The Pros of Going Faux: Comparing Artificial Flowers & Real Flowers for Weddings

Whether you throw an extravagant event with everyone you know or a backyard ceremony with 10 of your closest friends, you’ve likely spent months planning every detail of your wedding — down to the color of the napkins. Everything is a reflection of your personality and your love story.

Your flowers are a key piece to your wedding puzzle. The type and wedding color scheme you choose can totally transform the atmosphere on your big day — from sultry and moody jewel tones to sweet and romantic pastels. You want your floral arrangements to be totally amazing.

But who says they have to be real?

Artificial flowers can provide all the beauty of real flowers with a few bonus perks — like lasting forever and coming with a more budget-friendly price tag. But if you’re on the fence about going faux, discover how artificial flowers compare to real flowers below and learn how faux flowers could make planning your wedding easier.

Why choose artificial flowers for your wedding

1. Faux flowers are more affordable

If you’re planning a budget wedding, every penny counts. So, if you want to stretch your hard-earned dough as far as you can, faux flowers could be the solution you’re looking for. 

How much more affordable are artificial flowers vs real flowers?

Faux flowers can be as much as four times cheaper on average than the real thing. That’s no small chunk of change, which could allow you to get more blooms for your buck and decorate with more floral arrangements than you otherwise could.

You could also opt for potentially exotic or out-of-season flowers without an upcharge, which helps you broaden your options.

2. There’s no expiration date

Put simply, artificial flowers don’t die. That’s no small feat.

You can order your flowers months, or even years, in advance to prepare for your ceremony and reception. If you need to postpone your wedding for any reason, (hello, global pandemic) your faux flowers will be right there waiting for you — just as dynamic and colorful as the day they arrived on your doorstep.

3. Artificial flowers are always in-season

With real flowers, you’re constrained to the current season and what’s already in bloom. Not so with faux flowers. You can get any kind of blossoms you want at any time of year.

Want to brighten up a winter wedding with sunflowers? You got it. What about gorgeous fall-colored dahlias in the spring? Again, no big deal.

You don’t have to worry about the weather, either. If a drought suddenly wipes out the sunflower field your florist sources from, it’s not a problem. (Take that, mother nature!)

4. They’re allergy friendly

If you or your guests deal with allergies, real flowers can ruin an evening pretty quickly with dry eyes and sneezing.

Since they’re totally pollen-free, faux flowers can be an easy way to prevent the sniffles at your wedding. You can still enjoy gorgeous floral arrangements that look picture-perfect in photos, and you’ll only cry happy tears — not the itchy, burning kind.

5. They’re more pet-friendly

You’re probably aware that some plants are toxic to pets, like lilies. That can be problematic when you want to involve your furry friends in your wedding. If Fido is going to be the ring bearer, someone is going to have to keep a close eye on him to make sure he doesn’t decide to use any potentially toxic flowers as a chew toy.

Potentially dangerous flowers and plants for pets (Source: foundanimals.org):

• DAHLIAS  
• LILIES  
• EUCALYPTUS LEAVES 
• SCHEFFERA  
• POINSETTIAS  
• TULIPS

Limiting your selection of flowers could seriously cut into your overall design. But with artificial flowers, you can decorate with all the faux lilies you want. Granted, you still don’t want your dog nibbling on faux flowers. But, they could offer more peace of mind and give you more options than you would’ve otherwise considered.

6. They’re perfect for DIY projects

Do you want to roll your sleeves up and put your personal stamp on your floral arrangements? Good, because artificial flowers are tailor-made for DIY projects.

You don’t have to worry about petals falling off or stems snapping in half while you try to arrange your flowers. Some faux flowers even come with flexible wire stems that are easy to bend and manipulate, so you can position them however you want to.

And, again, since faux flowers don’t wilt, it’s easy to make and prepare your bridal bouquet and other decorations weeks, or even months, in advance — no refrigeration required.

Can you mix artificial and real flowers in DIY projects?

Sure! If you want to slip in a real blossom or two into your faux floral arrangements, you can totally do that.

Maybe you’d prefer to use real flowers in your bouquet, but accent it with faux greenery? Or perhaps you’d like to offset your faux roses in a bed of fresh greenery from your own backyard? Feel free to go for it. There are no rules, so you’ve got a whole world of options.

7. They’re great for reverse destination weddings

Reverse destination weddings are a way to bring a popular location closer to home. And faux flowers could help you pull off your theme more easily.

For example, are you a big fan of Hawaii, but live in landlocked Chicago? No problem — just grab some faux citrus and pink flowers and head to a lakeside beach.

You don’t have to budget for importing exotic blooms or fret about tropical flowers withering in the cold. All you have to do is put on your shades and relax.

8. They’re super lightweight and easy to transport

Cascading bouquets look totally lush and ethereal. The problem is: If you use real flowers, that bouquet is going to be heavy. And who wants to fend off an arm cramp while walking down the aisle?

Faux flowers are made from super lightweight materials like foam and silk, so they’re a lot easier to carry. The result: You won’t stress about your arms getting tired while you walk down the aisle or pose for photos.

And if you need to transport bigger decorations, like a two-piece floral arch, the lighter faux flowers won’t be as much of a hassle to load into your car or set up at the venue.

9. They make long-lasting memories

No matter how well you try to preserve a bouquet with real flowers, it’s eventually going to dry out and wither into a shell of its former self. But with faux flowers? You can keep your bouquet looking totally pristine for years to come.

All you have to do is pop your bouquet into a shadow box or a display case, and it’ll look exactly the way it did on the day you said “I do.” It’s like looking into a time capsule.

10. You can repurpose them any time

With real flowers, you can only use your decorations on your wedding day — unless you’re ok with setting out brown, shriveled-up centerpieces or floral swags (pass.)

But remember that your faux flower decorations can literally live forever. So, you can save your wedding decorations and repurpose them for all kinds of special events in the future, like:

• Birthdays 
•  Anniversaries 
•  Baby showers 
•  Proms 
•  Graduations.

Seriously, you name it. You won’t have to spend money on decorations, so you can redirect your budget to other fun stuff at your party — like a bottle of bubbly or two.

Plus, If you had a holiday wedding (like a Christmas wedding or Halloween ceremony) you could easily double your decorations as seasonal decor. Seeing your wedding decorations around the house could make your holiday feel even more special and cozy.

Bonus: Artificial flowers can look totally real

Faux flowers have come a long way since the days of your Grandma’s dusty centerpieces. They can actually look just as lush, vibrant, and lifelike as the real thing.

If you’re skeptical about that, do us a favor: Scroll up and try to tell which of the flowers featured in this article are artificial and which are real. Can you tell the difference? No? Well, that’s because it’s a trick question: They’re all faux. (Yes, seriously.)

And if you can’t tell the difference, do you think your guests, or anyone else who looks at your wedding photos, will be able to tell either? They might not, but your wallet certainly can.

Conclusion

The jury is in: Faux flowers can provide just as many pros as real flowers, and even some that you can’t get with the real thing — like more affordable prices and the ability to reuse your decorations.

If you’re ready to explore faux wedding flowers for yourself, Ling’s Moment has you covered.

We feature deluxe faux flowers in over 20 designer color palettes, with new color collections launching every season. You can use our designer flower boxes and DIY kits to create your own floral arrangements, or use our premade designs to save time and energy while planning your wedding.

And if you do decide to join the ranks of other Ling’s brides, feel free to tag @lingsmoment on Instagram so we can share your special moments