Real AND Fake Flowers?

I love real flowers personally and I've heard that fake flowers are also just as expensive. I do love the huge latern center prices. Just make sure they arnt too massive where guests won't be able to see whose on the other side of the table.

I've been toying with the idea of combining fake greenery and fillers. But I'm not having a full spread of flowers so trying to order flowers is proving to be difficult in terms of number of flowers. So it's something om considering.

I did fake flowers for the bouquets and real flowers on the tables. You don't have to spend a lot on flowers for them to turn out beautiful. DW and I actually went to the grocery store the morning of our wedding and picked out the flowers for the tables and I arranged them myself.

My suggestions is fake flowers for bouquets, but real on tables. People will only see the bouquets from afar, but will be up close and personal with the flowers on the tables.

ETA: I matched the flowers on the tables with the shades used in my wife's bouquet.

VM that's a great idea and a good point about seeing the bouquets from afar. I've heard of brides taking their bouquet and putting it as the centerpiece at the venue when they get there so maybe I could even do something like that. I don't need a diamond rose bouquet or anything, but I just don't want to totally forego flowers. I really like your centerpiece - still have the flowers there but they're smaller so they were probably much less expensive, but still beautiful!

@vmdizzle what are the white flowers you used in your bouquets? They look great!

Thank you! Flowers weren't on our top priority, but I wanted them to still look great. We got quoted like $295 just for the brides bouquet that she wanted. I used her inspiration picture and made it myself with good quality silk flowers that I got 50% off at Hobby Lobby. I think we only spent like $13 on the real flowers for the tables, but I only had 6 vases and the cake flowers.

WoW- those are hydrangeas.

Right now our guest list is at 200, but half of them are out of town, so we will probably get a fairly high decline rate (though I'm not counting on it budget wise) so we will have lots of tables to fill. I'll have to play around with ideas. I definitely want some flowers but maybe they don't have to be the center of attention for the tables. This is why I'm having almost a 2 year engagement! haha

Haha yeah, don't make them the center. I made the lanterns the center so the flowers were minimal. You have lots of time to play around with it. If you have a way to transport the flowers, keep them cool, and someone who can arrange them, buying in bulk from Costco or somewhere is a great option.

Thanks VMdizzle! BTW your wife and BM looked great!

Thank you! WoW!!

I just found our about a bride that saved over 8k by using all silk flowers in her wedding. She bought them all in the website afloral.com and the results were stunning!

I'm doing a combo. One of my aunts has floral sensitivities, so the reception centerpieces will be silk. There will be real bouquets, corsages and boutonnières for the ceremony, though.

I did fake for the bouquet and real for the centerpieces.

I think it's fine to mix real and fake. I don't think I've personally ever seen a bouquet or centerpiece with both, so I don't really know what it looks like but I'm sure it would still look lovely.

We are using fake flower petals to line the aisle of our church. I doubt anyone will notice they're fake, because they're on the floor. But our bouquets, corsages, etc. will all be real flowers. We opted for bud vases for our reception table flowers, to cut down on price. I will be using some fake flowers for decor on the dessert and gift/guest book table though. Go for it!

I am a bride to be and also work at Afloral.com. We are using faux flowers and preserved greenery in our wedding because I am allergic to fresh, I've seen brides mix real and faux and they look great together. Sometimes the flower you dream of is out of season or crazy expensive so there's nothing wrong with mixing. If you get a good quality fake flower most people won't even notice. If you have your heart set on real you could use faux for the cake, flower crown, toss bouquet and bridesmaids. Also, if the lantern is large enough you could fill it with fake flowers and no one will be able to touch them to see if they are real or fake. Scope out wedding flower websites and sign up for their promotions. Most companies, like Afloral, have a sales every week so you can get some really great deals.

One thing to keep in mind is not all the tables have to be the same. We are going to have 12 tables 6 will have flowers in the centerpiece and 6 is something nonfloral. I liked the variety it provided and kept the day of set up shorter as we can have 6 completely ready before hand.

I would not put fake & real into the same arrangement.

Use the fake for arrangements that will not be seen up close (ceremony decor -- arch, altar arrangements, etc.).

Use real for the arrangements that will be photographed (bride's bouquet) or seen up close (centerpieces).