Wedding Cakes with Flowers - 10 Ideas You Can DIY
Cakes and fresh flowers are two wonderful components of weddings that, when paired together, can become a jaw-dropping centerpiece of your special day. And, placing flowers as cake toppers is one of the easiest DIY projects where couples can show their creativity! Flowers can be matched to your wedding colors or the decorations of your reception venue: a subtle accent with just a few blooms or drench your entire cake with a cascade of fresh floral! It's up to you and wedding cakes with flowers offer limitless creative possibilities.
If budget precludes having your baker style fresh flowers on your cake OR maybe you prefer to show your creativity, we've got the tips to make your DIY wedding cake flowers a success.
Pro Tips:
- Add fresh flowers to your wedding cake right before the event begins to ensure the flowers look amazing for the entire event.
- Be sure your flowers are optimally hydrated prior to placing them on the cake. Many flowers will last for 4-6 hours without a water source but there are some that require hydration.
- Use water tubes for flowers like orchids, gardenia, hydrangea which all require a water source to look their best.
- For other blooms, use plastic straws cut into 2-3" sections to hold them stems. This will keep the cut stems separate from the cake so you don't have to use organic or edible flowers and to protect the flavors of the cake.
Ready to DIY fresh flowers on your wedding cake? Read on to see 10 of our favorite flower-adorned cakes, each one sure to inspire you! Some of the more minimal designs can be achieved simply by using the extra flowers that pop off! Other looks require artful precision and a reserved quantity of blooms for styling. We've included a range of designs and a quick commentary on the DIY level of difficulty to help you decide which project is ideal for you:
1. Simply Extraordinary
Just look at this wedding cake that is literally drenched in fresh flowers! To create this look you'll transform a simple, white cake with a cascade of blooms. Maybe warm colors are your thing. You might even be a fan of simplicity meshed with a pop of WOW! And this cake surely does that. With Quicksand roses, stephanotis, hypericum berries and feather fern (to name a few), this topper screams blush outdoorsy wedding on a spring or summer day. This timeless wedding cake with flowers would require a higher level of planning and styling; this look is definitely expert-level DIY!
2. A Cake Made for Royalty
Did you know purple used to be the color for royalty? As soon as people laid eyes this color, they immediately knew this person was to be held in high regard. And while purple may not be your first choice for wedding cakes with flowers, did you know that the 2022 Pantone Color is periwinkle, or "very peri" as we're calling it in the industry. It's trending and we totally see why. This beautiful cake is topped with roses, mums and the base is surrounded by seeded eucalyptus. This unique color combo would undoubtedly turn a head or two on your big day. You're already going to be treated like royalty on your wedding day, so why not go all in with that purple touch? This look is rated a medium-level degree of DIY difficulty. So go ahead, add fresh flowers to your own royal wedding cake!
3. Glitz and Glam
Do people stop you in your tracks because the outfit you're wearing sparkles? Are people constantly making comments about how beautifully you rhinestoned your phone case? Well, if you answered yes to either of those, a glitz and glam wedding cake and flower combo could suit you. And while imagining your version of this wedding cake, notice its crowned with pink roses, a king protea and succulents and looks like a little tiara! Designing fresh flowers on one layer, the top layer of your wedding cake is a more simple DIY project since you just fill an existing shape with varying heights. So order your queenly flowers in just the right color and DIY this wedding cake with flowers.
4. Chocolatey Woodwork
Rich and deep, this wedding cake is perfectly accented with a swag of dried pampas grass and red blooms. We love when we get to see the creativity of the baker and the florals unite (you'll read more on how to make that happen below). This masterpiece of a chocolatey delight of cake really goes with the outdoors rustic look and the subtlety of the red roses and celosias really help balance the craftsmanship of the cake itself while still dropping jaws with the fresh flowers. This cake and topper combo prove that you can go simple and still make a huge impact on people's experience at your wedding. One bold, artesian accent on your wedding cake is DIY difficulty level easy, anyone can do it!!
5. Two Toned
This cake has two tones in two different ways. Clearly there are two colors on the cake but did you also catch that there are both fresh and dried flowers here? We've told you already; wedding cakes with flowers have limitless creative potential. This blush outdoorsy topper would be perfect for wedding cakes from classic to whimsical. Red roses paired with white dried eulalia grass give this topper a two toned, one-two punch that will either leave your guests speechless or they won't be able to stop talking about it. And the best news? The wedding cake with flowers is DIY difficulty level EASY!! You got this.
6. Scattered Simplicity
It takes a special kind of artist to make scattered arrangements look so beautiful. As you'll learn below, it'll be important to provide your florist with the tools they need when it comes to working with wedding cakes with flowers. The great thing is, you don't have to do that much... but we'll get to that part soon! This simple three tiered cake has scattered ranunculus and spider mum flowers as well as eucalyptus leaves. This whimsically inspired cake truly looks like it cam out of a fairy tale. While it may look simple, we rate this wedding cake with flowers a DIY level MEDIUM because it does take a special eye to make the scattered look feel artistic.
