Fresh Paper Flowers

I was checking out Style Me Pretty's Handmade Weddings at Etsy.com and saw these lovely vintage inspired paper roses.
At $5.00 for 3 roses (times 33) they are a bit out of my budget. I love real flowers and growing up I wanted to be a florist, but now with the wedding approaching and my pocketbook emptying I am looking for alternatives such as candles.

I googled "how to make paper roses" and most of the results were not very attractive. The roses looked like paper wrapped around a stick and were not as realistic as the esty roses. Eventually I came upon Martha Stewart's paper roses via Mommy Makes Roses.

Martha's version are pretty big and colored with water colors - a bit more gaudy than the etsy ones, but we're getting closer! Martha's roses are made out of cone coffee filters.

I am going to give these a shot with the help of my bridesmaid, Katie, with a couple variations to Martha's instructions. First of all, I am going to make the roses small by leaving off a few of the outer petals. This will make them more dainty and save me money on coffee filters.

I am also going to use "natural" colored filters instead of white. I don't want the roses to look like real roses made of paper, I want them to look simply like paper roses. Plus the natural filters will give them the vintage look of the etsy roses.

The tables at the venue are rectangular and seat 6 people. I was thinking of making a centerpiece candle arrangement with a small vase on either side containing 3 paper roses.

What do you think, a good alternative to the real thing?