Fresh Flowers vs. Silk Flowers for Your Special Day!

     You're engaged....Best Wishes to you! Nothing is as romantic as a wedding, and beautifully designed fresh flowers capture the essence of romance. For many Brides, flowers are the most important part of their planning, right after the RING and the GOWN!

    Fresh flowers offer fragrance and delicate beauty that is hard to capture in artificial arrangements, but there are many reasons to choose artificial over fresh, or even a combination of fresh and artificial. Many people think that using artificial flowers will save money over fresh flowers, but this is not necessarily so. Many people think that they can buy loose fresh flowers and design them themselves and save money, and this is not necesarily so.  Before making a decision, you should establish your floral budget (and your available time the day of or day before the wedding to work on flowers) and look at both artificial and fresh flowers to see what you really LOVE.  Remember, you can always combine! Perhaps you have your heart set on fresh flowers from the finest Florist in town. Well, you could always order your BOUQUET from that Florist, and  make other plans for the other floral decor if you can't afford to have the Florist do the entire wedding!

     First, here are some common terms:

Fresh flowers - those which are cut from a living plant, bush, vine, or tree. Fresh flowers must be processed, treated, and stored correctly to extend vase life.

Silk flowers - only artificial flowers made from fabric which is 100% silk can correctly be called "silk flowers", but the term is commonly and loosly used to refer to any artificial plant or flower whether latex, plastic, paper, or any type of fabric is used for the construction. Many people have never seen real silk flowers (they are not available at discount or craft stores).  The vast majority of artificial flowers are made of polyester fabric (a petroleum byproduct).  Most fabric flowers will fray with excess handling, and will ignite and burn easily, so they should be handled with care and not used around cigarettes and candles. Most artificial flowers have a wire stem which is either coated in plastic (low end artificials) or wrapped in stem wrap or paper wrap by hand (high end artificials).  Artificial flowers vary greatly in quality of construction and material. You will probably only be able to find real 100% silk flowers at a Florist, and each stem will so identify. Most will also have tags that say "hand wrapped" or "hand made", indicating that a designer picked up petals individually and assembled them to make the flower. Real 100% silk flowers will almost always cost the same or MORE than a similar fresh flower!

Processing - refers to the treatment and handling steps fresh flowers require. Beginning with the grower, there is a chain of steps to proper harvesting, pre-treating, handling, storing, and shipping fresh flowers. When you order fresh flowers from a Florist, processing is done for you, and the Florist will give you instructions on how to care for your wedding flowers. In fact, when you order your flowers from a Florist, you can also pay a fee to have the Florist deliver to the wedding, come back and move the flowers from the wedding to the reception site, and be on hand to take care of any emergencies or mishaps. You should ask about this service availability when you schedule a consultation with a florist.

Pretreating  or Conditioning- refers to special ways the fresh flowers are gotten ready for design work, and it depends on what type of arrangements the flowers will be used for. This is sometimes called "hardening".

Refrigeration - fresh flowers must be kept at specific temperatures and humidity, and some flowers require certain light conditions and certain air movement.  Please note that fresh flowers should not be put in a refrigerator used for food as the gasses emitted by some foods will damage the flowers.

Antitranspirant - special treatment for fresh flowers that helps them hold onto their moisure.

BUYING FRESH FLOWERS....

    You have many options available. Fresh flowers can be bought in bulk at a wholesale floral market and designed yourself, finished arrangements can be ordered from a Florist and easily delivered right to your ceremony and reception site, or fresh or silk flowers, plants, or greenery can be rented in some locations. In our location, we rent everything in artificial including aisle bouquets, candelabra sprays, urns of flowers for the altar, even artificial bridal bouquets to use for the pre-wedding photography appointment (for brides who will be carrying fresh flowers for their wedding who do not want to order a separate fresh bouquet for portraits). These rentals are available from many Florists in many cities, and the advantage is that you can go and see the actual arrangements you will be using before the wedding, so there are no unpleasant surprises!