7. Plain and Simply Beautiful
You can't go wrong with keeping things simple. And the best part is, when it comes to wedding cakes with flowers, even the most simple designs look absolutely stunning. We get it, you wan't all eyes to be on you... the bride! So why draw too much attention to the cake when you are the star of the show! This single tiered cake is topped with white roses and surrounded by seeded eucalyptus. A surefire and simple way to create an elegant look to your big day. We give this wedding cake with flowers a DIY level of SUPER EASY because simple is key.
8. Level Up
Much like the cake listed before this beauty, the simple white wedding cake with flowers is a simple, but elegant touch. Now with two tiers, this wedding cake has a little more room to get creative. This cake has white roses and and eucalyptus strategically placed at the base, middle and top of the cake, giving it multiple layers of whimsical beauty for guests to lay their eyes on. Even though this wedding cake with flowers only has one additional tier, we rate with cake a DIY level of MEDIUM since the placement of the flowers is a little more strategic. But don't worry, we still think you can handle it!
9. The Trifecta
When you have a handful of focal flowers, you have a little more room to get creative. And sometimes adding just a small touch goes a long way. This chocolate cake may be a little more non-traditional in style but adding flowers to the top really makes it "wedding worthy." This cake is topped with a trifecta of pink and white roses and an anemone. This cake is a good example of what you can do if a wedding flower falls out of a bouquet or slips out of an arrangement. We give this wedding cake with flowers a DIY level of EASY because it's super simple to place these flowers on top of the cake.
10. All the Fixin's
We just have to start off with a big WOW with this wedding cake with flowers! When you look at it, it really just captures every essence of what you would think of when you see a wedding cake. They went with the design topper with the flowers to really step it up a notch. You can say it has all the fixin's of a true wedding cake! This two-tiered cake is decorated with roses, anemones, and other mixed greens. We give this cake a DIY level of HARD because of the extravagant detail needed to pull this off!
Now that we showed you some wedding cakes with flowers, who do you talk to about making it happen?
It's tough to know where to start sometimes... Do you talk to your florist? Your baker? Well, both actually. When you contact your baker, you can simply ask them for either a diagram or photo of your wedding cake. This will give your florist something to help calculate the price and volume of the flowers to use.
After you have spoken to your baker and collected everything you need for your florist, it's time to give them a call or shoot them an email. More often than not, florists have creative energy toward things like wedding cakes with flowers so now that you have provided them the tools they need, allow them to work with you to create your unique piece. When you have wedding cakes with flowers, it can easily add to the theme of the wedding and give it a memorable touch to a sentimental moment. Fresh flowers were used as cake toppings for years before the typical wedding figurines became popular. You know what we're talking about... the bride and the groom at the top, or those really cute figurines that look like they're carved from wood. While there is nothing wrong with trinkets as cake toppers, the 2022 trend we're seeing when it comes to wedding cakes with flowers is that everything meshes so much better when the cake is decorated in the same fashion as an arrangement or table centerpiece.
PRO TIP: Make sure you communicate the timeline of when the cake arrives to the time of the actual cake cutting because you'll want to make sure the flowers are still looking fresh, especially since they will not have a water source.
Some long-lasting flowers which are beautiful as a cake topper are:
- Orchids, Roses, Protea
- Iris, Waxflower, Astilbe
- Ranunculus, Dahlias, Calla Lilies
- Spray Roses, Baby’s Breath, Hypericum Berries
- Assorted greenery
There are many more long-lasting flowers which can be used besides this selection. Talking to your floral designer and asking their input is always helpful. Your florist has the experience and will know what will work together and what won’t.
Now that you know what you want to do, how can you plan the details?
In order for wedding cakes with flowers to mesh practically, we would suggest you have your florist and your baker exchange phone numbers and contact information. Ask if they can schedule a meeting before the wedding to decide how the cake topper and decorations will be applied. Maybe your baker has a lot of experience working with wedding cakes with flowers and could add extra icing where the flower placement will be so the stems won't touch the cake. Or, the florist can mark on the diagram where they want to place the flowers and the baker will know where to put extra mounds of icing.
If a meeting before the wedding doesn't work, the florist and baker can meet at the reception venue and team up on installing the flowers together. And if the baker doesn't have the means to stick around or simply sends someone to drop the cake off, you can ask the baker to provide a bag of extra icing so your florist can hide stems as they please.
Many florists also have unique flower holders which are specifically designed for wedding cakes with flowers. This way your florist can arrange the cake topper without exposing the flowers to the cake. It is also an added asset when removing the flowers from the cake before cutting it.
PRO TIP: Did some flowers fall out of your bouquet? You can use them to add something a little extra to your cake!
And there you have it! We hope you hop on this 2022 trend of wedding cakes with flowers as toppers. We can't wait to see the creative and beautiful masterpieces you come up with! Ask your florist about one today!
Question: Would you use flowers as a cake topper on your wedding cake?
Originally written by Linda Lee Ruzicka, updated by Adam Knowles.
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