When you’re trying to find a way to make the wedding of your dreams fit within the constraints of your budget, one of the big areas you look at is your floral budget. With experts saying this can be anywhere from 7%-15% of your overall budget, it’s an area where you can certainly build in some savings.
One way in which people have found to save a boatload of money on their weddings is by using faux flowers. Often called “fake” flowers or silk flowers, these flowers can often look and feel just like the “real” thing but at a fraction of the cost. And in the past, most people would just have to take the time to DIY these floral creations, but now with companies letting you rent wedding flowers, it becomes much easier and much more affordable.
But are fake flowers worth it? Are faux flowers as good as real flowers? Which is best for you? In this article, we’re going to look at the pros and cons of each option to help you make a decision.
The Pros and Cons of Using Real Flowers at Your Wedding
To start, let’s look at the type of wedding flowers most people are familiar with—real flowers. These are flowers that grow in the ground and are harvested and arranged by a florist before your big day. Here are the biggest pros and cons.
Pros of Real Flowers
- They look amazing. – There is no denying that real flowers look incredible and can really build an awesome atmosphere for your wedding. The question, that we will look at later, is if faux flowers can get close to this look and feel? (Spoiler—high quality ones can!)
- They smell great. – While most of your guests won’t spend a lot of time with their noses buried in your flowers, fresh real flowers do smell great. This is certainly something faux flowers can’t deliver.
- They’re classic. – The faux flower trend is something that is new and takes some people a little getting used to. Real flowers, though, have been what we’ve been using for centuries. Now, just because “it’s how we’ve always done it” doesn’t mean that it’s the best way, but it certainly does add a few points for being tested and proven.
Cons of Real Flowers
- They’re expensive. – Not just expensive, really expensive. If you read our guide on how much wedding flowers cost, you’ll see that the average wedding (without a lot of frills) comes in just under $2,600. And if you add in the frills and extras, that can balloon by several thousand dollars very quickly.
- There is quality risk. – Flowers are a living thing. When they die, they stop looking amazing. What happens if your florist gets a bad batch right before your wedding? What happens if they are improperly stored or incorrectly transported? What happens if they haven’t fully bloomed by time your big day comes? All of these are risks that could end up in your flowers not looking that great on your wedding day.
- They’re not green. – While we’re not hear to start any sort of climate debate, flowers are meant to live and grow in the ground so that people can enjoy them for years. When they’re used for a wedding, they look amazing that day but then they’re tossed in the trash. And even if they are repurposed somewhere, they have a shelf life of just a few days and then they’re dead.
The Pros and Cons of Using Faux Flowers at Your Wedding
Now that we’ve looked at real flowers, let’s talk about the pros and cons of faux flowers.
Pros of Faux Flowers
- The price is amazing. – Generally speaking, opting to rent faux wedding flowers is going to save you 50%-70% off of your floral bill and deliver a comparable or better looking product. For budget conscious couples, this is a slam dunk reason to look into it. (If you scroll up and click on the link to our guide on how much wedding flowers cost, we do a neat side-by-side comparison of the costs of real vs. faux that is worth checking out.
- They look and feel real. – Most people are not going to be able to tell whether the flowers you have are real or fake. And to be honest, the thought isn’t even going to cross their mind to check. With the right kinds of silks, fake flowers can look and feel just as amazing as real flowers but at a fraction of the cost.
- The quality risk goes away. – When you use faux flowers, you know what they’re going to look like. They’re always going to be at the perfect level of bloom. There is no risk of them dying or browning. This is an added concern you just don’t have to worry about when you choose faux over real wedding flowers.
Cons of Faux Flowers
- Your mother in law may give you a hard time. – Okay, we’re half kidding here, but the point is that some people who are “married to wedding culture” might tell you that you HAVE to use real flowers…because…well, just because. Here’s a quick aside. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. You don’t have to do anything just because someone else says that’s the way it’s supposed to be. But there may be a few select people that make a comment to you if they somehow find out you went the faux flower route.
- You have to make sure you (or someone) returns them. – This is probably not a big deal, especially when you’re saving thousands of dollars, but when you rent faux flowers, you do have to return them just like any other rental item. Often, people designate someone to be in charge of collecting everything, which makes it easy and takes it off your plate. Once collected, you return them just like any other rental item (or via mail if they’re sent to you with a prepaid postage label in the boxes they came in.
Final Answer: Are Real or Faux (Silk) Flowers Better?
For us, we think using rented faux flowers is a much better option. You get the look and feel of real flowers without the hefty price tag. And when you look at the effect on the environment with no need to throw away all the flowers, it’s an added bonus.
If you’re someone who can’t break from old-time traditions and you’re too worried about what someone might say if they somehow realize your flowers are faux silk, you might want to stick with real flowers. However, most people aren’t even going to think to check and if they do, they’re not going to be able to tell the difference. And even in the off chances that they do, they’re just going to be jealous they didn’t think of your genius idea for their wedding.
If you’d like to learn more about renting faux wedding flowers, check out this link now.