Sugar Flowers or Fresh?
Most couples source me to make their wedding cake for my sugar flower making hands. Sugar flowers are my niche and I adore making them! They've taken years of practice & I will forever be mastering how to perfect the most botanically correct ones. It's always a compliment that my couples recognise this passion & craft when choosing me to make their wedding cake.
To go sugar or fresh on your wedding cake is a worthy consideration if you have a love for both. My take on the pros & cons are as below.
Fresh flowers pros:
Beautiful fresh flowers are undoubtedly the more cost effective option. If you're on a tight budget, fresh flowers may be the best option
Fresh flowers on your cake will coordinate beautifully and match 100% perfectly to the rest of your wedding floral styling
They smell incredible!
Cons:
You will need your florist's guidance on which fresh flowers will be best suited for being placed within a cake for 12 hours +. Especially if your wedding is within the warmer months and in a non air conditioned venue. Your cake won't be cut until late in the evening, roughly 7pm or later and a cake designers biggest fear is wilted flowers on a cake that they have spent days creating. Some dainty flowers may not withstand being out of water so speak to your florist about any cake flower concerns
Check flower placement arrangements between your florist & cake decorator. This is a grey area - very few florists will work their flower magic on your cake as they would your venue. Nearly every florist I meet will not want to be liable for damaging the cake by placing their flowers into it. Some even have an insurance clause preventing them from doing so. More often than not, it is the cake decorator who is entrusted & who has made themselves liable with the florist's fresh flowers, otherwise sadly, your cake flower dreams would never come true if neither were willing. Some cake decorators may have an insurance clause alike the florist so please check
Sugar Flowers pros:
These are luxury, handmade decorations with the wow factor! They are such a talking point, so many guests will be wowed by the fact that the flowers are indeed made from sugar
Sugar flowers make gorgeous keepsakes. They last for years after your wedding. Some of my couples keep them for decades!
They are deliciously edible
There is no fear of them wilting. Sugar flowers can withstand the cold & heat
The sugar flower colours can be coordinated to your fresh wedding flowers as botanically accurate as possible
Cons:
The cost of sugar flowers will be more expensive than fresh. The price of labour, skill, experience & attention to detail will be well reflected in the sugar flower cost
If you love bespoke touches and appreciate handmade creations that demonstrate flair, great skill & creativity or if you're wanting a cake that is a true talking point with the wow factor, sugar flowers are the perfect design detail to feature on your wedding day. You can have as little or as many as you wish on your cake and if you're not sure how to have them feature on your cake, your designer will have so much fun sketching out a range of flower placement designs for you!