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Opinions on real vs. artificial bouquets

heathers721heathers721 member
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in Flowers
Hi everyone! I am wondering your opinions/thoughts on having artificial flowers for the bridal bouquet and bridesmaid bouquet. We're having a small wedding with only 75 guests--close friends and family. In our bridal party is just a maid of honor (my sister) and a best man (his brother).

I want to have artificial flowers for the bouquets but some of my family is giving me a hard time about it so I was wondering what others thought.

Our centerpieces are fresh flowers and the corsages and boutinerres will also be fresh flowers. I'm a shorter, smaller person so a big bouquet would look ridiculous with me. The artificial ones I picked up look like real gerbera daisies in white and dark pink--exactly as I wanted. And my roommate is putting the bouquets together because she's done it before. Her grandmother used to do it for a living and showed her how.

Be honest please!
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Re: Opinions on real vs. artificial bouquets

  • jagore08jagore08 member
    5 Love Its Combo Breaker First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I say do what you want and don't worry what other people say.  But since you're asking opinions, I HATE fake flowers, especially since you're doing gerbera daisies. You could find them in a grocery store for 50 cents a stem.  If you go to a flower wholesaler, you could probably find them in bulk for less.  I think it's silly to use fake when you can get the real thing for not too much money.
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  • Catwoman708Catwoman708 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment
    edited December 2011

    I much prefer real flowers, especially if they are given as a gift.  Artificial flowers have no real sentiment attached.  Would you want your sweetheart to give you fake flowers for Valentines Day, or a fake diamond as an engagement ring?

    But, you are using real flowers for the WP, so if you want your bouquet to be artificial, that is totally up to you, and no one else's business.  If you've found an artificial one that looks real and is exactly what you want, then it would certainly mean less expense and hassle later.

    In some cases, I think artificial flowers would be fine, such as a very low budget DIY wedding, or one where you might have to have everything ready far in advance (military brides might not know in advance when the wedding plan has to be "deployed" on short notice, lol). 

    Otherwise, this is a once-in-a-lifetime special occasion, and I'd have to have a more compelling reason to use artificial than because you are a petite bride. They can make a bouquet in any size, it doesn't have to be huge or expensive.

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  • stefani103stefani103 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I always pull the Bridezilla response: It's my day and I'll do what makes me happy!!

    Seriously, it's up to you. We are a "very low budget DIY wedding." FI and I are paying for most of it ourselves, and what we don't spend goes into savings for a house. I've priced florists and just can't bear to pay that much for flowers that die. We are doing Hobby Lobby's True Touch (floral stems 50% off this week and at least once a month) for bouquets. Centerpieces will be live flowers (compliments of FMIL who was not thrilled with the artificial flower idea). They will be, however, planted flowers so that they may continue to live and be enjoyed after the wedding.

    That being said, there are many blooms you can find inexpensively and in bulk. So yeah, up to you!
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  • cupcake77cupcake77
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    edited December 2011
    i don't think there is anything wrong with artificial. you won't have to pay to get your bouquet preserved because it won't die. and you don't have to worry about it wilting or getting the wrong color the day of the wedding. another plus is that you can have non seasonal flowers for a lower price that getting them real. i plan on using artificial for my winter wedding to give my bouquets a little color.
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  • ShaboAEShaboAE
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I don't find anything wrong with artificial flowers... BUT you should not mix real and fake. If your MOH is having a real bouquet, you should have a real bouquet. It's not as big of a deal to have real bouts and corsages with a fake bouquet, but you really don't want to mix if you don't have to.
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  • SarahSmile23SarahSmile23 member
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    edited December 2011
    my honest opinion is that i hate fake flowers. they always look fake. but to each her own!
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  • sararv03sararv03 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    You should do what you want but..... I personally do not like fake flowers. Like PP said you can get real gerbers pretty inexpensively, if not cheaper than fake. A lot of ppl say they cant tell the difference but im one of those ppl who looks at details like that. But since its just your bouquet and bm you would prob be ok if its the look you really want.
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  • eastTNbrideeastTNbride member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Honestly, as well as they are making artificial flowers these days, I say go for it! Especially those true touch flowers. Those who are saying they all look fake haven't done their research. 
    As a bride who was very disappointed with her real flower bouquet, I would have done artificial had I known. The color of my bouquet was wrong, it was too big, the stems were left too long so they got my dress wet, which had my dress been a different material, it would have been damaged. And really, most people aren't going to be close up on your flowers to know the difference. And they will look fabulous in the photos, which is the main thing people have to remember the day by anyway.
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  • SarahSmile23SarahSmile23 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_flowers_opinions-real-vs-artificial-bouquets?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:28Discussion:b3b03eb7-f3af-422c-9a68-7983b5e1ec9fPost:9034db20-dc88-4b11-bc87-d163019e14e5">Re: Opinions on real vs. artificial bouquets</a>:
    [QUOTE]Honestly, as well as they are making artificial flowers these days, I say go for it! Especially those true touch flowers. Those who are saying they all look fake haven't done their research.  As a bride who was very disappointed with her real flower bouquet, I would have done artificial had I known. The color of my bouquet was wrong, it was too big, the stems were left too long so they got my dress wet, which had my dress been a different material, it would have been damaged. And really, most people aren't going to be close up on your flowers to know the difference. And they will look fabulous in the photos, which is the main thing people have to remember the day by anyway.
    Posted by eastTNbride[/QUOTE]

    i moderate the flowers board, so i have seen plenty of pics of artificial flowers people thought looked real. some are better than others, but if you are getting the high-quality ones, you won't be spending any less than you would on real flowers! i still haven't seen a fake flower that didn't ultimately look fake. but everybody's different. to each her own!
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  • jme35jme35
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    edited December 2011
    I agree - to each her own.  I would love to do real flowers, but as it turns out, my mother is VERY allergic to flowers - so we're doing silks for everything (bouquets, bouts, corsages).  My centerpieces are candles, and Im even doing those unscented, because honestly - all that stuff bothers her, so my mother's ability to breathe and not feel like her throat is closing up during the wedding/reception is, to me, more important than whether people feel they look real or not. 

    Do what's going to make you happy.  Or allows your mother to breathe, whichever takes precedent.
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  • flower_divaflower_diva member
    First Anniversary First Comment Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_flowers_opinions-real-vs-artificial-bouquets?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:28Discussion:b3b03eb7-f3af-422c-9a68-7983b5e1ec9fPost:78b61842-59c8-4868-8d89-f9ef0a58f280">Re: Opinions on real vs. artificial bouquets</a>:
    [QUOTE]In Response to Re: Opinions on real vs. artificial bouquets : i moderate the flowers board, so i have seen plenty of pics of artificial flowers people thought looked real. some are better than others, but if you are getting the high-quality ones, you won't be spending any less than you would on real flowers! i still haven't seen a fake flower that didn't ultimately look fake. but everybody's different. to each her own!
    Posted by SarahSmile23[/QUOTE]

    100% in agreement. I can always tell from just looking at a picture that the flowers are artificial......so girls don't fool yourself. Cheap silk flowers look like cheap silk flowers..period....and in 50 years when you look at your pictures.....they will still look like cheap silk flowers.<img src="http://cdn.cl9.vanillaforums.com/downloaded/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-smile.gif" border="0" alt="Smile" title="Smile" />
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