Fresh Flowers On Cake - Need Help Determining Safety
Decorating By ckelly1976 Updated 30 May 2010 , 2:13am by ckelly1976
I have a wedding cake order in two weeks for my sister-in-law who has requested the use of fresh flowers on her cake. My contract has a waiver of liability and usually I leave this request between the bride and her florist; however, in this case it is my sister-in-law so I want to make sure everything is safe.
I was able to speak with her florist and know which flowers are being used. She informed me the flowers are green hypericum, roses, and lisianthus. She also assured me they are grown without pesticides.
If the cake has been delivered prior to the florist arrival, she will be placing the flowers on the cake; however, she said she sticks the stems in the cake without anything covering them. 
I am hoping to deliver the cake after the florist has arrived because I would like to make sure the stems are covered before they are inserted in the cake. I have read some suggestions of placing the stems in straws and taping them closed before inserting them into the cake and I would like to try this method to help ensure nobody gets sick.
While I have been told the venue where the wedding is being held does remove the flowers before serving the cake, I have never worked with fresh flowers before and am concerned with toxicity. I am not familiar with these flowers and I cannot find where these flowers are safe to use on a cake. Does anyone know if these flowers are safe to place on the cake or have you used them before yourself?
If you have any experience with these flowers or insight I would greatly appreciate it.
Non-toxic fresh flowers article:
http://cakecentral.com/articles/78/list-of-non-toxic-flowers-for-garnishing-your-cake
Toxic flowers:
http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-674376-.html
HTH
Thanks JanH.
I had found those articles online earlier and the flowers she is using are not part of either of those lists. 
Thanks for trying. I appreciate your help 
She also assured me they are grown without pesticides.
Even if the flowers are non-toxic, make sure you have that in writing .. bride's signature along with yours and the florist ..
she said she sticks the stems in the cake without anything covering them. Surprised I am hoping to deliver the cake after the florist has arrived because I would like to make sure the stems are covered before they are inserted in the cake
.. regardless of preparation, no fresh flowers should be stuck into cake ..
I have been told the venue where the wedding is being held does remove the flowers before serving the cake
Unless you are cutting the cake, you have to relinquish control to the people cutting/distributing the cake ..
Leave written instructions ... Have everything in writing ..bride's signature along with yours and the venue's management ..
Relax and enjoy the moment ..
If the cake has been delivered prior to the florist arrival, she will be placing the flowers on the cake;
Leaving posy picks for the florist to use might be an idea, IF the florist was flexible enough to be willing to use them. I've read a few horror stories, though, where the florist just sniffs at the decorator and basically tells them to go away. Maybe having everyone sign off on a waiver is the best answer.
Have the florist wrap the stems in plastic wrap or foil if she insists on sticking them into the cake. I will be using fresh flowers next weekend but we are making two arrangements to place between the tiers so nothing will be touching the cake. I did find a list of appropriate flowers to use on cakes. It listed flowers you could use and the ones that were toxic.
Thank you so much for the replies.
sweettreat101 do you have a link to that list of flowers?
My goal is to try to get the cake there after the flowers so I can just arrange them on the cake myself and make sure the stems are properly covered before they are placed on the cake. In all honesty, these are supposed to be "loose" flowers so I'm not sure I get why any stems would have to inserted into the cake directly. They are not supposed to be "arrangements".
I could see the florist snubbing me because when I expressed my concern about the toxicity and pesticides she simply replied with "well I've been doing this for 12 yrs and haven't had a problem yet." 
She also expressed her dislike of floral tape because it "tastes icky" and floral tubes (not sure if this is the picks just take up to much room according to her).
I think the fact that this if my sister-in-laws wedding has me a little more on edge because I have family to protect, including my children who will also be at the wedding. The last thing I want is for the health of my children to be put at risk over the flowers placed on the cake.
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