Obviously, silk comes with some advantages — it’s tough and shelf stable, and the petals won’t come off at the worst possible moment. On the other hand, silk flowers don’t always look real, and they aren’t always a bargain, either.

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

You keep hearing that silk flowers have gotten “better and 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 beautiful result. Also, they might be able to order in artificial flowers for you — ones that you can’t get in the craft
stores.

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

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

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

Remember that any shiny surfaces may cause the camera flash to “bounce,” which looks pretty unnatural for flowers. The common off-the-shelf flowers can be pretty shiny.

One argument for silk flowers is that fresh flowers are seasonal, but some florists are suggesting that season isn’t so important these days — that almost 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 available all year round. So you don’t have to worry about seasonality with these flowers.

But others, like peonies, lily of the valley and ranunculus, have a definite season. Expect to pay more if you buy out of season. And the quality may not be as good.

Just to illustrate how important season can be: a florist we know planned her whole 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 definitely comes with some advantages. For starters:

- They won’t wilt.

- They’re a lasting memento of your big day.

- They’re easy to transport if you’re getting married abroad.

- You can prepare them long 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 results. On the other hand, you can experiment with and arrange silk flowers weeks in advance. That leaves you plenty of time to relax and pamper yourself in the run up to your wedding!

And yes, you can mix artificial and real flowers with great results. A friend of ours loves ranunculus and wanted them in a mixed bouquet with roses and gerberas. Unfortunately, ranunculus was out of season for her wedding date, and would have cost a lot. So she opted to tuck artificial ranunculus into a fresh bouquet. The results, and the photos, were beautiful.

Anything else you want to add?

Contrary to popular opinion, don’t think that silk flowers are always going to be cheaper than real. Many of the quality ones are as expensive as the real thing — if not more.

Blake Kritzberg is editor of FavorIdeas. Stop by for continually-updated celebrity wedding news, remarkable beach wedding favors, exclusive hairstyling articles and gorgeous and unique wedding favors.

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Don’t just assume that you should get fresh flowers!

There are many good reasons for why you might choose to get silk flowers instead…

Probably the biggest benefit of silk flowers, is the cost. Usually, a silk flower
bouquet will end up being considerably cheaper than a fresh flower bouquet. It’s
much cheaper to make a silk flower, than it is for a farmer to carefully grow a fresh
flower in their garden, and then for a florist to look after it!

Another benefit of using silk flowers in your wedding bouquet, is that after you are
married, you can keep the bouquet, as a reminder of the happy day. You can also
keep fresh flower bouquets, but to do this they will need to be preserved, which can
be quite expensive.

Finally, with silk bouquets, you can actually try making the bouquet yourself!
Although it’s quite easy to make bouquets, it can be hard with real flowers, and it’s
much easier for beginners if they are using silk flowers instead.

There are a few benefits to using real flowers though…

The main benefit is the smell. Even if you spray them with perfume, a silk bouquet
will never smell as nice as a fresh flower bouquet.

Another benefit of fresh flower wedding bouquets is that there are a lot more places
to buy the flowers, and it can be easier to get more variety. This depends on where
you shop though. If you can find somewhere local to you that sells silk flowers, or
you buy them online, then silk flowers can be just as easy to get as fresh.

But wait a second…

Aren’t I forgetting the most important thing? That fresh flowers LOOK a lot better
than silk?

Well, this may have been true once, but these days, it’s quite easy to get beautiful
silk flowers, that are indistinguishable from the real thing. I’ve personally made
quite
a few silk-flower bouquets that people have tried smelling, because they thought
the flowers were real!

Ultimately it’s up to you to decide what type of wedding bouquet you want. All I can
suggest is that you don’t jump into it, and give silk-flowers serious consideration,
as they have many benefits. After all, the smell from a fresh-flower wedding
bouquet will only last for a few days, anyway!

Peta Fletcher has been making wedding bouquets for over 14 years. Her website at http://www.visionsofsilk.com has lots of information on how to make bouquets, including details on How you can make a candy bouquet.

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Wedding flower decoration can be of various kinds. You can choose a large arch of flowers or a centre-piece, or both- everything is suitable depending on your taste. Use your own creative imagination and choose the best flower decoration for the great event. It is important that you decide on flower arrangement that suits your wedding settings. Choose a color combination that appeals to you and is in harmony with the entire setting. The flower decoration can consist of seasonal and local flowers. You should as specifically as possible decide on the size, shape and color for the different flower arrangements. You may easily get some piece of advice from a magazine: there are large varieties of all kinds of flowers. Silk flowers and dried flowers can be an opportunity, too.

