Flowers are always a must in a wedding. It doesn’t matter it is formal or informal wedding, you will definitely see flowers everywhere, on the car, at the alter, the bouquet, the hair accessories and so on. I don’t think there’s any wedding without flowers.

Brides always have difficulty to decide whether to use real or fake flowers. Those who prefer real flowers would usually tell you that there should not be fake things in a wedding, therefore the flowers must be real. Those who prefer fake ones usually will tell you that they want to cut cost and they don’t emphasize on it since it won’t last and it’s not a very wise investment. Whatever reason given, it’s up to the couple to decide.

If you haven’t decide and you don’t mind having real or fake flowers, then you can consider the pros and cons of them. Usually we see plastic flowers here but did you know that there’s actually silk flower that looked like real. Anyway, we are not going to discuss about silk flower for now. We will just cover this topic based on the general fake and real flowers.

Why real flowers?
Pros:

• Naturally scented
• Pretty
• Exquisite details
• Soft and delicate to the touch
• More traditional
• Photograph extremely well (especially in close-ups)
• More luxurious
• Can be preserved (freeze dried)
• The sentimental value

Cons:

• Required maintenance
• Higher cost
• Cause allegies
• Not suitable for very hot weather or strong wind
• Cannot have it in advance
• Can only go for what you can get in the season
• Not easy to transport

Why fake/artificial flowers?
Pros:

• No maintenance
• Long lasting
• Cheaper
• Can be reused for home or office decor
• Great for those with allergies
• Can obtain easily
• More choices, no worries about the season
• Can be prepared in advance
• Might look real depending on the quality and the price that you are willing to pay
• Easy transportation

Cons:

• Might look cheap (again it depends on the quality of it)
• Difficult to recreate the delicate floral fragrance of a real flower

Another way is that you can have both real or fake flowers for your wedding. You don’t have to have real flowers everywhere and you don’t have to have fake flowers everywhere. For example, at location that exposed directly to sun, wind, and rain, you might want to go for fake ones and you can have real ones for your bouquet, hair accessories and the guest tables. You can read Faux Florals and Candles (One-of-a-Kind Weddings) by Laura Maffeo and Colleen Mullaney and Faux Florals in Glass: 30-Plus Unique Arrangements in Clear Vases and Other Glassware by Ardith Beveridge.

Proper planning and compromising is needed to ensure you don’t spend all your money just on flowers as I don’t think this is a very wise move to spend so much on flowers, it can cost a lot especially when you want to have everything “real”.