Are silk flower centerpieces really that bad?

Are silk flower centerpieces really that bad?

I really want to have flowers in my centerpieces.
But to have real flowers the way i want the centerpieces to look like is really out of my budget.
My fiance tells me that is ok to have silk flowers, he explains to me that having real flowers is like wasting money because they won’t last long, and that way our guests can take the centerpieces and save them forever.

Like my mom has the centerpiece they used at his (my fiance) brother’s wedding which was back in 2005. she has it in her bathroom as decoration.

When you see the silk flowers you can’t really tell they are fake, unless you go and try to smell them!!
My question is.. Is it dat bad to have silk flowers??

What options do i have??

source: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/?qid=20090823143902AAScdJQ