Real vs. Fake Wedding Flowers

Flowers are one of the biggest wedding expenses so it’s natural to think of using an alternative! We recruited wedding planners from the Be Inspired Tastemaker network to give us their professional opinions on whether to use real or fake wedding flowers. And when we say “fake” we mean silk, paper, or other floral variations that are out there and popular today! Here’s what the ladies behind Weddings Costa Rica, Jesi Haack Design, and SSkybox Event Productions had to say! Check out more wedding planning tips (like where to go on your honeymoon!) here!

Weddings Costa Rica – Larissa Banting:

Working in beautiful Costa Rica, I’m very lucky to have a huge variety of gorgeous flowers year round including orchids, since this is a major flower exporting country. Given the plethora of options in live buds for couples to choose from, I can’t imagine using fake flowers! For one, real flowers move and look completely different from even the very best manufactured blooms. The variances in colour and tone of fresh florals is something not even 21st Century technology can recreate well. Real flowers help local families who work in the gardens and flower farms, rather than putting money into the pockets of a factory in China. Also, real flowers are much cheaper than buying good quality silk flowers. And after we’re done with the flowers, we can compost them, minimizing our footprint on Mother Earth.

The one instance I would utilize fake flowers would be for large installations of orchids where the flowers won’t be see up close, as finding thousands of stems of real orchids can be challenging. For these arrangements, a florist will usually have fakes they’ll incorporate to help the budget and ensure the overall look is achieved.

Photo by Comfort Studio

Jesi Haack Design – Jesi Haack

Although using silk flowers has many pros, like, they never die, you can order any color and any type of flower any time of year…I just always will vote real flowers over silk.  The scent cannot be replicated.  And the softness and delicateness of real flowers just will never look the same in silk flowers.  There is just something about using actual plants we grow from our earth and then turn them into art that never ceases to amaze me.

Photo by Mr. Haack, Inspired By This

Skybox Event Productions – Ngoc Nguyen Lay:

There are many pros of working with real and fake flowers.  Using fake flowers is a great way to save money (hello Michael’s coupons!) but you won’t get the feeling of real flowers.  Having the real deal at your event often sets the mood in terms of textures, colors, and smells that you can’t get from fake flowers.  I would suggest that you use the best type of flower for you, and not to care about what other people think.  If your event is going to be a destination in the middle of winter, then maybe fake is the way to go, but if you are planning on having that iconic smell of roses, then real is for you!

Photo by Caroline Tran