     Before deciding to buy in bulk and arrange your own wedding flowers, be sure you understand all that is involved and have enough helpers and time to successfully do the job. If you buy in bulk, you will receive the flowers from the wholesale floral market the same way that flower shops receive their flowers....in big bundles, probably packed without water in cardboard boxes. If you order these by overnight delivery, they will probably arrive with some coolant (such as ice wrapped in newspaper). You must be prepared to receive the flowers and open them immediately.  The day before they arrive you will need to have clean tubs or buckets of water treated with fresh flower conditioners (purchase this at a Florist or from the wholesale floral market). It takes a day or more for some additives added by municipal water treatment plants to dissipate). You will  need to immediately give each flower stem a new angled cut UNDER WATER with a sharp floral knife (not scissors, which pinch down on the stem before cutting it damaging the flower's ability to take up water and nutrients). You will need to store the flowers at the correct temperature. Roses have to be stripped of thorns and any foilage that will end up underwater. (Your Florist can sell you a special tool to strip thorns). If flowers have been out of water for transport, they will need some time to stand in the pre-conditioned water before design work is begun. (This is called "hardening"). You will also need specific tools and supplies to work with fresh flowers such as tall buckets for water, floral knives for cutting stems, antitranspirant sprays for some types of fresh flowers (your Florist can advise you on which flowers need to be sprayed after designing), leaf gloss treatment sprays, stem wires, stem wrap, and more. Instructions on flower arranging can be found at your local library. 

      If you have never arranged fresh flowers and want to try this for your own wedding, a "trial run" is a good idea!  Find a picture of a wedding bouquet you like, buy some fresh flowers, and try to make it yourself.  Store it overnight and see how it looks the following day, and then you will have a good idea of the time you will need to allow to make your bouquet. Realistically speaking, you will probably not be able to do wedding flowers the day OF the wedding, and would probably have to do all the arranging the day before, so storing it until the next day gives you a realistic idea of how it would look. You should also take some photos of the finished bouquet and then look at the photos. This is what your bridal bouquet will look like in your wedding pictures which you will have for years and years to come.

DESTINATION WEDDING FLOWERS...

     Many "destination" weddings offer fresh flower rental for weddings. When you arrive at the ceremony location a consultant will show you various pre-made fresh flower and silk flower bouquets and arrangements. You make your selection, use it for the wedding and photos, then return it to the consultant. It is a rental. Most also sell fresh flower arrangements such as bouquets, corsages, and boutonnieres. If yours will be a destination wedding, be sure you understand if the flowers are rented or purchased. For example if you are renting a fresh bouquet you will not be allowed to throw it at the reception.

WHERE TO BUY FRESH FLOWERS

    Flower shops buy fresh flowers from wholesale flower markets, flower brokers, or directly from the farms. Keep in mind that everytime a flower changes hand (farm to broker or wholesaler, broker or wholesaler to retailer or florist) they add their profit. For maximum savings you need to buy in bulk as close to the source as possible. Many of these same sources that sell to florists will sell to the public, sometimes with an "upcharge"  and with tax added. You will receive the flowers in "growers bunches" or bulk packages and then must do all processing and designing yourself.

    If you purchase loose flowers from a flower shop, grocery store, or other retail vendor  they will have already bought the flowers from the wholesale flower market, flower broker, or farm and divided them up  into the quantities they sell in. Quality, price, and "age" of the flowers will vary widely! Be sure you understand what quality and quantity you are receiving. (Yes, flowers come in different qualities. A red rose isn't just "a  rose", for example. Pricing depends on size, stem length, variety, etc. It's like buying a car.  You don't just buy "a car"...you decide if you want the brand new luxury sedan or the 10 year old 2 door subcompact).

     Planning and taking all aspects of your wedding ceremony into account will help you make the best floral buying decision and help you avoid big headaches on your special day.  No matter if you choose fresh, artificial, or some combination, your day will be special and beautiful with just a little advance planning and preparation! Feel free to contact us if you have any questions, and Best Wishes on your engagement!