Silk Second Choice In Rose Petals
The advantages to silk rose petals are numerous. They are very often much less
expensive that real rose petals ,Its possible to find this type of rose petal for sale at many local bridal stores even some craft stores sell them so you may even be able to save on shipping charges too, silk petals last forever they do not fade ; they are available in a huge variety of colors that far surpasses that of real petals they require no particular care or methods of storage that’s the main reason you may find them stocked by high street stores but as always a much more extensive variety will undoubtedly be found on the net and probably at better than high street prices .
One thing to watch though where fresh or freeze dried rose petals are usually measured in cup volume
silk petals more often come in bags so one bag quantity offered by one supplier must be compared to the quantity offered by another supplier for the best deal to be found .
The price difference between any form of real petals and silk ones is enormous , never having handled freeze dried petals I can’t say for a certainty how accurately this applies but I would think it would be pretty similar to garden collected fresh rose petals which when I collect them from my garden for various purposes approximately 30 largish petals will fill and 8oz cup when loosely packed so not to bruise them freeze dried petals cost on average $19 for eight cups that would be roughly 240 petals just for errors sake lets say you get 300 petals for $19 on various silk petal supplier websites I have seen bags of silk flower petals containing 100 petals for $2.99 that’s 300 rose petals for $9.00 verses $19 for freeze dried and when bought in bigger quantities the price difference is even more significant 1000 petals for $18.00 or there about.
The quantities suggested by suppliers for various wedding purposes for some reason seems more favorable too in that less appear to be required
Quantities recommendations for SILK:
Tossing or throwing : 12 to 18 petals per guest as opposed to 10-15 freeze dried
Table decorations : for a light covering 50 to 100 petals per table with centerpiece is suggested where as between 2 to 4 cups that’s 60 to 120 freeze dried petals is recommended
For Aisles or pathways , 100 petals will provide dense coverage of one square foot of walkway, 2 square feet covered moderately or, 5 square feet lightly covered whereas 8 cups, 300 freeze dried petals are recommended for 1 square foot of dense coverage
Flower girls: should each be given 100 to 200 petals per child for fresh or freeze dried between 4 to 8 cups are suggested 120 to 250 petals
Silk petals are also available in a variety of shapes though when the rose petal shape is strayed
from I guess they can no longer with any degree of truth or authenticity actually be referred to as rose petals ,but what ever you now wish too call them, they are available in the shape of butterflies ,hearts,various leaves and snow flakes. You could always choose to add these shapes to the traditional rose petal shapes as a little variety in the mixture or to provide a little seasonal interest to your wedding throws.
Though They are usually referred to as silk petals they are not actually made of silk but a polyester microfiber, which gives them a very realistic look and feel. If they were actually made with silk, they would not be strong or sturdy enough to retain the necessary petal shape, they would be too limp. Some cheap fabric petals are made of a starchy material that feels a lot like linen to the touch ,these should be avoided you should seek out the polyester microfiber petals as they are by far a more superior petal .The microfiber petals measure from 1 3/4″ to 2 1/4″ in diameter, no small or miss shapen petals here ,as they are all machine made the petals all have a uniform appearance and have also been curved to provide a more realistic effect .
The only draw back to silk rose petals is that because you can purchase them in almost any color under the sun, finding a perfect match for even the most unusual color theme choices is possible, you must take care when viewing color samples across the internet on your computer monitor as monitor color settings vary and so too do particular brands or age of monitor can also distort the true color or shade, however most suppliers will willingly provide free samples for you to match your colors precisely with your own eyes.
I do simply do not understand why these kind of petals are not more often selected by brides as their first choice in rose petals particularly when they want to put on a more lavish and abundant indoor displays .