Silk or real; what’s a bride to do? For many brides, the question is really perplexing — specially for those who want to mix a dash of “Do-It-Yourself” into their wedding flower preparations.

Obviously, silk comes with some benefits — it’s tough and shelf stable, and the petals won’t come off at the worst achievable moment. On the other hand, silk flowers do not usually look real, and they aren’t often a bargain, either.

The fact is, the silk versus real dilemma is more confusing than ever, thanks in component due to the increasing sophistication — and accompanying price — of silk and latex flowers. To navigate this new terrain, we interviewed Paul Ajao, a professional florist and cofounder of Pure Botanics, a UK-based floral designer who specializes in weddings.

You keep hearing that silk flowers have gotten “far better and far better.” Yet when you go to the local craft store, they look just about as artificial as ever. Where are these super-realistic flowers, and how can a bride get her hands on them?

It’s true that artificial flowers have improved. But the quality varies widely from brand to brand. In addition to craft stores, take a look at which brands your local florists are using. After all, their reputation depends on delivering a gorgeous result. Also, they may well be able to order in artificial flowers for you — ones that you can’t get in the craft
stores.

1 brand with a great reputation that florists use regularly is Sia, which you can discover in the UK, US and Australia.

Is it true that artificial flowers photograph poorly? And does that incorporate the high-end latex kind?

When you take close-ups of artificial flowers, yes, it can be fairly obvious that the flowers aren’t real. But this depends a lot on the quality of the artificial flowers you’ve employed.

Keep in mind that any shiny surfaces may possibly trigger the camera flash to “bounce,” which looks pretty unnatural for flowers. The widespread off-the-shelf flowers can be pretty shiny.

1 argument for silk flowers is that fresh flowers are seasonal, but some florists are suggesting that season isn’t so crucial these days — that virtually everything can be imported all year round. Are you finding this to be true?

Well, some of the most common cut flowers, such as roses, gerberas (gerber daisies) and orchids, are readily available all year round. So you do not have to worry about seasonality with these flowers.

But other people, like peonies, lily of the valley and ranunculus, have a definite season. Expect to pay more if you purchase out of season. And the top quality may possibly not be as excellent.

Just to illustrate how essential season can be: a florist we know planned her entire wedding around the very brief time in spring when lily of the valley was in season, so she could use fresh!

What’s your personal feelings on silk vs. artificial flowers? As a professional florist, would you mix them in arrangements — for example, use silk for the super-pricy flowers like calla lilies or orchids?

Personally, we love working with real flowers. But it’s true that silk undoubtedly comes with some advantages. For starters:

- They won’t wilt.
- They’re a lasting memento of your large day.
- They’re effortless to transport if you’re obtaining married abroad.
- You can prepare them lengthy in advance.

The last point’s important if you’re preparing flowers yourself. By their nature, you have to arrange fresh flowers the day before the wedding at the earliest — and usually the morning of. This doesn’t leave you much time to switch gears if you aren’t happy with the outcomes. On the other hand, you can experiment with and arrange silk flowers weeks in advance. That leaves you a lot of time to relax and pamper your self in the run up to your wedding!

And yes, you can mix artificial and real flowers with excellent outcomes. A friend of ours loves ranunculus and wanted them in a mixed bouquet with roses and gerberas. Regrettably, ranunculus was out of season for her wedding date, and would have price a lot. So she opted to tuck artificial ranunculus into a fresh bouquet. The outcomes, and the photos, had been gorgeous.

Anything else you want to add?

Contrary to well-liked opinion, do not think that silk flowers are generally going to be cheaper than real. Several of the top quality ones are as pricey as the real thing — if not much more.