Silk Wedding Flowers Are NOT Always Less Expensive Than Fresh but They Can Be

Many advice columns and well-meaning people give brides the idea that artificial flowers, known as silk flowers are always less expensive than fresh flowers for their wedding. There are instances when decorating with fabric flowers can be more budget friendly but it's not always cheaper. It has a lot to do with the type of flowers used, their quality, and whether or not the flowers are arranged professionally. I think if brides were to learn about the differences this would save them a lot of money, hassle, and unnecessary stress.

You can save money by using silk flowers for your wedding but you have to keep a few things in mind to guide your choices.

Inexpensive silk flowers can be bought at craft and discount stores. They can also be found online at craft websites and import websites. They are generally not of high quality but can serve well in budget arrangements meant to be seen from a distance in churches and at the reception.

Common flowers like fabric roses are less expensive usually because so many are made. Mass produced items are often less expensive. Their other advantage is that fabric roses and other common artificial flower types have been made for many years so their producers have more or less perfected the design of such blooms. Beautiful silk peonies, gerbera daisies, sunflowers, tulips, carnations and roses can all be found at low prices.

Flowers that come in a garden bush style are often also much less expensive. Some garden bush style flowers include several types of coordinating fabric flowers attached to a bush-like artificial plant. Others have only one type of flower on a natural looking bush and include several stages of bloom including buds and wide open blossoms. I've seen great deals on garden bush style fabric roses that look very, very realistic.

Silk flowers actually have seasons, just like real flowers. The demand is greater just before the real version of a silk flower comes into season. Likewise, the demand drops dramatically once the real version of an artificial flower falls out of season. This means you can really save money buying silk flowers just after their real counterparts' season ends.

One of the biggest ways to save money by using silk flowers for your wedding is to arrange them yourself. This is for two reasons - most florists won't arrange the budget flowers you bought somewhere else, at least not without a hefty fee, and the silk flowers available to most florists are not inexpensive. They also charge to arrange them. The way to take advantage of your cheaply bought silk flowers is to arrange them yourself or with the help of volunteer labor.

Now let's talk about how silk flowers can be more expensive. High quality silk flowers, often called permanent botanicals cost more than fresh flowers. They are often more complicated in structure and made by hand rather than by machines and they use more expensive raw materials. These artificial flowers are usually what florists carry. So don't expect a silk arrangement made in a floral shop to cost less than a fresh arrangement. They often cost one and a half to three times as much as fresh flower arrangements!

I hope this guide will help you to make informed choices about the use of silk flowers to save money on your wedding decorations and arrangements.