Live Flowers On Wedding Cake

Decorating By Britterfly Updated 29 Jul 2014 , 7:27pm by cai0311

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Britterfly Posted 24 Jul 2014 , 1:39pm
post #1 of 10

I have a customer who wants me to make her wedding cake, but she wants me to add the live flowers. I have never put live flowers on my cakes before, usually they get their florist to do that at the wedding. She wants a textured buttercream wedding cake with live white roses & baby breath cascading down the front side of the cake. She also wants to pick up the cake her self the night before. How do you add live flowers to the side of a cake? Do I need to use flower picks? Don't the flowers need to be put on right before the wedding reception/the same day so they won't wilt/die?

9 replies
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cai0311 Posted 24 Jul 2014 , 2:23pm
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AI have in my contract that I am the only person that can put real flowers in the cake. That way if an "oops' is made I can fix it with my repair kit. That being said, I do it all the time.

I insert a staw into the cake then put the flower in the straw. That way the flower is not in contact with the cake and there is next to no cake displaced by the straw. Just cut the straws to about 1.5" - 2" in length and get started.

There are two parts in your post that makes me nervous:

1. The bride wants to pick the cake up the night before. There is no way I would ever agree to this. People do not know how to drive with a cake, let along a tiered wedding cake with flowers. What if something goes wrong? What if the cake is damaged either on the way to her house or the wedding the next day? She will hold you responsible. There are hundreds of posts on this site about that very thing happening.

2. Putting the flowers on the cake the night before. The flowers need to be put on the cake right before the reception. I deliver my cakes two hours before the reception, so when I say "right before" I don't mean just before the doors open, but not the night before. They will be dead by the next day. If you allow the bride to put the flowers on the cake you run the risk of her messing up the cake or inserting the flowers directly into the cake.

If this were my order I would tell the bride I have to deliver the cake the day of the wedding. And at that time I will put the flowers on the cake. There are just too many things that can go wrong.

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cakes_rule Posted 25 Jul 2014 , 2:34am
post #3 of 10

AHi there, i have a similar order of fresh flowers cascading down the side. My question would be how to make it cascade? Using straws...which ones, coffee stirrers or regular? Alternatively, could you wrap the stems with foil and insert it into the cake? Thanks

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kakeladi Posted 25 Jul 2014 , 10:18pm
post #4 of 10

I remember yrs ago a gal (in San Diego) had a booming business doing cakes w/fresh flowers.  Her method was to make a thick swag of b'cream to stick the flowers in.  That was never served as she only would serve her cakes.  If you are going to serve the cake you might want to try this method.

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costumeczar Posted 27 Jul 2014 , 12:02am
post #5 of 10

I don't like to use fresh flowers on cakes because of the pesticides but I had to today due to some unusual circumstances. Anyway, I did what kakeladi mentioned and pressed the flowers onto the side of the cake instead of inserting them into straws or anything like that. If you're using roses you could do the ones that sit on the ledges of the cake forst, then use those to support the ones above it in the cascade. You'd put the baby's breath in between the roses after that.

 

I wouldn't let her pick the cake up the day before, though, too much room for disaster there. You can't put the flowers on the night before and expect them to still look fresh the next day, it's too dicey.

 

Here's the one that I did today. I started with the ones on the ledges between the tiers, then put a big blob of icing on the center of each tier and pressed the base of the flower where the stem starts onto the blob. Since these were dahlias I cut them off pretty much flat on the back, and there was no stem left to speak of. I made sure that the flowers that sat on the tiers were in front of the petals that were on top of them, so the ones on the middle of the tiers were stuck on but were also kind of supported with the one below that,

 

Using roses, you'll need to make sure that the ones that are in the center of the tier are secure since they're heavier than dahlias, so you might want to use the drinking straw idea for some of those to make sure they have en

 

ough support.

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cai0311 Posted 28 Jul 2014 , 3:57pm
post #6 of 10

A

Quote:
Originally Posted by cakes_rule 

Hi there, i have a similar order of fresh flowers cascading down the side. My question would be how to make it cascade? Using straws...which ones, coffee stirrers or regular? Alternatively, could you wrap the stems with foil and insert it into the cake? Thanks

 

I use regular drinking size straws.

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kakeladi Posted 28 Jul 2014 , 5:19pm
post #7 of 10

For anyone using fresh flowers do remember that any flower stem that oozes milky fluid is *poisonous*  and should NOT be used anywhere on or even near anything edible!

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costumeczar Posted 28 Jul 2014 , 8:47pm
post #8 of 10

Quote:

Originally Posted by kakeladi 
 

For anyone using fresh flowers do remember that any flower stem that oozes milky fluid is *poisonous*  and should NOT be used anywhere on or even near anything edible!

When I see real calla lilies on cakes I shudder...

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cakes_rule Posted 29 Jul 2014 , 4:50am
post #9 of 10

AThis is the cake i have to do with real flowers. Any tips? Thanks.[ATTACHMENT=1833]received_m_mid_1405648599403_7bae738f38151dee33_0.jpeg (31k. jpeg file)[/ATTACHMENT]

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cai0311 Posted 29 Jul 2014 , 7:27pm
post #10 of 10

A

Quote:
Originally Posted by cakes_rule 

This is the cake i have to do with real flowers. Any tips? Thanks. 

 

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