Fresh Flowers on a Wedding Cake- How Does it Work?

Fresh flowers are a popular choice for wedding cake decorations this year. I personally love the look of fresh flowers, as well as how versatile they are. There are so many styles and colours available that the possibilities are endless!

I'm frequently asked to create wedding cakes with fresh flowers, so I thought it would be useful to go through some of the common questions that come up when booking a floral wedding cake.

Since working with local florists and fresh flowers, I have found that the best way to create a floral wedding cake that fits in perfectly with your wedding, is for your chosen florist to supply the flowers.

The main benefit of having your florist supply the flowers, is that they will match exactly with other elements in your wedding. The flowers you have chosen for your bouquet, button holes, table and room decorations will be the same flowers as on your wedding cake, creating a dreamy and seamless colour scheme.

Once you've decided on a cake design, simply ask your florist to order a few extra stems of the key flowers and some greenery/filler pieces to create the floral arrangement for your cake.

Another benefit is the cost; as your florist will already be ordering in your flowers, it will cost you significantly less to order a couple more stems rather than ordering from another florist, who will most likely have to order larger bunches and will charge you more for this reason.

Thirdly, your florist will know which flowers are in season and which will be available for your wedding date. As much as I work with flowers and love them, we as cake makers are not experts in flowers and seasonal changes and therefore It's really important to check with your florist before deciding on your floral arrangement. Winter weddings, for example, are much more restricted with flowers that are in season.

This comes down to personal preference. A popular choice at the moment, especially for two tiered cakes, is a central arrangement like below.

This could be a small, understated arrangement with one or two florals as the focal point, or it could be a larger spray of greenery and florals with a big impact.

Another option is to have flowers cascading down the cake, such as this blush pink rose arrangement. This works well if you’re looking for only one or two flowers to be the focal point.

A classic choice would be to have three smaller arrangements; one on the top of the cake, one on the right or left hand side, and one on the base of the opposite side.

A final option that I love for single-tiered cakes is a large arrangement on the top of the cake. These are usually made with floral foam and placed on top of the cake, which helps the flowers to last longer.

If the wedding cake has a floral arrangement on the top of the cake, this can be made the evening before and may even last after the wedding as a table arrangement. The flowers are kept in water-soaked floral foam on a plastic dish, so they are less likely to wilt.

For all other arrangements, flowers are added to the cake as late as possible, often at the wedding venue after the cake has been set up. The flowers are placed into the cake and arranged individually on the cake.

It is important to make sure that the flowers chosen are suitable to be placed on a cake, as there are the odd few flowers that are either poisonous or may cause stomach upsets if they contaminate the wedding cake. Ask your florist before deciding on your cake flowers to ensure they are safe.

When flowers are stuck directly in the cake, it’s also very important that the stems are covered with floral tape or some form of food safe seal, to make sure any liquid from the flower stems are not in contact with the cake. Once the stems are covered, it’s perfectly safe to add these into the cake.

I hope the information above helps to answer some of the common questions and concerns that occur when dealing with fresh flowers on wedding cakes. If you have any questions or would like to get in contact about your wedding day, please contact us here.