In our weekly Featured Shop series, we shine a light on a standout shop from Etsy’s talented seller community, offering readers a behind-the-scenes look at their process and story.
Wedding floral designer Brittany Kinney is officially reclaiming the word “fake.” Lush, wild, and full of texture, her incredibly breathtaking—and 100% artificial—bouquets and arrangements are so vibrant and life-like, it’s hard to believe they weren’t plucked fresh from vast fields of thistle and peonies. “We trick the eye so often that wedding planners will see our pieces and throw them in a refrigerator,” says the California-based creator of The Faux Bouquets. “They call us later, laughing, and say, ‘These don’t look like silk flowers at all; they look like something from the highest-end florist in town.’”
Explore the Faux Bouquets collection
Brittany first discovered the creative possibilities of working with what she likes to call “poser-blooms” while DIYing her own wedding back in 2014. “I was instantly impressed with the quality,” she says. “Plus, it felt super special to have a keepsake I could treasure long after the ceremony.” Fast-forward five years, and Brittany has built a bustling business turning brides across the world onto the benefits of going faux. Wilt-proof, budget-friendly, and easy to transport (just ask the newlyweds who have taken them skydiving), each of Brittany’s beautifully handcrafted arrangements is, perhaps most importantly, a lasting reminder of the exuberant love a couple shares on their special day.
Read on to learn how this self-taught designer makes brides’ floral fantasies a reality and discover the wedding trends she’s loving now—then shop the Faux Bouquets collection.
How did The Faux Bouquets become your full-time job?
After we got married I was kind of sad, because all the fun planning was over. Doing the flowers for my own wedding was exciting, and I’d fallen in love with the possibilities of faux blooms, so I started designing bouquets as a hobby. I put a couple of them up on Etsy, and people started checking them out and leaving good reviews. And they started asking for more things, like corsages and boutonnieres.
It got to the point where I would come home from my “real job” and could stay busy doing flowers until midnight. I’m not a risk-taker, but everything grew so fast that within a year my parents and my husband were encouraging me to go full-time—so that’s what I did. I rented a retail spot and hired two employees.
What’s the trick to making faux florals that look so real?
We use so many different textures and elements to achieve our aesthetic of hefty, rich-looking bouquets. You won’t see the flowers we use in a typical crafts store, because ours are either made just for us or specially sourced from reps all over the world.



What are some of the reasons a bride might choose faux flowers over real ones?
I think the keepsake factor is the biggest thing. It’s true you can always keep your dress, but that just stays in a closet. If you go to our Instagram, you’ll see so many brides posting afterward, “Now my bouquet sits in my room. It’s just the prettiest arrangement ever, and it’s from my wedding day.” And that’s really cool.
Another reason is that you can see your arrangements well ahead of your wedding, which isn’t possible with fresh flowers. That way, you won’t stress wondering how they’ll turn out. Plus, it’s a great option if you’re on a budget, especially our ready-to-ship section.
Who’s your typical customer?
Some brides turn to us because they want a particular type of rose, or they want out-of-season peonies, or a certain shade of a flower—florists who work with real blooms might not be able to get those, but we can.
We’re also getting a lot of what I call our “travel brides,” and our flowers are great for them because they’re so easy to bring on a plane. We’ve had brides go to the top of an iceberg in Iceland; we’ve had brides skydive in Moab with our bouquets; we’ve had brides who go climbing in the Rockies and go out to big craters in Canada. These brides usually want their bouquets to pull from the nature around them. So for example, we’ll do a lot with burnt oranges for our desert-y brides, and lots of blues and fuchsias inspired by the skies and the sunsets of cold, icy places.




What are some floral trends that you can’t get enough of these days?
Bigger is better right now—the more flowers, the more overwhelming they are, that’s the look everyone wants. I love bouquets that look wild, where no two blooms are alike, in rich tones of deep oranges, wine, and plum paired with lush foliage. Blue is really hot right now too, especially when contrasted with softer blush tones. And of course, everyone is still into peonies and basically every hybrid of rose—we keep our shop stocked at all times with both of those.
And while we definitely do a lot of big weddings, we’re also seeing a good amount of smaller weddings, with maybe 20–30 guests. I mentioned our travel brides—often it’s just them, their officiant, and a few family members. In those scenarios, they’re not doing multiple centerpieces, so it’s even more important to them to have a bouquet that’s big and intricate. They might wear a flower crown, too, but lately we’re getting more requests for flower-adorned hair combs.



Do you accommodate custom requests?
We do! One of the most special things we’ve incorporated has been a piece of the wedding dress worn by a bride’s mother, which we’ll wrap around the bouquet handle. We had one client who shipped us her mom’s gown, and we took the lace and the pearls off of it and added them as an overlay on a satin ribbon. We’ve had other orders where a bride had her mom’s jewelry, like a little charm, that we tied onto the bouquet.
Another thing we do a lot is redesigns of bouquets for brides who used fresh florals on their wedding day. We emphasize, though, that the one we create will be inspired by their real one, because you can’t do an exact replica.


