Post # 7

Member
307 posts
Helper bee
Sam’s Club or Costco seem like nice, economical options for cheap flower arrangements.
I’ve heard of a lot of people donating their flowers to churches, nursing homes, and schools after the wedding so that the flowers don’t go to waste.
Post # 8

Member
514 posts
Busy bee
@ashump210: I think that those centerpieces are very pretty and elegant. If your wedding is going to be fancier, than I would say you really should go with real flowers, I know it hurts the wallet, but your guests will notice. I personally do not like fake flowers, mainly because the ones i’ve seen look very fake. Have you considered a centerpiece that does not include flowers if you don’t really like flowers?
Post # 9

Member
300 posts
Helper bee
@swisea01: Price really isnt the issue I just am one of those girls who never wanted flowers on special occasions because I have always seen them as such a waste. I think I will definately look into flowerless centerpeices and see what I find.
Post # 10

Member
300 posts
Helper bee
@NAvery: Im glad silks worked for you. I think some brides just go overboard on the whole flower issue. My future mother in law is so pro silk flowers. She would agree with you that they are easy to handle and way more stress free than real flowers.
Post # 11

Member
300 posts
Helper bee
@jessicaandjames5914: I never thought about giving the flowers away good idea.
Post # 12

Member
514 posts
Busy bee
@ashump210: If price isn’t the issue and you really love those and don’t find anything else, I think real is the way to go, and I agree with PP that you could donate them to a hospital or nursing home after!
Post # 13

Member
762 posts
Busy bee
I have all fake flowers for my wedding. i love afloral.com and i discovered wedideas.com which is were i got my bouquet, cake flowers, and a few of the decoration flower and they all look beautiful! also check out bridesbouquet.com. i think getting real flowers is a huge unneeded expense for the wedding. if you dont want your flowers after the wedding you can always giver them out to guest, give the bouquets to your bridesmaids as a momentem or keep some like your bouquet as a decoration in your home. i have blue and white roses and we already know after the wedding when we move in together our bedroom is going to be blue so I’m planning on putting my flowers in a vase in our room as a decoration. There too pretty to get rid of. or if you just plan want to get rid of them you can alway put them up for sale on ebay or something for another bride to enjoy!
Post # 14

Member
748 posts
Busy bee
I would definitely consider other centerpiece options. Candles, lanterns, etc. I’m a slight botany geek, and grew up planting flowers with my father, so I’ll likely be buying bulk and doing a little DIY like we did for my sister’s wedding. But my BFF is looking for a flowerless option for her future wedding, let me know if you find any good options!
Post # 16

Member
300 posts
Helper bee
@jbbs1222: I have heard great things about afloral.com. Do you have any pictures of your centerpeices?