Hi, I am making a wedding cake covered in buttercream. It will have flowers on the sides and top. My question: should I make these flowers out of gumpaste, fondant, or 50/50. Then, how do I attach them to the buttercream?? The cake will be set up approx. 4 hours before the wedding.

I suggest 50/50. It might depend on the flower but mostly that should be fine. If separate flowers attach them w/a circle (open ring) of b'cream.

If your flowers weight much or stick out and don't touch the cake much, they may slide down your buttercream on the sides of the cake. You may want to consider making them on a wire or toothpick that you can stick into the side of the cake to prevent that. Otherwise, gravity will try to do its thing. If they're small or flat and have a lot of surface area touching the buttercream, they'll stay where you put them on the buttercream with a little water or fondant glue (fondant dissolved in a little water).

Ditto what Ruth0209 said

how do you make them on a wire? Is the thin wire enough to even make a difference?? I have already made some of the flowers. They are flat flowers, but the edges have been ruffled and I am drying some of them so they have some "life" (hope that makes sense). Thank you to all for the help!

What kind of flowers are you making, I have the wilton book and I can scan it for you, it has step by step pictures.

I have the Wilton book also. Thank you for the kind offer. The flowers would be considered more of a "fantasy flower". The bride found a cake on The Knot and the best I can tell, (please forgive me whomever made the cake) the flowers do not seem to botanically identifiable. Other than some dogwood blossoms. I hope my dogwood cutter comes in the mail today!!! I am using the tulip petal cutter, thinning and ruffling, then putting 2 of them together (after drying some). I was then adding little balls (6) for the centers. These will be accented with silver. All white flowers. I am doing the same with the pansy cutter. She wanted "round" flowers" ??? I know this sounds terrible, but they are really looking quite nice. Now, back to the question: I guess I could do balls on the wire thing and attach to the back?? I sound so stupid in the message don't I??

I was in the same situation with my first cake - my daughter's wedding cake. I did gumpaste dogwood and realized that I needed a way to stick them on the cake. I attached the wire to a flattened out ball and stuck it on the back of the blossom. Once everything dried, they were fine.

It really depends on the flower and the type of buttercream. If you have a nice consistency buttercream some flowers will hold. But roses ten to be heavier so for those is better to have a wire..It really depends on the weight.
Edna

Thanks everyone! Edna, I use Buttercream Dream from this site. Crusts nicely. I watched your YouTube videos last night for some help. They were wonderful. How nice of you to put them on there so we can all watch them for free! You are very talented.

mbt4955, did you have cutters for your dogwood blooms?

almost forgot, how long a wire do you use??

Do NOT stick wires into a cake, ever!

They must be wrapped in floral tape or put into a straw or floral pic.
If anything attach a toothpick to the back as mbt4955 said.

Interestingly enough, I learned this lesson tonight. I made a cake with buttercream icing and placed roses on the edge of the top and the bottom area. There was a small ledge on the bottom and I thought it would be enough. Wrong! I had at least four of them slide right on down after a little while. I have toothpicks in all of them now and have the cake in the refrigerator hoping to harden the buttercream a little bit. I don't like putting my cakes in the refrigerator much because it seems to dry them out, but I have no choice with this one. I didn't realize the roses were so heavy, but evidently they are.

Lisa

Dont worry lisa, the toothpicks will hold...put some buttercream underneath too..
Edna

I PROMISE I did not hit submit more than once! I got caught in the "server update". Will the gumpaste soften after it is attached to the buttercream over time????