Blooms of Choice: Navigating the Faux vs. Fresh Flower Dilemma

The need to know when choosing whether to go faux or fresh for your big day and the pros and cons of both

The debate between faux and fresh florals should come to an end. Both have their pros and cons and both are beautiful in their own ways. There’s no right or wrong answer when it comes to which blooms you choose, if it works for you, then it works for you. But if you’re on the fence about which to choose for your big day, hopefully I can help you out with putting a few things into perspective about both.

Faux Blooms

As Faux florals are beginning to make their appearance in the wedding world more and more these days, they are also starting to look more and more appealing to all different brides. My opinion on the matter? If they’re done right, they’re f-ing amazing.

Besides your typical faux arrangement, there’s also options for florals made out of wood (which fricken baffles my mind) and to be honest, they could pass as real until you really get up close and really REALLY look. April with Teton Wood Blooms out of Pennsylvania makes out- of -this- world wooden florals and because they aren’t fresh flowers, they can be shipped. So if you fall in love with someone’s work from another state, everything will be well and dandy! That’s a BIG pro. Another big pro? Her bouquets all start at $30. On the other hand, I’d assume wood florals would be a bit more delicate compared to regular faux florals which could be something to consider, but I don’t think it’s a big game changer…unless you plan on throwing your bouquet across the room all night.

Of course if you are going to go the route of faux florals, you need to choose someone who’s going to do a great job. Faux florals can look either so real and lux or so fake and cheap and it all depends on who you choose. I’ve seen both unfortunately. Making sure you have an appropriate budget for your florals is also key because we all know, you get what you pay for. The Flower Corner is an amazing faux & fresh floral creator based out of Colorado and would be a great pick for either your fresh or faux flowers. Their faux bouquets range from $35-$85 but are only available for rent.

If you are looking to purchase and keep your florals for years to come, Lings Moment is an amazing faux floral company that ships to wherever you are. Better yet, I’ve actually seen these florals in person and they are absolutely stunning and could fool even someone with the best eye. When i tell you I audibly gasped when I saw this beautiful bouquet (pictured above), I absolutly mean it. I've seen faux florals before, but not like that. Lings Moment offers bouquets starting at $99, as well as all of the other things you may want florals for like centerpieces, boutonnieres, corsages, etc. Keep in mind though, from their website, and many other faux floral companies websites, I’ve gathered that faux blooms seem to be less customizable. Lings Moment sells their bouquets and collections as color themes: red and burgundy, cream and green, and so on and so forth.

All in all, if you’re looking to save money while being able to keep your bouquet literally FOREVER, I would strongly consider looking into a faux bouquet, specially if full range of customization isn’t as important to you . To be honest, while writing this I’ve almost convinced myself to invest in faux florals for my own wedding lol. But there’s something about fresh flowers that I can’t quite seem to get myself away from…

With that being said, there’s no better time to start talking about fresh florals then now!

Fresh Florals

Fresh flowers will always be a love of mine so I’m going to try my best not to be biased. They obviously look real from every angle and you may have some more options for types of flowers to use in your arrangement that you otherwise wouldn’t when doing faux florals. They also give a whole different look (IMO) than your faux flowers would. Not only that, but there’s a feeling you get with fresh florals. The earthiness, the natural beauty they have, the smell… BUT that won’t last forever. Sure you can put them in the fridge for a week or so in some water but then what? They die and the only time you get to see them again is in photos.

Now you might be saying “Wait, what about the companies who preserve bouquets?” Yeah, I know they exist, and it’s an amazing option for keeping your real florals forever, don’t get me wrong. Let’s not forget that that has its pros and cons too; like if you find someone in another state? You have to ship your flowers in a box with people who will literally chuck your packages at your front door regardless of the fragile sticker or not (we’ve all seen the videos). That’s not saying all delivery drivers are like that but you never know! Flower preservation is also an extra cost which would need to be taken into consideration.

Also, floral preservation is some damn hard work, I’ve done it myself (or tried at least) so you have to find someone who knows what they’re doing and is good at it. But with all the creative talented people in their world, it would be so easy. Or if you don’t want to keep your flowers, then that’s one less step you need to take!

Sheilan, Owner of Yarrow & Spruce, photo by Paula B. Photo

If you are a planning bride, past bride or wedding vendor reading this, then you know how expensive everything wedding related can be. With that being said, fresh blooms are going to be less “cost effective” if you're ballin on a budget. Of course there is the option to assemble your own florals but that can be a lot of work and you’re limited to what you’d find in a store. Now, if you have the budget to accommodate your dream fresh florals with your favorite florist, hell yeah, I love that for you. My fave florist you may ask? Yarrow & Spruce, duh. I will choose Yarrow & Spruce time and time again because I’m OBSESSED. Sheilan, owner of Y&S, is one of the sweetest gems I’ve spoken to in the industry. She’s genuine, kind, and just overall *chefs kiss* MUAH! Which is incredibly refreshing. Not only does she have a heart of gold, her work is something I’ll never get over. With years of experience, being born a flower herself and an eye like no other, you will not regret choosing Sheilan and her team to construct your wedding day blooms. Full service floral designs with Yarrow start at $8,000 and increase based upon wants and needs. They also offer A La Carte florals with a $500 minimum and will increase based on what you add to your package.

You can agree with me or not but you just can’t replace that feeling of surrounding yourself with real, earth grown, florals in everyday life let alone your wedding day. There’s something about them that just feels like a breath of fresh air and makes you feel like your life is put together.

All in all, faux florals may be the way to go when you’re wanting to keep your flowers forever or if you’re looking for something a bit more “budget friendly”. They can look cheap if not done by a pro, so make sure you pick the perfect person with credibility and lots of experience. Fresh florals, however, run a bit of a higher price tag and you’re not always able to keep them forever, unless you want to invest in preservation. But with the true to life florals, you get the real gems everyone seems to flock to with lots more customization than you’d find with faux florals. I think the two definitely have their pros and cons but to be honest, you can’t go wrong with either. If being able to keep a piece of your wedding forever is important to you, while saving on cost, go faux. But if you’d prefer freshness over anything and have the extra coin to preserve your bouquet, if you want, go fresh. There’s no wrong answers here. It’s your wedding and no one is going to judge you for doing either…at least I won’t.