I'm working on a large (4 tier) wedding cake for dear friends who are marrying at the end of this month. They've given me free reign with so many details, and I took the opportunity to do something I've wanted to do for quite some time, and make a cake loaded with GP flowers. They are excited to see the end result and so am I!

Anyway, I've already made approx 7 dozen stephanotis filler flowers, 8 huge roses, 5 or 6 dozen ivy leaves, hundreds of hydrangeas, dozens of random buds, have started a dozen ranunculus, and still plan to make 6 or 8 large peonies, freesias, and hydrangea leaves. All told, I have no idea how much time/effort I've already invested in the flowers, and there's no end in sight. I love to do it, though, and really feel like I've improved TONS since starting this project.

BUT...BUT...BUT...

It occured to me a few minutes ago that these flowers will, in all liklihood, end up in the garbage after the wedding lol . They may want to hang on to some as keepsakes, but the majority are prolly bound for the landfill. It doesn't bother me enough to make me stop, it just sort of stinks, ya know??? Anyway, I know I'm prolly late to the party for those of you who regularly make GP flowers for cakes, but there it is.

Just have them tell the guests they can take them home, none will be tossed. Whenever we have a party, and especially at my borhter's wedding, everyone always wants to take home one of the decorations. I will see fondant flowers or a critter sitting on someone's shelf when I visit.

Yep, I second what SecretAgentCakeBaker said. People are amazed by gumpaste flowers and always want to keep them. My daughter still has a couple of the lilies from her wedding cake 2 1/2 years ago. The little girls at the wedding also each took one home. My mother has gp flowers in little nooks and crannies everywhere from various cakes I've made and a friend had a collection of my gp flowers on a shelf in her office.

Have fun making all those flowers! I just finished 8 large roses, 7 or 8 callas, about 75 hydrangeas and 25-30 filler blossoms. Still have to do a few kinds of leaves. I've been working a little at a time for about 2 weeks.