I am making a wedding cake which is blocked with fresh flowers and will have a topper of fresh flowers too. I've attached a pic of what the customer wants

I've never made a cake like this so I'm a little unsure on how to do some of this. Do you put the top tier in oasis? If so what do you put it in to keep it from coming into contact with the cake? Any products that you've come across and would recommend would be a great help.

Also, How do you keep the flowers between the tiers alive and looking fresh? The bride is using roses and purple lisianthus and I'm a bit worried that the lisianthus will wilt.

Don't know why it didn't attach the picture!!

You could do columns between each tier and the flowers would cover them. You could place a piece of wax or parchment paper on top of each tier so the flowers doesn't touch the cake.

can't help you. but I've always wondered the same question.

Can anyone else help me with this?

Oh, great!!
I am also doing a "fresh flower" wedding cake in September and your picture just gave me an idea for my cake...
My bride also wants fresh roses and I like the idea of putting the parchment paper down for just in case.
Not sure if fresh roses are safe to put onto a cake.

I went and googled "cake safe flowers"

go to www.simplecakedecorating.com

there you will find a list of "safe" flowers to use on a cake..

simplecakedecorating.com/list-of-safe-flowers-for-cake-decorating

Okay...so here is the right website for the list

I really am messing things up here....but here is the right website!
sorry...forgot to put the "http" in front of the previous post.


http://simplecakedecorating.com/list-of-safe-flowers-for-cake-decorating/

Parchment is a great way to protect the layers. To be extra safe contact the florist to both coordinate getting the flowers and their food safety(pesticides). Make sure the bride knows the cake design relies on the flowers/florist. There are small Oasis brand domes of wet floral foam for the cake. Lisianthus always look a little wilty. It's their thing. Everything should be fine with the wet floral foam. If you've never worked with it, buy a block to try.

I'm doing this type of cake for this weekend (gulp!) and have been worrying about keeping the flowers fresh as well. If I do the oasis, do I also use it as the blocks? If so, will it make the cake and board it's between wet? Panic is setting in.

The oasis topper actually has its own plastic dish. However, if excess water is a concern, they make floral picks that hold an ounce or so of water. This will keep flowers fresh for a reception if filled just ahead of time.

What should I do about the flowers that I'm putting between the layers?

Is there space between the tiers? if there is, you can put a floral pick on them. Then you can simply arrange them.

If there is no space between the tiers... two choices. They make special flower picks that hold water for insertion into cakes. Or you could keep the flowers fresh 'til just before the delivery. Snip 'em. Place 'em. And hope for the best.

If you need to know, get a few flowers and snip them then time how long they look nice. It's probably longer than you think.

I don't know about the other flowers but roses hold up for hours just fine. I frequently tuck them between tiers or on a cake and they hold up ok. If you remember my famous story about my icing that sat outside from 2 to 7, in 90+ degree heat in August .... that cake was surrounded and decorated with roses and they didn't wilt at all. When they did cake cutting at 7:00-ish, the flowers looked good for the photos.

[quote="matthewkyrankelly"]Is there space between the tiers? if there is, you can put a floral pick on them. Then you can simply arrange them.

Yes, there is space. I was going to block the tiers. Do you think I can just secure the flower to a pick and stick in the foam? If I tape over the cut end, do you think it will last longer?

OK - I have sort of a lot of experience w/ flowers some with cakes - but what is blocking? If I know what you are doing I can get you through it. Indydebi is right. Roses tend to hold up well no matter what. Others can be sketchy.

I guess it's called blocking. I'm basically using a spacer between layers, similar to the picture at the top of this thread. I was going to stick the flowers into the foam horizontally.

You've got several ways to do this and you can mix and match.

First there are two types of green floral foam out there: wet and dry. One wet brand is oasis. It soaks up water like a sponge and fresh stems can use the water to stay fresh for days. This usually requires some sort of dish or container since it may have excessive moisture. It has the absorbency of a sponge and the rigidity of foam. Many cake toppers have a small amount of this in a little plastic cage that you soak ahead of time and dry the little cage before placing on the cake.

Second, you could use dry foam and use the little water picks. These look like little test-tubes with rubber caps that have a hole for the flower stem to be inserted into. They hold an ounce or two of water. The acomodate about one rose an done or two smaller stemmed plants Usually available at Michaels or the like.

I can tell you that roses and alstroemeria can look good for a long time(Hours). Baby's breath will look dead in minutes. Others can be temperamental: gerbera, stock.

So, my advice to you, use the water holding picks wherever you can, and wet floral foam if you feel comfortable AND it will be contained and not leaking on the cake. If you don't have enough picks, leave the roses w/out one.

Hope this helps. Sorry for the long response.

Thank you all so much for your advice! I really appreciate it.