Rising gas prices, collapsing housing markets and a bleak outlook for the start of 2008 is not stopping brides from tying the knot, however couples are rethinking their wedding budget. One way brides are cutting their budget without losing quality is to recreate floral designs and bouquets with realistic silk flowers.
The realism and quality of today's silk flowers has made them popular for florists to use for wedding work in substitute of expensive fresh cut stems. With the popularity of silk flowers "Many of our pre-made silk bouquets, calla lilies, stargazers and roses are realistic to touch, in color and appearance that many cannot tell the difference yet the savings are tremendous," according to Sue Bonfiglio, manager of Afloral.com an online silk flower wholesaler. "Our customers are amazed by the quality and the availability of seasonal flowers is now possible all year round."
As the trend for silk wedding flowers continues, Afloral.com anticipates a sales growth of 30% for 2008. Stems of fresh cut flowers can run customers from $2-$15 depending on availability, where as the silk counterpart of the exact stems range from $1 -- $4.
Sandy Andriaccio, a New York florist whose primary business consists of weddings, loves the trend. "Customers are surprised at the quality of silk flowers today, they are more beautiful than ever. Using realistic silk flowers for weddings saves me valuable time during the rush of wedding season. We make bouquets and centerpieces ahead of time and pack them! When the wedding day arrives we are ready to go, no stress!"
Today's silk flowers are a great way to save time and money. Attention given to the detail, material and colors of each silk stem reflects a quality that even the most particular bride will find captivating.