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A rose by any other name would smell as sweet…
Photography courtesy of A Spring Wedding on Etsy.
…unless it’s a fake rose, that is! For the most part, I am avoiding fake things on my wedding day—no fake nails or fake hair or anything like that. I am, however, going to be “faking it” with the flowers—all of our wedding florals will be made of artificial “Real Touch” flowers that are extremely common for destination weddings (thanks to all the ladies on Best Destination Wedding Forum for helping me come to the decision that fake is the way to go!)
Since I am knowingly and willingly bringing fake flowers all the way to Jamaica with me, you might be wondering why I made that decision, so I’ll tell you!
First off, quite honestly, artificial flowers are a lot more affordable than real flowers. Also, I really love the idea that I will be able to keep my bouquet for years to come, exactly as is, 50 years from now, it will look exactly the way it did on our wedding day! Finally, after viewing all of the available options in artificial flowers (the Real Touch flowers are absolutely amazing—they look, feel and in some cases even smell real!), I came around to the idea that fresh flowers are not the only way to go.
In my last post, I talked about some of my favourite finds on Etsy, one of which is JDLEGGANS, a sweet little boutique of artificial wedding florals. The designer behind all of the beautiful creations found in the store is Danielle McAfee. Working with Danielle to create our custom wedding package has been very rewarding—I’ve basically gotten to choose every single flower myself and Danielle has been so receptive in letting me decide how they’ll be arranged. I had the chance to ask her some questions about wedding floral design and thought it would be nice to share some of her insight with all you fellow brides-to-be. Here is a snippet of what Danielle had to say:
Lara Varona: What’s your #1 tip for brides when selecting their wedding bouquets/florals?
Danielle McAfee: My number one tip would be to have an idea of what you like, but be flexible. Especially with real touch flowers, because although there is a wide variety of high-quality real touch flowers available, some types or colours of flowers are not yet available. However, if you have a general “look” you are going for and can provide inspiration photos, your florist will be able create something similar for you that you will love!
LV: What would you say to a bride who is struggling between going for real flowers versus getting real touch/silk flowers?
DM: I would remind them what a great keepsake a real touch flower bouquet can be. With modern silk/real touch flowers, most people will not even suspect your bouquet isn’t real unless you tell them. (At my wedding, my photographer, who has photographed literally hundreds of weddings, did not believe mine was silk even when she touched it!) And then, once your wedding is over you will have a beautiful keepsake for years to come.
LV: What is a good type of flower to choose for a bride that is trying to “stretch a dollar?” On the flip side, what flower would you recommend they splurge on and why?
DM: For budget-conscious brides, I always recommend gerbera daisies. They are such a fun, happy flower and look great in bouquets either on their own or mixed with other blooms. They are also one of the most inexpensive flowers you can buy—even Real Touch gerbera daisies are very reasonably priced. For a splurge, I think Real Touch calla lilies are always an elegant and timeless choice, even though they are a bit pricey. Hence the splurge!
Thanks to Danielle McAfee of JDLEGGANS for taking the time to answer my questions! I was going to post pictures of our finished wedding florals, but for that you’ll just have to wait until after our wedding…
Are any of you planning “faking it” on your wedding day?
Tags: artificial, blogger search, bouquet, budget, destination, etsy, fake, flowers, jamaica, silk
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Just checked out the site…wow those flowers look totally real! Were you able to request pretty much any flowers that you wanted for the bouquet?
Hey Sarah,
That’s not a very nice thing to say. I’m pretty sure this isn’t the “win a wedding dress” contest. I don’t really think it’s fair that people graduate from high school without learning correct punctuation, but life’s not fair, is it?
Another great entry!
I will definately be faking it with little self tanner :)
Sarah – actually, most brides in this contest have weddings that are taking place before the contest ends (a few have already had their weddings as we speak!) If you have a question about when the prizes are actually being distributed, I’m sure the online editors of this blog would be happy to answer that for you =)
Thanks for reading along!
if your wedding is before the contests over i don’t think its fair if you win a beautiful wedding dress one of the other brides could actually use after voting…..
I’ve worn fake lashes before for other people’s weddings where I was moderately crying and I had to keep making sure the adhesive was sticking… so I think I’ll pass for my wedding. BUT.. my future sister in law was considering eye lash extensions.. now THAT’S a fakey I’m considering. Do coloured contacts count as a fakey?
OOT bags? I’m intrigued! Didn’t realize you have to transport that much stuff… but you’re right.. shouldn’t be a problem. Oh and the bubble wrap will also help to calm your nerves if you need it – I LOVE popping them :p.
Haha. Judith, I was thinking the same thing about fake eyelashes – I’m a crier too and I’ve never worn fake lashes before so I’m sure they won’t last. Hence, no fakeys for me!
As for transporting them, we’re just going to be creative with the packing… since I have to transport the dress, wedding decor, OOT bags (I’ll explain that one later!) on top of regular vacation stuff, we’ve turned into the ultimate packers/planners! Luckily we can check 2 pieces of luggage each and have one carry on each, so between ourselves and our guests we’ll have more than enough space to fit everything…
Also, bubble wrap is a destination bride’s best friend!!
I wish I’d known about the “real looking” fake flower options before I put the deposit down for ours! With the sub-zero temperatures and time of year, December is difficult for flowers – but I think I found something that’s going to work. This would have however been much easier!!
The only fake I MAY go with is hair extensions… if all my attempts at strengthening and growing mine fail!
I forgot to ask – will it be difficult to transport your flowers to Jamaica?
Great blog entry! I too decided to go with Silk Flowers for my wedding. And I could’t be happier. Nowadays silk flowers can look just as fabulous as the real thing. And it’s definitely important to ask lots of questions. I had my bouquet created at the House of Silk in Winnipeg. They did such an amazing job. They took the picture of a bouquet I had liked and made mine unique to me and more gorgeous than I had even imagined. And the best part is, as you mentioned, I’ll always have my bouquet.
I love talking about flowers! I was considering ‘Real Touch’ flowers myself but ended up with real flowers. I’m glad my florist created my sample bouquet with silk flowers. While it won’t be the bouquet I walk down the aisle with, I’ll at least have a keepsake which is very similar. There will be some fake flowers in our wedding though. Our flower girls will be carrying fake balls of flowers which we thought would be a great choice for the little ones since they love to play.
As for other ‘faking it’ items – hmmm. Don’t like fake nails (one experience and that was enough), I think hair extensions would make me itchy the whole day and fake eyelashes would NOT last with the amount of tears I know I’ll shed (I’m the eternal crier).
Great tips Lara and Danielle!