The Case for Faux Florals
Disclosure: Blooming Savvy (Forever Botanic LLC) may receive a commission or share of sales from products purchased using the links provided on this website and / or our social media profiles. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
One of the most expensive costs for your wedding is florals. While many wedding traditions are on their way out, florals appear to be here to stay. When the recommended budget for wedding flowers is 10% of your overall spend, you need to get creative. No one should be refinancing the house for some peonies. It’s time to start considering fake flowers for your wedding. Here are some ways to do it without it giving that 1997 dust-covered, sun-faded silk ficus tree in a bank lobby energy. If you know, you know.
Choose flower colors that actually exist in nature.
Did you know that blue-colored blooms are fairly rare in nature? Surprising, right? You know what isn’t surprising? That a glitter-dusted, American flag printed rose isn’t fooling the bees. Pick colors that are natural and blooms that are realistic. For example, real orchids already look like they’re made from rubber, so even lower-cost fakes look real. Peonies, cabbage roses, dahlias, and carnations tend to be the most believable, especially if they’re in muted, soft colors. Filler stems like lavender, baby’s breath, banana leaves, mint, boxwood, ruscus, and eucalyptus are easy to fake with faux greenery, as well. Be careful of lower cost versions of things like tulips, poppies, hydrangeas, and ranunculus florals. These may look great in photos online, but often what is actually sent to you looks nothing like the photo. This shouldn’t even be legal, but it happens, so be wise about buying in bulk before you verify the quality. Those party supply “wholesale” retailers with suspiciously low prices are notorious for this. They use high quality faux florals in their photos and send you something completely different (in a bad way). On this note, legitimate wholesalers often require a resale certificate issued by your state’s department of taxation to verify you’re an actual business, so don’t be fooled by a company claiming to offer “wholesale” prices to the general public. If you’re unsure, order a single item to see before you commit to the whole order. We have an entire crate of neon, traffic cone orange “roses” in storage, so take our word for it.
Don’t purchase from one retailer.
You’re going to walk in to a craft store, see the amazingly realistic fake florals, and load that shopping cart up. Then you’re going to go to the register and realize you don’t have $87 million dollars to purchase these items. High quality fake flowers are expensive if you aren’t smart with how, when, and where you purchase. Look for 50% off sales. Hobby Lobby runs these OFTEN for their floral department. Even places like Dollar Tree (ahem…Dollar and Twenty Five Cents Tree) have highly-realistic looking greenery, so don’t shy away from the discount stores for certain items. Amazon retailers have some really good quality available, but their items can get pricey if you divide the overall costs by the bloom count. We’ve compiled some of our favorite Amazon floral products here. If an item is really low in cost and looks fabulous in the photo, look closely at the material used. These are often made from foam and up close look really fake. If you start early, you can slowly build your inventory for your wedding by keeping an eye out for sales and end of season clearances. We’ve found great quality faux florals in the weirdest stores, so always take a look whenever you’re out and about.
Rent.
If spending thousands on something you throw away after a few hours (real) or will never use again (faux) just doesn’t sit right with you, consider renting. There are vendors just like Blooming Savvy in most metropolitan areas who offer this service. It also allows you access to the highest quality faux florals, as a rental company can afford to purchase the best quality blooms since they’ll be renting these out multiple times.
Large Statement Pieces.
Florals are about the photos so spend your money on florals that are going to feature heavily in your photographs. While flowers can transform a space, the photos you see in blogs, websites, and magazines are not within the average budget. While large installations using real florals can easily cost over $10,000, faux floral walls and arches are an affordable alternative that look expensive and are significantly less.
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Disclosure: Blooming Savvy (Forever Botanic LLC) may receive a commission or share of sales from products purchased using the links provided on this website and / or our social media profiles. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.