Fresh Flowers On A Wedding Cake...yay Or Nay?
Decorating By Cinnabear14 Updated 8 Sep 2015 , 4:57pm by Cinnabear14

I am doing a simple rustic wedding cake in 6 weeks and it looks like she wants fresh peonies on the top of the cake. I read somewhere you have to be careful with fresh flowers. Admittedly I am not very skilled at making fondant flowers...is there a way I can give her what she wants without compromising her guests health???

you could keep the flowers in a bowl/container/plate that will protect the surface of the cake -- florists have all kinds of little goodies that will do this for you and still all be pretty -- if you are in the states you can check around the big hobby stores too

You can now a days get peonies in the flower shop, all year round, they are just way more expensive off season. I know some one that wanted off season peonies for her wedding, she changed her mind when she got to know it would 20 dollar per flower.
The problem with flowers on a cake is, you have to find a safe, none sprayed source and both flower and sap need to be edible just to be say and the pollen should be removed.

I say no to fresh flowers. I share an office with a florist who's told me all kinds of horror stories about how flowers are grown in countries that don't use the same regulations about fertilizers and pesticides. Let your mind go to the most disgusting source of "fertilizer" you can, and that's what they're allowed to use in a lot of countries. He tells his brides to NOT use fresh flowers on cakes.
Even if you were going to use organic flowers, which are pretty much impossible to come by, would you want to drink the water that the stems have been in? If not, don't put them on a cake.

I agree with costumeczar about no fresh flowers. Pesticides are a real issue. Moreover, nearly all the popular wedding flowers are toxic. Peonies are toxic from root to blossom--to humans and pets alike.
People can ask for the moon, but it's up to the professional baker to know her/his craft to know what is safe, and what it not. There are so many incredible sugar artists who sell beautiful, safe edible sugar flowers.
if the bride is old enough to marry, then she's old enough to understand that safety comes first. And I doubt she wants a bad case of diarrhea on her wedding night.

That's what I thought too. Flowers should be in vases, not on cakes. I'll have to see if we could possibly use plastic (shivers) flowers, if I can't get edible sugar flowers. Unless I take the next 4 weeks to practice making them. It's my good friend's daughter that's getting married, so I'm sure she will understand. If anyone has a favorite sugar artist, I'd love to hear from you. Thanks all, you rock!!

I offer fresh flowers, but I order from a place that offers only edible flowers and herbs. I have told my brides that anything outside of those, I will not put on a cake and I would not recommend they do so either.

I will now check on edible flowers. Thanks so much!

I sell peonies in my online shops, but they're really not that difficult to make. They have a lot of petals, but you can use my super duper patented (not really) method of wiring a lot of petals fast and have peony petals done in about half an hour.

You have no idea how helpful this is!! Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!

You're welcome, don't be afraid, they're really not that difficult!

They are going on top of buttercream, so I might put them on a clear plastic base so they don't melt ;)


@costumeczar was the first website yours? I had lots of fun reading the responses to scammers. Love the other articles, too.

Yes, that's mine...I think that the scammers have put me on some kind of list, they won't answer me anymore. I need to make up another fake email to respond to them.

I see you also have a site for Twig molds? This cake I'm making has long twigs up and down...do you think this is something I should also invest in? Clearly I can't just pick outdoor twigs to press up against this cake, lol. It's very simple and rustic, so the twigs would add to the charm?

Or could I just make them out of chocolate? They are pretty thin, so they might be too fragile?

UGH! I was all set to make peonies, but my bride said she made a mistake, she wants Hydrangeas!!! @costumeczar , can I make these using your peony method?????

Not really... Here's the wafer paper version https://tools.usps.com/go/TrackConfirmAction_input?qtc_tLabels1=9405510899236529263099
I'm sending you a message too, watch for that because I have more info I can't post on here due to it being a business-y type of thing.

I sent a message, but it said "message sent" then an error message, so if you don't get it let me know.

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