What type of flowers can be used to decorate my wedding cake?

When designing a wedding cake there are lots of factors to consider but one which has a big impact on pricing and overall design is the type of flowers used to decorate a cake with. In this post I am going to explain the pros and cons of each type of flower choice, where it’s best used and how to decide what is best for you.

I am a cake artist based in Herstmonceux, East Sussex, I have been making wedding cakes since 2014, I have made hundreds of wedding cakes, my style and techniques have developed over time and I would love to share some insight into the floral options for your wedding cake that I have experimented with over the years.

I will start with probably the least expensive option which is fresh flowers. Fresh flowers are natures art and can look absolutely incredible on your cake. However there are some instances when they aren’t the best choice. If you are going to be using fresh flowers on a wedding cake then they need to be correctly taped, not sprayed with chemicals or pesticides and non toxic. The best examples of fresh flowers to use on a cake are organically grown roses, herbs, bay, some dahlias, some peonies, jasmine, marigolds and many more. The benefit of using fresh flowers other than the cost is that they will identically match the rest of the wedding flowers. The downside of using fresh flowers is that if they are a weak stemmed flower then they are prone to wilting as the day goes on especially if the weather is warm so will only look their best for the first couple of hours and generally speaking a wedding cake can be on display for around 6-10 hours depending on delivery time and when it’s cut.

Above: An example of a wedding cake with fresh flowers used as decoration at The Ravenswood

Fresh Flowers Pros/Cons

pros: beautiful, budget friendly, matches wedding flowers perfectly

cons: some are prone to wilting, toxic varieties limits options, seasonality means that certain varieties are not available some times of the year.

The next option which are generally a little more expensive and less environmentally friendly than fresh flowers are silk or fabric flowers. These do not wilt, are not toxic so any variety can be used but are limited in what is available. There are some incredibly realistic fabric flowers on the market these days and I love using a brand which are hand painted and just amazing quality. The downside with fabric flowers is that the variety is slightly limited and not all colours are available. Another upside is that they are available all year round so peonies in December is totally possible, hooray! I will insist that there are some amazing silk flowers on the market, but there are also some terrible ones, I would only suggest using the high quality ones on a wedding cake as cheap ones could really make the cake look awful. For this reason I prefer to source silk flowers for my couples myself.

Above: An example of silk flowers used on a wedding cake at the East Sussex National

Silk/Fabric Flowers Pros/Cons

pros: don’t wilt, available all year round, don’t use cheap versions (you’ll regret it)

cons: slightly more expensive than fresh flowers, varieties/colours can be limited, might not match wedding bouquets perfectly.

The next type of flower that I am going to look at is wafer paper flowers. Theres are relatively new in the cake decorating world, and are gaining increasing popularity over the last couple of years. I did a 2 day course with Yin Cakes in 2020 where I learnt how to make incredibly realistic wafer paper roses. I am continually improving my skills in this area as they are a fantastic solution. They are handmade so naturally more expensive than fresh or silk flowers but there is a lot of time and skill that goes into them and they are truly works of art. They can be stored somewhere dry and kept for years if in the right conditions, don’t break easily and can be kept, used again for special occasion cakes such as a christening or framed as a keepsake (a service which I offer) They don’t wilt on the cake, can be made any colour to match the rest of the wedding decor and have a gorgeously light, airy and whimsical look about them.

Above: Wafer paper roses and leaves on a wedding cake at Bradbourne House, East Sussex

Wafer paper Flowers Pros/Cons

pros: don’t wilt, can be made to match wedding decor, can be kept and reused after the wedding, are a gorgeous and luxury option which showcases the cake artists skills.

cons: are a higher end budget option than silk/ fresh, potentially limited varieties that can be made depending on cake artists knowledge/skill set.

Lastly I’m going to talk about sugar or as they are sometimes known gumpaste flowers. Technically they are edible, similarly to wafer paper flowers but I wouldn’t recommend it and contain wires.

They are completely food safe, look stunning and very realistic if made well, they can be made to match pretty much any variety or colour that you’re using in the rest of your wedding decor but do come at a cost as each petal has to be hand rolled, cut, shaped, dusted and taped into place. A cascade of sugar flowers on a 3 tier cake can take a cake artist days to make depending on the speed that they work and the detail of the flowers. This makes them the most expensive option that you can choose but also the most luxury and in lots of cases the most striking. I would not suggest using them on a semi naked or buttercream cake as they don’t like moisture but on a high end fondant iced cake nothing much beats sugar flowers.

Above: Sugar flowers on a wedding cake

Sugar Flowers Pros/Cons

pros: don’t wilt (unless exposed to high humidity), can be kept afterwards and used again or as a keepsake, are incredibly impressive looking and showcase a cake artists skill, can be made in any colour or variety.

cons: most expensive option, fragile and easily cracked or broken

I have made cakes where I combine the use of wafer or silk and sugar flowers which works really well so this is definitely something to discuss with your wedding cake artist at your design consultation.

I hope this has given you a good insight into the pros and cons of the different flower options that can be used on your wedding cake whether you’re a bride and groom looking at options for your cake or a cake artist thinking about a new design. As a general rule I always suggest fresh or silk flowers for the more rustic, semi naked or ganache finished designs. Some ganache finishes work with wafer or sugar flowers and in most instances I suggest sugar or wafer flowers on a fondant finish unless budget is a consideration in which instance silk or fresh flowers can be used to achieve the desired look.

What’s your flower of choice? I would love to hear your comments below and please let me know if this blog post has been helpful.