Wedding bouquets: Did you use silk flowers?

[diznee25]

Hi everyone!

I can't make up my mind if I want fresh or silk flowers for my bridal bouquet. One doesn't seem to be cheaper than the other, so that's not going to help me decide. (At least according to some online stores, I haven't checked out any local florists yet.)

For me, silk would be ideal, but I'm worried that the flowers will look totally fake. I've heard there are some high quaility silk flowers out there that look real, but how do I know where to find them?!

If there are any brides out there who have used silk flowers for your bouquet, please share your experiences with me! I could use the help.

Thanks for any responses,
Diznee25

 

[DonnaS]

I used fresh flowers for my bouquet but silk for decorating the wedding site (it was an outdoor wedding so the equivalent of the altar). Since I was only renting these flowers, there was a cost savings. Nobody could tell that they were silk and they looked lovely in the photos. I suspect because the silk bouquets are meant to be kept as keepsakes, that is why they aren't less costly.

I did have my bouquet preserved though.

 

[poohandwendy]

I used half silk, half real. I wanted the scent and look of real, but wanted to save the bouquet. It turned out beautiful! Good luck!

 

[diznee25]

I used half silk, half real. I wanted the scent and look of real, but wanted to save the bouquet.

Wow, what a great idea! Never heard of that before.

Thanks for the replies, keep them coming!

 

[poohandwendy]

If you want to blend the 2, have the florist show you what they have in silk (some are beautiful, some are tacky)and then decide what 'real' flowers you would like to compliment the silk..that is what I did.

 

[disykat]

A wedding I was in (20 years ago) had silk flowers. The bridal party etc. actually made the bouquets at a shop that held group workshops. I wouldn't say the bouquets looked real, especially up close, (though in 20 years I'm sure they've changed!) but they were pretty and it was a fun experience. They looked real in the pictures. I kept my bouquet for about 15 years and finally threw it out in the last move. I'm sure the bride still has hers. At the workshop the instructor did the brides bouquet and we worked on the smaller ones.

I agree that a combination sounds like a great solution!

 

[tiggerlover]

I had silk flowers for my wedding too. Silk flowers have definitely come a long way, some are hard to tell they are silk.

 

[figmentvi]

My DD will be having silk flowers at her wedding in WDW next year. The reason being is that the WDW Florist is very expensive. A bridal bouquet can run around $250.00, which is just a little too much IMHO.

Here is a great website for silk bouquets that are just lovely. My DD is going with Calla Lillies.

http://annieandcompany.homestead.com/home.html

I like the idea of mixed real and silk too !!!

Linda

 

[helenabear]

I had silk for my wedding. My cousin does a lot of arrangements in silk for many different places and she told me where to go and find the good ones. Honestly you couldn't tell unless you were up close and touching them. I still have the bouquet too... well one of them as I accidentally tossed my reall bouquet But my sister gave me hers instead I am very sensative to certain scents and this was a good way to know that I wouldn't be sneezing like crazy with mine Good luck deciding and good luck with the rest of your wedding!

 

[lisajl]

We had silk for ours. My inlaws own a wedding business. In other words, they knew which flowers would look real. We had a little party with family members and put our flowers together ourselves. My Dh and I did the almost all the roses.

I still have the bouquet, and it looks a little worn after almost 19 years, but then again...so do I! LOL!

Best wishes on your wedding!

Lisajl

 

[Marla Hellwig]

My bouquet was fresh flowers and the one I used to toss was silk

 

[Gette88]

I used silk flowers. They looked great and I still have them in a box with other wedding momento's.

 

[J&D]

I used silk flowers, and they were beautiful. I was able to save all of the flowers from my wedding and use them to decorate my house.

 

[bambii]

and I still have all my flowers except for the one I toss and the boutinerss. I wanted to keep them,. When I got married my grandmother in law owned a flowershop and she had relatives working in it so the flowers where are wedding gift (nice gift).

plus i didnt have a photographer friends and family were asked to bring camera and my parents and god parents paid for the developing. and we knew some Air Force people and we gave them money to get the drinks on base at the commissary (cheaper.)

Then my bridemaids dresses were bought at a second hand store.

and a friend of my mom made my dress. and my god mother made my cake.

I had a very cheap weddding but It was great. and lovely nothing tacky looking.

It was put toghter in 3 months.

 

[lil mermaid]

I used fresh flowers (at both my weddings, lol.)

There is nothing like real flowers - the smell, the feel, and the look IMO. Even the most expensive silks that I have seen look fake close up.

It appears that I am the only one who feels this way on this thread so far. I guess I just can't see using the fake version of something when you can easily get the real version!

 

[Dopeygirl]

We used silk. I was doing the bouquets, so it was much cheaper for us to buy nice-quality silk flowers than to go fresh. We thought about ordering bulk fresh flowers and then doing the bouquets but a) I didn't want to be doing all the bouquets and boutineers (SP!) the morning of my wedding and b) I wanted to keep my bouquet.

A friend of mine went to Hobby Lobby. Their floral design person did bouquets. She met with her about what kind of bouquets she wanted, they picked out flowers & ribbon together and then the HL lady made them. They ended up costing her about 1/2 the price of fresh. They did a great job on them and you definitely wouldn't have known they were silk unless you were examining them.

 

[FOJMO]

I had silk and I made my own bouquet. I had a dream (nightmare) a few nights before the wedding that I would forget my bouquet at home.

When we left for the church, what do you think I forgot at home?????? Yup, the bouquet. Had to turn around and go back. I still have it in a curio cabinet in my dining room.

 

[Bunchkin]

Silk flowers for me too!

They looked wonderful in the pictures and didn't look a bit fake.

Have fun planning!!!

 

[linny172]

When my sister got married we took a class at a local craft place and by the end of the class (It was one night a week for about 5 weeks) we had all the flowers for the wedding made and they were very nice, it was really fun to do.

 

[diznee25]

plus i didnt have a photographer friends and family were asked to bring camera and my parents and god parents paid for the developing. and we knew some Air Force people and we gave them money to get the drinks on base at the commissary (cheaper.)

Then my bridemaids dresses were bought at a second hand store.

and a friend of my mom made my dress. and my god mother made my cake.

I had a very cheap weddding but It was great. and lovely nothing tacky looking.

We are also doing our wedding kind of like this too! My inlaws have a couple close friends who have done weddings before, so they will officiate the wedding and the other person does wedding photography. Saved us a lot of money!!

Thanks for the replies everyone! When I started this thread, I expected the majority of the posters to have used fresh flowers, but I was wrong.

lil mermaid, I do agree with you though. One of the reasons I'm on the fence about using silk flowers is because no matter how real the look, it's not the same as using fresh flowers.

I'll go to a local florist and start looking and comparing both. If I get fresh flowers, I know I won't have the money to preserve my bouquet, so that was one benefit of using silk flowers.

figmintvi,

Cool website! Is your daughter ording her flowers from this site?

Thanks,
diznee25