Silk flowers for a wedding are a popular economical choice for today's brides. They offer a huge selection in varieties, colors and styles. Whether your wedding is an informal beach wedding or a more formal traditional affair, these flowers will add just the right touch of beauty and elegance.
Purchasing Silk Flower Arrangements
While your local flower shop may not work extensively with silk, there are several companies available that can help you achieve exactly the look and style you're after, including:
- Silk Specialties: Silk Specialties carries realistic looking silk wedding flowers in a wide variety of different blooms and colors. They sell both ready-made arrangements and custom made arrangements from the bouquets to the table pieces. Additionally, they include a selection of "bling bling" bouquet add-ons that will brighten your silk bouquet.
- Afloral: Afloral sells inexpensive silk flowers and silk flower bouquets for weddings. Choose from some of their ready-made offerings, or customize your bouquet following their steps. They even have videos with DIY tips on arrangement. Bouquets can start as low as $7.99.
- The Brides Bouquet: The Bride's Bouquet makes beautiful silk bouquets in a wide variety of colors with prices starting at just $9.99. They also carry corsages and boutonnieres as well. Search their ready-made bouquets by color or by type of flower - tropical, wildflower, or daisy.
- Wedideas: Wedideas makes and carries some unusual looking silk wedding bouquets. Choose from both round and cascade styles and either select one of their ready-made options, or have them create one from your ideas. In additional to traditional bouquets and table pieces, they also have headpieces and cake toppers available for purchase.
Creating Your Own Silk Wedding Flower Arrangements
In addition being able to save money on discount blooms, you can also save by creating your own arrangements and bouquets. The more durable nature of silk florals and greenery allows you to work with them and change things until you are satisfied with the presentation.
- Look at pictures in bridal magazines for inspirations and check articles for tips on arranging your own wedding flowers.
- Select pieces with long enough stems to give you something to hold.
- Group together the different blooms alone or in a holder until you are satisfied.
- Wrap florist's tape around the stems to hold it together and finish with a ribbon wrapped over the tape.
Choosing Your Silk Flowers
Whether you decide to go with a cascading bouquet, an elegant nosegay, or simple presentation of a few single flowers, choose colors and styles of flowers that complement your wedding colors and style. Regardless of whether you make your own arrangement, or you purchase one made just for you, follow a few tips to make sure you get precisely what you want:
- Purchase or ask for samples of the different flowers you are considering and bring them home with you. Look at them in natural and artificial light, as well as candlelight, because they may appear different under different lighting.
- Ask about making sure that all flowers come from one dye lot so you can be sure they will match one another.
- If the flowers or stems are ribbon-wrapped, consider requesting a color ribbon from your wedding colors to coordinate.
- If purchasing a ready-made arrangement over the Internet, request multiple close up photos of similar works, as well as samples, so you can see the quality of the workmanship.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Silk Flowers
Silk flowers make a great alternative to live flowers for a number of reasons, but they do have their drawbacks as well.
Advantages
While live flowers are certainly beautiful, there are also a potential number of downfalls associated with them that might make silk flowers a more desirable option.
- With silk flowers, there are no worries about allergies the bride or any member of the bridal party may have to the live versions.
- If you want scented flowers, your silk wedding flowers can be sprayed lightly with a floral scent.
- The stress from worrying about timely delivery and making sure the fresh flowers are still picture perfect and not wilted is eliminated.
- There is also no need to worry or extra expense associated with preserving the bride's bouquet.
- Whatever flowers you desire for your wedding, working with silk allows you to choose any variety in any season.
- If you want some exotic looking flowers, silk flowers may save you money over the real thing, particularly if it is out of season.
Disadvantages
Silk flowers are a great idea for many brides, but they aren't for everyone due to a few disadvantages.
- Some less expensive silk flowers and arrangements look like what they are; reproductions of real flowers, which can be off-putting to some people.
- If you're purchasing a ready-made arrangement, you may not be able to see samples of the flowers ahead of time.
- Dye lots in silk flowers can vary; if you end up purchasing flowers from several lots your bouquet may not match some of the other flowers used in decorations.
Silk Florals
The versatility of silk flowers provides a number of options to use in your wedding favors, limited only by your imagination. However you decide to use silk flowers for your wedding, the result is sure to match your beautiful day.