Remember: your wedding flower decoration is meant to express you and your personal style, but comply also with your loved one’s taste. Additional factors should influence your choice: the season, the time of day for the party, the location atmosphere and so on. These weather conditions make a difference and you should have them in mind before deciding strongly on something. A cunning way to make wedding flower decoration suitable is color blocking. Color blocking is called the procedure of choosing a specific color or combination of several colors and using it as the leading nuance when you create all your wedding settings. For example, you may choose the classical white, and put white orchids on the white tablecloths, and prepare your wedding bouquet with white being the predominant color.

There are several types of flower arrangements that are used during the ceremony.

BOUQUETS. They are flower decorations for the bride. A wedding bouquet must be carefully chosen depending on the personal characteristics of the woman. Its color must stress on her individuality, and its shape must emphasize on her body silhouette, giving her the best possible looks. There are many different wedding bouquets, and their design depends on the bride’s skin tone, body proportion, facial appearance and attire.

BOUTONNIERES. These flower decorations are worn by the groom and his attendance, also by the ushers, and the bride’s and groom’s fathers. They are made of small flower buds attached on the left lapel of the jacket.

CORSAGES. They can be worn in pin-on, wrists and hand-held styles. As a flower decoration they combine a small bloom or several blooms tied together.

WREATHS. This is a splendid flower decoration that has a round shape. The rings of flowers are used as centerpieces, headpieces or door hangers.

CANDELABRA. They are made of flowing greens in the shape of ribbons. They are put at the base, neck or top of multi-armed candelabra.

Article by Robbie Darmona – an article writer [http://www.robbiedarmona.com] who writes on a wide variety of subjects. For more information click Wedding Flower Decoration or Find a florist

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Let’s first take a quick look at the flower girl tradition. Starting with the middle ages, flower girls were assigned a special job; to walk down the wedding aisle ahead of the bride and groom and spread grain (not flowers) in order to pave the way for a new beginnings, fertility and happiness in the marriage. Today’s flowers girls usually carry rose petals, and while they aren’t believed to have special powers that will grant the new couple a harmonious relationship, they do tend to set the tone for a wedding. Think about the last wedding you attended. If the flower girls came out in formal dark colored dresses, you quickly understood that the wedding would have a formal tone. On the other hand, if they came out in wispy flower girl dresses with roses laced into their hair, you knew that you would experience a more whimsical wedding. In other words, the flower girls are generally the first part of the wedding party to walk down the isle, and because of that, they will make a strong first impression on your guests.

How will you dress your flower girls? Here are some flower girl dress ideas for the most popular wedding themes around: Cinderella Wedding Theme If you are planning a Cinderella wedding theme, then extravagance and beauty should be a part of everything. And since your flower girls will be the first to appear, they need to set the tone boldly. For this theme, you should have more than one flower girl-three or four would be ideal-and then dress them spectacularly. Choose frilly white dresses with huge skirts and satin bows. You can tie in some of your wedding colors by adding fresh pale pink, yellow or blue flowers to their hair. In addition, they should wear satin ballerina slippers. Have them carry baskets decorated to match their dresses and throw tons of soft rose petals along the isle.

Beach Wedding Theme Depending on the type of beach wedding that you want, you will have various choices with your flower girl dresses. If you want a romantic beach wedding, then put your flower girls in soft pastel tones or white, and use lots of fresh flowers-both in their hair and for them to throw. The flower girl wedding dresses can be shorter than in a formal wedding, and appropriate sandals would set the tone nicely. Instead of a basket, they could carry a pastel painted beach bucket filled to the rim with wildflowers to scatter along the isle. If you have a stronger, more colorful beach wedding planned, why not have some fun with the flower girl dresses? Putting them in typical beach dresses to match your wedding décor would immediately let the wedding guests know that your wedding will be fun and adventurous. Roaring 20’s Wedding Imagine a black and white wedding, wing tips shoes and ostrich feathers. That’s the idea behind a roaring 20 wedding theme, and as you can imagine, a precious frilly flower girl dress simply won’t fit the bill. With this type of gutsy wedding, you will have to get imaginative with them. Why not dress your flower girls in white satin flapper girl dresses, with bands around their hair and beads around the hemline? With this type of dress, you will certainly hear ooh and ahs from the crowd! Garden Party Wedding If you dream of an outdoor wedding surrounded by blooming flowers and ivy-laced arches, then your flower girl dresses should take on an entirely different style. White, off-white or pale pastel linen would be an ideal choice. In addition, a beautiful soft cotton dress with a muted flower pattern would be lovely, tied with a large solid satin bow in the back. Add lace up satin sandals and an armful of colorful tulips, and your guests won’t be likely to forget your flower girls for some time to come. As you can see, your flower girl dresses will set the mood of your entire event. Don’t just automatically dress your flower girls in the typical dress, but instead get creative.

