I get asked this question a lot from brides who are planning their weddings. Personally, I am a real flower person, not only because they are so much prettier than silk, but they are more practical. I realize that big box stores make it very hard not to resist their 50% off sales when you have a tight budget but let me share why I think natural is better than silk.
Natural flowers are better for the environment, that really should be a no brainer. When you are done with your florals, take them to a local hospital or church for their shut-ins or a retirement home to brighten up their day. Then you don’t have to worry about what happens to them because they are biodegradable.
Take some of the flowers from your arrangement and have them dried and mounted in a display box so you have them as an important keepsake. There are a lot of tutorials on YouTube on how to make a forever shadow box of flowers from your wedding and it is easier than you think. You can also put your invitation in the box and any fun party favors that you had for your guest. Use your imagination.
To save money on natural flowers, pick flowers that are in season. Just go to Pinterest and search for the flowers in the month of your wedding date. Then you can see what is available to use for your wedding as far as look, textures, and colors. Don’t get so hung up on specific colors that you limit the types of flowers that you could use. By being open to all colors and types of flowers, you will be able to have a one of kind and unique floral arrangement just for your wedding, not like every other one you see online.
Just because you might be getting married in a month that is an off season for flowers, like January thru early March or November and December, doesn’t mean you still can’t use some natural growing plants for your wedding. Yes, it can be a challenge to find flowers, however, there is a lot of greenery, evergreens, that are beautiful year round and that you can utilize for décor by adding flowers, berries and even fruit to make your own, one of a kind décor.
Also, don’t have your flower girls throwing silk flower petals. They are a nuisance, hurt the environment and are basically trash! I would just double check with your venue about their policy on silk flower petals. There are many biodegradable products on the market that you can use for the flower girls besides silk ones, do your research.
And lastly, purchasing natural flowers will help your local grower. There are so many local businesses now that have made flowers their thing. Go to your downtown farmers market and see if there are any local growers that you can meet and talk to about flowers for your wedding. Better to support a local business then to support a big box store that gets everything from who knows where!
