My question...how do you arrange the roses for a wedding cake that has solid roses between tiers? Cakes by Sam posted on is the Traditional Wedding Cakes gallery, and I've always wondered how to create that effect with fresh flowers.

I'd love to know!

Just to clarify... is this the cake by "Cakes By Sam" you are referring to:

http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=coppermine&file=displayimage&pid=633

Yup...that's the one. It's gorgeous.

I love those cakes....that effect is basicly a round of styrofoam for silk flowers or a piece of oasis in a dish placed in between the columns that hold up the tiers. You place your flowers into the round and it looks like they are holding up the cakes!

Hi Amy, it's exactly as Zabrip said.  The Styrofoam "separator" (which is basically the same as a cake dummy just not as high) is the method I prefer to use personally, but that may just be out of habit. 

Fresh roses are a great flower for cake decorating - they are a very robust flower and will last out of water for at least 24hrs, in a temperate climate or an air-conditioned room.  If you are working in these conditions, use the separator instead, I find them easier to work with. For weddings cakes, I have the fresh roses arranged in the separators the evening before the wedding and the roses still look great the following evening at the wedding reception.

(The green "Oasis" separator foam and dish on the other hand can hold water if needs be, but water and fondant in close proximity just makes me nervous...!)

• To arrange flowers between a 12 inch tier and a 10 inch tier, you would use an 8 inch separator (ie 2 inches smaller than the upper tier).
• Starting with the bottom tier, place the separator in the centre of the cake. Insert your dowels around the separator so they hold it in place.
• Mark your dowels just a tiny fraction above the top of the separator and cut them all to the same length.
• You will need to have short floristry wires inserted into the back of your fresh roses to make sure they sit well in the styrofoam. (The florist will be able to demonstrate this to you.)
• Insert your wired roses around the separator and repeat for the remaining tiers.
• The tiers can then be stacked on top of each other and you will have your wow cake!

If you have a look on You Tube, there may be a clip demonstrating this technique.  Otherwise, it's very well photographed in most of the books by the UK decorators (May Clee Cadman & Mich Turner in particular) where fresh flowers are very popular on wedding cakes.

Have fun!

Thank you for the wonderful instructions on how to add the roses/flowers to cakes!