What is the first thing you want your guest to see? Use http://www.flowergirldressesjoy.com to quickly find flower girl dresses online including some great online bargains.

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Here are some things to keep in mind when deciding what wedding flowers you need.

* Bride’s bouquet: The most talked about wedding flowers in the whole ceremony. This one has to match your dress and other accessories so decide accordingly. Also, if you intend to preserve your wedding bouquet, then ask the florist for a smaller or similar version of the original wedding bouquet. You can use this for the tossing.
* Floral hairpieces: If you intend to wear flowers in your hair instead of a wedding veil, place an order with the florist well in advance. You may even want to try out the hairstyle a week before the wedding.
* Attendants’ flowers: It is the bride’s duty to coordinate the wedding flowers for the attendants. The maid of honor and the bridesmaids generally carry bouquets that complement the wedding bouquet.
* Flower girl: As the name suggests, wedding flowers are very much required for the youngest member of the wedding party. You can have the flower girl carry a basket full of rose petals, a nosegay or a simple floral and ribbon wreath.
* Corsages: It is wedding tradition to present wedding flowers to the mothers and grandmothers of the bride and groom in the form of corsages. The corsages can match the wedding bouquet, the wedding decoration or the dresses worn by the women in the wedding party. Make sure you ask beforehand whether the women would like corsages to be pinned to their dresses or purses or to wear on their wrist.
* Boutonnieres: The groom’s boutonniere almost always matches the wedding bouquet. The best man, groomsmen and ushers also wear boutonnieres, but different from the groom. The fathers and grandfathers of the groom and bride receive boutonnieres as well.
* Ceremony wedding flowers: You will need to check with the coordinator at the ceremony site before you place any orders for wedding flowers for the ceremony. You generally have the option of decorating the beginning of the pews, the aisle and the arches with wedding flowers. You may also want wedding flowers at the guest book table. A beautiful tradition is to pass around rose petals to all the guests to toss at the bride and groom when they are finally introduced as man and wife.
* Reception wedding flowers: Wedding flowers to be used as part of the wedding decoration for your reception will be determined entirely by the theme of your wedding reception. In general, it is common to have some kind of wedding flowers at each table. The buffet table also needs to be decorated with wedding flowers. One way to cost cut on wedding flowers is to use the attendants’ bouquets to decorate the cake table.

As beautiful as flowers make the occasion, remember to order only as many wedding flowers as you can afford. Also, a great way to share your joy with others is to arrange to have the wedding flowers sent to an orphanage or old age home the day after your wedding. Not only will this bring a smile to the faces of those who receive them, it will bring a big smile to you knowing you passed on your joy to others.

Copyright Andrea Britt, 2005. All rights reserved.

Reprint Rights: Feel free to use this article on your website or online publication. Please remember that you must include the author’s copyright, resource box and live URL links, exactly as shown below, to the author’s website at the end of the article.

Andrea Britt is owner of http://www.CharmingWeddings.com where you can find elegant, unique wedding favors, bridal shower favors, and wedding planning tips for your wedding reception and bridal shower.

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Fresh Flowers: Good news first! One of the best things about having fresh flowers for your wedding is that they photograph beautifully, they have a richness that is captured by the camera and they are breath taking beautiful. Most fresh flowers smell wonderful. The scent of fresh flowers is a very welcoming scent for all of your guests to enjoy as they walk in to either your ceremony or reception. This is only good news to the brides who do not want to keep their bouquets. If you use fresh flowers they will not last so you will not be able to keep your bouquets, unless you preserve them which can be very costly.