Have you ever had any really unusual or eccentric floral requests?
One bride was serving in our forces and wanted plastic army men jumping out of her bouquet. She asked if we could make it classy by painting them metallic gold. Another unique one we did was a cupcake bouquet. That bride loved desserts, so in her bouquet we had artificial cupcakes peeking out of it in addition to the flowers and rhinestones.
It sounds like you really go above and beyond for your customers!
I want our clients to be genuinely happy, and I think they sense that, because I focus on every single element of the arrangement, down to the littlest accent. I really do care about it as if it were my own wedding or the wedding of my best friend.
Follow The Faux Bouquets on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.
Retail storefront photography and portraits by Jessie Webster. Product photography and photos of real brides courtesy of The Faux Bouquets.
32 comments
cherryZO from cherryZOvintage said 1 year ago
What a beautiful shop ! Congratulations on the feature !
Anna Sypalo from XstitchbyAnna said 1 year ago
Wonderful bouquets!
Elena from BusyToysShop said 1 year ago
Blimey! All bouquets and arrangements are so wonderful and life-like that it is hard to believe that they were not fresh. I am delighted!
Megan from CottonandPearlsVinyl said 1 year ago
Love all those flowers! Wish I would have had these for my wedding
Jennifer Tyson from LadyInPurpleBoutique said 1 year ago
Such a beautiful shop! Congrats on the feature! Your flowers are simply stunning!
Anna from FairyToysWorld said 1 year ago
Very nice pastel colors for the such special day! I like succulent boutonnieres.
Tatyana from MOMsBirdie said 1 year ago
Very beautiful bouquets especially I like bright flowers
Gillian Northcott from esanivintage said 1 year ago
Love them all especially the succulent bouquet.
Anna from LissiKids said 1 year ago
These flowers look like real ones. 😮 great job!👌
Darya from GuruAmiToys said 1 year ago
Beautiful bouquets! On the coffee table in the living room will look great. The bouquet will long preserve the memory of a wonderful event in life.
Cathy White from msbijouxjewelry said 1 year ago
Beautiful! Lovely shop, congratulations on the feature
Ilya Kolesnichenko from GiFTOrigin said 1 year ago
Magic beauty! Very harmonious combination of colors!
Ksenia from YourNiceDolls said 1 year ago
These flowers are so delightful that there are no words! They look so real that they can not be distinguished from the real ones. Perhaps they are even brighter and more delicate than real flowers.
Sergii from FamilyLights said 1 year ago
Very cute and gentle, impressive!
sviatlanatuz from SviatlanaTuzToys said 1 year ago
What remarkable bouquets, and the combination of pastel tones, simply drooling. I envy brides who will have such beauty and it does not matter that they are artificial. Bravo to master!!!
Judi from 1900sBride said 1 year ago
Really beautiful flowers!!!!! Beautiful Arrangements!!! You Rock!!!!!
Nicole from KarmaCodeOne said 1 year ago
Beautiful inside and out ~!~ Cheers to much continued success
Rosita from pillowlink said 1 year ago
Amazing blooming life! You are blessed woman with all these flowers!
Michael Robinson from CarvedAccessories said 1 year ago
Great designs
Chelle from CrochetCreatedChelle said 1 year ago
LOVE this idea! Back when I got married, I tossed only (real flower) bouquet. But I totally love this is now a popular option! Looks so beautiful,too!
Posh Park from PoshPark said 1 year ago
Gorgeous bouquets! Congratulations on the feature!
Elen Palavandishvili from elsanijewelry said 1 year ago
💮Wonderful bouquets! 💮 Congratulations on the feature
Anastasia from JoyfulUnicorn said 1 year ago
Wonderful bouquets and wonderful Brittany! I love fake bouquets, it provided an opportunity to enjoy it very long time!
Relly from RelsFindsNapaValley said 1 year ago
Classy, lovely colors of bouquets... great design at The Faux Bouquets.
Carolina from Agirlwithfeathers said 1 year ago
Gorgeous shop! Congrats on the feature!
Alyona and Vera from JewelryByZafiro said 1 year ago
Amazing bouquets! Very harmonious combination of colors! Congrats on the feature!
Vera and Alyona from EcoStory said 1 year ago
So much beauty in this shop!
Elizabeth Welsch from PolishedPrettyPrints said 1 year ago
These are BEYOND stunning :)
Sophie from RainbowJunkyard said 1 year ago
Ive not seen faux flowers arranged so nicely -these are insanely beautiful
Morgane C. from PrintableWordsFR said 1 year ago
so talented, combinaisons are just awesome !
Alix from SimplyLaMayed said 267 days ago
Incredible designs! Beautifully written article!
Theresa Tristan from WreathsfromTx said 241 days ago
Beautiful