Fake vs real flowers??

Hi! We have the same theme! I guess it depends on your preference and budget. If silk flowers are okay for YOU (it's your wedding after all) then do them. I personally dont like fake flowers so we went with real flowers our budget for the florist was 1500.

View Quoted Comment Thanks for the input! I have never been one to care about flowers, I care more about the presentation and what they look like versus if they’re actually real or not. My mother is the one pushing for real flowers and making me second guess everything! I think I may tell her if she wants real flowers she’s gotta put up the money! My philosophy is that they’re going to die anyways so it’s sorta throwing money out the window, but they do look very very nice. I’m still undecided.

High quality silk flowers look very real. They aren't the cheap plastic ones you get at the dollar store. We used a mix of silk and fresh. No one knew which was which.

We are seriously considering Something Borrowed Blooms for fakes. I’ve been following them on Instagram for a few months since they post pics of real weddings that use their flowers. They are half the price as reals according to my research. We finally ordered SBB samples to try on with the BM dresses and they looked spectacular. While I had the samples, I also found vases to fit so we can use the bouquets at the reception. This is 1 saving I’m pretty excited about, since I don’t care if they are real/fake, just want pics to look amazing.

I'm having a barn wedding and I'm doing fake! All my flowers are coming from Hobby Lobby. I think people will be able to tell mine are fake but I don't care because I still think they look great! For me, real wasn't worth it because it's so expensive and it made me nervous how you can only get the flowers a day or two in advanced. I was worried about what would happen if the order/ delivery was wrong or I didn't like how they looked. Then I'd be out of time for a solution.

I will be doing fake flowers because I wanted to be able to get everything ready well in advance. Initially I did want real flowers but I was worried about them dying/weeping. That's just me- panicky. Lol I've found a lot and seen a lot of weddings with fake flowers that look great. It's all your preference. But I do think a lot of people are used to the old cheap fake flowers, they have definitely came a long way. My two future SILs both had fake and everyone was asking them if they were real.

We used real flowers, but we did reuse our bridesmaids bouquets as part of certain tables centerpieces. This saved us a good amount of money.
We decided on real flowers because, I personally, don’t like the look of fake flowers. They do make faux flowers that have a more realistic look, but they can be just as expensive as real ones.

Real. Plus, the smell! We reused our ceremony flowers for the reception. Our wedding planner and staff transferred them during cocktail hour.

There is a lot of variety in fake flowers. Some truly look real and it's hard to tell the difference (but those can also often be as expensive as real flowers, so they might not really save money); others, you can tell from a mile away (e.g., super bright colors, very thin stems, etc.). Personally, I much prefer real, but it's certainly a choice that doesn't impact the guests' experience, so do what you want. I do think the less "natural" the flower color and the more consistent the size/shape, the more obvious it is they are fake. To me, especially when I see a bouquet with a lot of bright blue flowers, I'm thinking, "you don't see those in nature...."

I think it completely depends on where you get your artificial flowers. My FH and I are doing fake flowers, not b/c they're cheaper but b/c he has terrible allergies and being around any type of flower is not good for him. The ones we got look crazy real! My FSIL got married in November of last year and she had wood flowers at her wedding. They were a little more than what my FH and I paid for all of our artificial flowers, but they looked stunning as well.

My FH and I are only doing flowers for the bouquets. He and his groomsmen are not wearing boutonnieres and we are not having flowers on the tables as our centerpieces. Neither of us are fans of flowers so we went another route for our centerpieces. I don't think people care about the flowers on the tables.

I love real flowers however I had no where near the budget for them. I just finished my bridesmaids bouquets and started the concept for my centerpieces. I used lings flowers as well as some silk flowers and greenery from hobby Lobby.

I think it really comes down to what you care about most! I knew we needed flowers for the ceremony bc my girls and I are a little awkward in the “what-do-I-do-with-my-hands” kind of way, but other than that I truly am not a flower person, I don’t even want them in formal photos! So I went the fake option, and was as conscious as possibly about not getting the completely fake and cheap looking ones. I’m not using anything floral for centerpieces, I got vases at the dollar store, and cute branches and rock filler for that! Centerpiece and flowers all together I spent about $120-150. There are other areas that mattered way more to me and I’ve decided to splurge there.

I had initially planned on doing fake flowers because I thought the cost of real ones were ridiculous. However, after looking everywhere at faux flowers/greenery, I realized the colors were either too bright, or too muted. They never measured up to my inspiration pictures (which were of course real). I also pulled up my inspiration pics at the store and attempted to re-create them, and discovered pretty quickly that arranging flowers is much harder than it seems- and I apparently do not possess that talent LOL at that point, I started contacting florists. I found one that I absolutely love and cannot wait to see what she creates! It felt like a weight lifted off my chest knowing that I did not need to worry about florals - putting them together, setting them up before the wedding, etc. The florist will handle all of it. And real flowers look soooo much prettier (and smell amazing!). Now, I will admit, I am spending waaaaaaay more than I had ever expected on flowers, but that is because the flowers I wanted are super expensive. However, I learned that florists can create magic on a small budget too. Each one that I contacted simply said to send inspiration pictures along with your budget, and they can create something for you. They are happy to give you cheaper alternatives to keep you on budget. i’d say if you were on the fence about real versus fake, I would definitely contact some local florist, give them your budget, and see what they can do for you! You might be surprised! You could also tell your mother that you are more than happy to use real Flowers, if she would be willing to foot half the bill. Since she seems to be pressuring you to use real Flowers, I feel that would be fair.

I forgot to mention, I think the real versus fake issue is 100% dependent on what makes YOU happy. You should execute YOUR vision of your wedding. Although guests will undoubtably be wowed/comment on beautiful floral arrangements, I do not feel the flowers will make or break their experience.

I’m Team Real Flowers. To save budget, I would be happy with a single stem flower (or mini lanterns) for BMs and a non-floral centerpiece or perhaps a lantern with fresh greenery.


It’s not just the look for me, it’s the feeling of live flowers or greenery. And absolutely a fresh flower bridal bouquet.

I am doing fake flowers! Hobby Lobby has good ones. But it is ultimately up to you and what will meet your vision! For reference, here is a picture of my bouquet that I made with fake flowers from Hobby Lobby

View Quoted Comment They do look great!!

View Quoted Comment I love those! What are “lings” flowers? Is that a brand or a type of flower? I’m a bit new to the flower world!

View Quoted Comment I was also considering Something Borrowed Blooms because they have such great ratings! I was planning on ordering a sample for piece of mind to make sure they fit in the mason jars. But now after reading the comments I may add a few real flowers into those bouquets to liven them up. (I doubt they even need that though).

View Quoted Comment OKAY WOW 😍.
These are amazing!