If you are a bride who is budget conscious and would like to stay under your budget and do not mind a few extra steps then there is another option for you! Buy your flowers in bulk. This is a way to save you a lot of money, however remember when your flowers arrive; they are only good for about 48-56 hours, if refrigerated correctly. To refrigerate properly, fresh flowers cannot be in the same refrigerator as food especially fruit and they cannot touch the sides of the refrigerator walls, so you must cover them. You can use a trash bag to cover the petals. You want to cover them with something very light so they can still breathe, but that will also provide enough coverage so that the blooms do not have direct contact with the walls. And don’t forget them in water. They have to be kept in fresh water with flower food. Although this may sound painful to deal with, it’s really not as bad as it sounds. When you order in bulk they provide flower food. All you need is enough vases or good size buckets to hold all the flowers, not to mention a clean refrigerator or two. For those of you who want to save your bouquet of fresh flowers, there is a way. Fresh flower preservation is becoming quite a hit, however it can be expensive, but from the reviews I have read, extremely worth it. Read up on it by searching on the Internet, search on Flower Preservation.

Silk Flowers: Starting with our good news again, silk flowers are less to maintain. Less maintenance is an awesome benefit for the easy-going brides who do not really have to have real flowers. Also for those who just do not want the hassle, for those who are allergic to fresh flowers or for the ones who want to keep they’re bouquet without paying for the pricey preservation job. Another wonderful plus for our brides and bridesmaids who are allergic to fresh flowers, silk flowers do not have any scent at all which means no one has to deal with red eyes, hives, or any allergic reactions that could happen. Some florists do work with silk flowers, and silk are easier to work with, most of the time. Talk to your florist and get her advice on which she prefers, look at her sample pictures because those will provide wonderful examples of what she is capable of doing for you and it also helps you get a better idea of her style so we can avoid any surprises the day of the wedding.

On the down side, silk flowers do not photograph quite as nice as fresh, however they come close if you use higher end silk flowers. If you choose to go with silk flowers do yourself a favor and purchase higher end silk flowers and then put the bouquets together yourself. It is not hard at all and it will save you money in the end. This is also a fun way to get your bridesmaids and lady family members together for some “girl time”. Putting flowers together is so much more fun in good company. With a few friends to help you’ll be done with the arrangements in no time.

Darcy Wallace is a writer for WeddingsAreFun.com and has many years of experience as a wedding consultant. The Weddings Are Fun online store specializes in elegant bridal accessories. This article on Wedding Flower Tips For Brides is one of many services offered to bridal couples. Other services include wedding candles and bridal apparel, wedding favors, invitations and trusted personalized service which are available at Weddings Are Fun.

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You can easily visit an online florist site any time-day or night-from the comfort of your home. View online flower arrangements with a close friend or family member and welcome their ideas. Keep an open mind as you view all the types of wedding flowers, and create a “mind picture” of what your wedding decor will look like with various types of flowers.

Order Flowers Online for the Wedding Ceremony

As an important part of your ceremony decor, wedding flowers can be used to define the wedding colors, freshen and brighten the auditorium, or give a spring-like look and feel for outdoor weddings. Buy flowers or plants that blend well with your other decorations and colors. Consider decorating with curtain clusters, vows arrangements, companion pieces and chair clusters. Popular types of wedding flowers include calla lilies, Gerber daisies, orchids, roses and tulips. Also choose wedding flower foliage that will blend with your flowers and colors. Ivy is an old-time favorite for weddings, but you might also consider other foliage such as steel grass, leatherleaf fern, phormium, or aspidistra leaves.

Bouquets and Boutonnieres

Ordering from an online florist also makes it easy to select your bride and bridesmaid bouquets. Flower bouquets and the men’s boutonnieres should match the wedding colors as well as the style of dresses to be worn. Small bouquets work well with full dresses while larger bouquets can add tremendous color and style if the bride and/or bridesmaids are wearing shorter, less full dresses, or even off-the shoulder or sleeveless dresses. Bouquets are prominently displayed during the wedding procession/march as well as during the entire vow-taking moment of the ceremony. Your flower girls will also need a bouquet or a basket of flowers…so be sure to add these to your shopping list.

View bouquets online or visit a flower shop nearby to get bouquet ideas. They come in various sizes and styles, from small, round shapes to large, crescent-shaped bouquets with strands of foliage hanging over your hands. If browsing a flower shop in your area, be sure to hold the bouquet as you would during the wedding, and view yourself in a mirror if possible. This will give you a better idea of how the bouquets will look and feel during the wedding.

Don’t Forget the Reception

Choose the same or similar flowers for the reception decor. Wedding flowers can be used to decorate guest tables and even enhance the cake. Flowers also make beautiful centerpieces for the wedding table or gift table. Add a few pedestal flower arrangements near the entrance and around the reception hall to complete your decor.

