Real vs. Fake Pros and Cons

All bouquets will be real but the garlands on the fireplace are fake. We figure it's 9' high and nobody will be able to tell the difference.

We decided to go with silk for our bouquets. This picture isn’t the actual bouquet arranged, just colors and I’m holding all of them together. We wanted a lot of greenery so our bouquets will be tons of greenery. We are buying real eucalyptus in bulk to use for our centerpieces. They don’t need arranged. I could spend $2,000 for a florist, I didn’t want to be DIYing my flowers the day before the wedding so this was really the best choice for us.

So, we're doing bouquets made of sweetgrass roses. (Here is one I got for VD.) Sweetgrass baskets and crafts are traditional to the geechie community here in Charleston and you can always find kids selling the roses downtown either for fundraisers or to make a little pocket money for themselves. Once they get good at making roses they can move on to weaving baskets.
Now, I love fresh flowers and would probably be using them if our community weren't such a big part of our theme. Like with most fake, the price per stem is about the same so there's no savings versus real. I love that we can DIY days, or even weeks in advance, though.

I had real for everything. Yes, it was expensive. They were beautiful and I don't regret it a bit.

I'm using fake flowers mainly because my MOH is allergic to real flowers but also to save money. I bought "real touch" corsages and boutonnieres on clearance from Hobby Lobby that look BEAUTIFUL. And my bouquet and the bridesmaid bouquets are all flowers from Afloral and craft stores. My MOH's mother is a wizard with floral arrangements and quality checking and she is making these beautiful bouquets out of the fake flowers. I even recommend buying premade wedding bouquets for you and your Bridesmaids from Afloral if you don't want to put the arrangements together yourself. They have some really nice ones in all types of colors.

I went with fake because I'm getting married 10 hours away from where I live. That way I could arrange them ahead of time and not have to worry about it. I can also keep my bouquet afterwards.

I am doing real, because after research, I realized I can get beautiful bouquets at Costco.com for less than it would take in my time and energy to produce 9 bouquets. It's the one thing I am glad to pass off to a vendor and not DIY.

I was quoted a lot for real flowers. I ended up going with sola flowers from a shop on Etsy and saved compared to the real ones. And I can keep these forever and so can my bridal party.

Before I got engaged, I thought I would be ok with fake flowers - now that I am engaged, I have noticed how much real flowers really add to the overall decor and vibe of the wedding. I am doing all real flowers for everything.

View Quoted Comment They’re beautiful! Can I ask which shop you used?

Im doing fake i didnt want to spend a ton on something that gets thrown out.

View Quoted Comment Thank you. I got them from https://www.etsy.com/shop/StellaDesignsShop

View Quoted Comment Thank you!

I had this exact problem while deciding. The only real pros ive seen to fake are that they can look fake. Pros are you can get whichever flowers you want regardless of whats in season or native to your region. And you can sell them after. They also dont bother allergies, smell or wilt while using.they hopefully dont fall apart and are easier to store leading up to the wedding.

cons of real- both can be expensive and depending on budget you can be limited when it comes to the time of year you’re getting married. Pros are- They look real. You can donate them after and i found it easier to work with a florist when i needed a vision. Hope this helps!

I'm making my flowers....

View Quoted Comment Where did you purchase them? TiA!

View Quoted Comment Hobby Lobby and Michaels 😊

View Quoted Comment Hey Alforev,
Your flowers are beautiful. May I ask where you purchased them?

View Quoted Comment Never mind, I saw your response to someone else. Apologies, just getting used to this app

I choose fake because you spend a ton of money for them to die. The girls can keep there flowers with fake