Hi all - hope you can help me with this one!

I'm delivering a wedding cake in a few weeks that will have live flowers as accents & as a topper.

Here's the issue: I can't get to the florist's beforehand to pick up flowers and pre-assemble the way I want them on the cake - will have to be done when I get to the reception facility the day of the wedding. (Florist is 45 mins from me and I can't leave work early enough to get there while they're open.)

The designs are simple - no elaborate bouquets or tough positioning - but I'm concerned about what will actually arrive with the florist on that day. The florist has an excellent rep for quality, healthy flowers but I really like to hand-pick when it comes to things like this.

I've never had to deal with anything like this yet. Anyone been in a similar situation?

Well, I never get the flowers ahead of time. And I don't assemble them, unless I have to tear up something the florist did and reassemble it. It's the florist's JOB to assemble the floral topper and side pokes per my instructions and leave those at the venue for me to put on the cake.

Whatever the bride has ordered from the florist is what I get. I'm the cake designer not the florist.

Never. Because it was my bride's responsibility to order the flowers and make sure they were at the reception venue when I arrived, so I could place them on the cake when I delivered it. That way there was no problem on whether the flowers matched or not, I never had to pre-figure what flowers would cost, and on baking/delivery day, I NEVER had time to run all over town picking up flowers from 9 different florists.

Ditto and ditto.

You worry about the cake. What they chose for you to put on it is their business. I never, ever got the flowers beforehand either. Where would I store those? With the cake? I'm responsible if they wilt or get crushed? Heck no! Not in my fridge, thank you very much.

It's the bride's job to order her flowers herself (so that they match the other flowers she's using in her wedding) and it's my job to tell her the quantity I need her to buy and a sketch of what I'm going to do with them. I've occasionally been asked by a bride to call the florist and discuss quantity/sizing etc, but she delivers those to the venue when I deliver the cake. I'll even put them on the cake for her, but that's it.

Thanks guys. Guess I was concerned over nothing. For any of my previous orders that required fresh flowers I would plan on purchasing them and incorporate the cost into the cake total. The matching issue just never came up because they all seemed to be idiot-proof (white roses, yellow sunflowers, red gerberas, etc.).

I always liked to arrange a topper or accent bunch by how it's going to lay against the cake, kinda "trying it on for size" since I have the cake right there, and so never thought to ask the florist to just premake certain size bunches. Then again, I used to work as a florist so I guess my do-it-yourselfer tendencies took over.

Yep - overthinking stuff again.
Thanks for the reality check!

I also don't deal with flowers ..............well, I WILL get the flowers for them but I charge a $25 fee on top of the cost of flowers for me to pick them up..........so far I've had no takers, they always have them waiting for me when I arrive with the cake. If I know I have to arrange flowers for a cake I just allow myself for time for the set up that's all!