Keep in mind that there are no set rules on choosing wedding flowers. An online florist website enables you to browse and get ideas without being in a rush. You can use your favorite flowers or colors, or base your wedding decor on a particular theme…such as a tropical wedding or a Christmas wedding. If you don’t have a favorite type of flower, choose seasonal flowers according to when your wedding will take place.

Look for an online florist that’s an FTD member, and ask about possible flower delivery to your wedding location. Flower shops can often deliver flowers the day of or the day before the wedding, according to your needs. Shop early to ensure your flowers will be delivered on time. Most florists offer a variety of other services, such as flower delivery for sympathy gifts for funerals, birthday flowers, anniversary flowers, etc. This means the florist will likely need plenty of notice to schedule your flower delivery.

Shop at an online florist that’s located in your city just in case you need to stop by to pick up a few items before the wedding. For instance, if you live in Cincinnati, look for a Cincinnati florist website. Having the florist close by will give you peace of mind in case extra flowers are needed, or one of the bouquets or boutonnieres is missing.

Use these ideas to find beautiful wedding flowers through an online florist while saving time and money!

Chris Robertson is an author of Majon International, one of the worlds MOST popular internet marketing companies on the web.
Learn more about Wedding Florist.

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In any case, this is the right place for more information. Here are some useful tips for the flower decoration:

Hawaiian Wedding Flowers

The presence of sweet-smelling flowers you won’t miss on your wedding. Hawaiian wedding flowers are perfect for outdoor weddings with a warm sea breeze, romantic music, and the nice smell of tropical flowers.

Hawaiian flowers are giving the right atmosphere for a unique wedding. A bouquet of flowers displayed at the wedding reception make a natural impression to all your guests.

Choose one or more of the colorful blooms of the Hawaiian flowers such as Birds of Paradise, Orchids, Hibiscus, Heliconias and ….. for your wedding theme. If your budget is small, seashells can be also used for the decorations. Only some orchids may be tucked in conch shell is a creative idea of a tropic and outdoor table decoration.

Make sure that the Hawaiian flowers have always enough water and not getting dry during the day.

Assorted Blue Wedding Flowers Ideas

Another option is to stay on your theme of a wedding, such as the blue themed wedding.

Did you know that blue is standing for unity and trust? It is also a fact, that blue is the most popular choice of a couple, because the blue color symbolizes trust, which also happen when two people will get married.

They promise to trust each other for the rest of their lives. Blue brings elegance to the wedding concept.

Baby blue is the most common choice for flowers, because that gives a light and easy feel atmosphere Blue flowers displayed in a church or reception are eye catching and most likely associated with the environment, because blue is also the color of the sky.

The most common flowers you will see in shops are blue. Choose your favorite flower and present them as a wonderful decoration on your reception or display them on the wedding table.

Add a contrast to your blue flowers, such a white or silver vases and ribbons, the blue flowers will stand out.

Cheap Wedding Flower Ideas

Wedding flowers can be very expensive. As common with a little creativity, cheap wedding flowers can provide the wedding a great look.

There is no need to spend a lot of money for your wedding flowers. You have not to buy the real extravagant and out of season flowers.

Choose your favorite color for your flowers arrangement and look for seasonal flowers, which are available and not so expensive.

Of course, you can still buy some expensive flowers for the bouquet, but is not necessary to the rest of the scene.

Another option for savings on flowers is, to choose a location where flowers are already part of the decoration.

Why to waste money on flowers, when you have your wedding in a garden where flowers are already surrounded. You could also consider to celebrate your wedding at places like a park, beach or botanical garden.

The reception area is probably the place where to save the most. There is no need to display roses, orchids or other expensive flowers.

All it takes is the right combination of aesthetics and your creativity.

Keep it in your mind, that flowers are a symbol of beauty and love. Flowers give the wedding the right atmosphere.

I hope you enjoyed my ideas of creative flower decoration. Now it is your choice, what flowers are the best for your wedding.

Paul Easton welcome you to visit http://www.101UniqueWeddingideas.com/ which was created while planning her own wedding. Pick up the F-R-E-E Wedding Planning Checklist plus Great Unique Wedding Ideas and Money saving ideas, vouchers and discounts on Wedding Gowns, wedding flowers, favors, plus Save hundreds of hours managing all guests, budget, vendors, gifts, seating, honeymoon, and much more. All F-R-E-E

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