Flowers on your wedding cake

Some cake designs are interesting enough that they can stand alone, but many designs are definately enhanced by flowers. Either sugar, fresh or fake, some cakes just need some flowers on them.

Sugar flowers are hand made to order and add considerably to the time required to produce a wedding cake. They must be made days or weeks in advance to be given time to dry. Many are made in several steps, each having to dry in between. They do normally add an additional charge to the price of your wedding cake - as little as $50 or as high as several hundred - depending on the type of flower you want and how many. Sugar flowers are often made with gumpaste which is technically edible, but it dries very hard and shatters like glass - so don't eat it. It is usually just ornamental. Sugar flowers are a conversation piece, as people are fasinated that they are hand made, and they are all safe to place on the cake where some people might worry about certain flowers being poisonous. (although I've never heard of a wedding cake/fresh flower related illness - and I've looked). Sugar flowers will keep almost indefinately as long as they are kept dry and protected so they are a nice keepsake.

The advantages with silk flowers is that they can be purchased and arranged in advance - they can be pricy though. As with sugar flowers, they are safe to put on your cake as long as they are kept dust-free.

Fresh flowers are normally the flower of choice. I do not provide fresh flowers as it's important that they match the rest of the flowers used to decorate the reception, so you should arrange with your florist to bring a few extra flowers for the cake.

Many people ask me "How many flowers should I get". It's hard for me to say. The type and size of the flowers makes a difference. If I tell you to bring 3 flowers for the topper you could end up with a tiny topper or a huge one. If you tell your florist how you want your wedding cake flowers (do you just want them on top, or a cascade, or just a few on each tier)then he/she can determine how many to bring.

Sometimes the florist will place fresh flowers on the cake - which is fine by me. If they are unable to do it or prefer not to I am happy to place fresh flowers for you if they are at the venue when I deliver. Due to other deliveries scheduled for the day I can not wait on flowers to arrive. If the bride has specified that she wants the florist to place the flowers on the cake I always assume that she has discussed the arrangement with them. I have been to deliveries where the florist placed the flowers totally different than how the bride told me she wanted them placed - when that happens I assume that there has been a change in plans and the florist knows best. They are the professional when it comes to the flowers so I will defer to their expertise in all flower related matters. I am always happy to communicate with any florist to arrange delivery schedules, number of flowers, etc...