Hi!

I'm thinking of doing wedding cakes, on top of the birthday cakes I am currently doing. I've done a couple wedding cakes. My question is what makes you decide to use store bought or home-made gumpaste flowers. I have done gumpaste flowers but find it quite tedious. What would stop you from buying ready made gumpaste flowers and colour them yourself? I see from the web that there are very nice and affordable gumpaste flowers of such a variety in USA. Wouldn't be easier this way? I do understand if you needed a certain colour etc that you would do it yourself.

Just wondering what other wedding cake decorators are doing??

Thanks!!

i don't buy gumpaste flowers because there isn't anywhere around where I live to get them. I like to make my own although it is time consuming I like the challenge and learning new flowers.

I make my own and I suppose it is because I love doing them. I am more in control of the size, shape and coloring if I make them myself. And I find it a great way to relax, to just sit and make flowers. Then there is the self satisfaction of seeing the finished flower and knowing you did that!

I, too, make my own. I enjoy making them, i find them very relaxing. But they certainly aren't for everyone, and i see nothing wrong with buying them if you need/want to. Personally i think the flowers i make are much more delicate looking then the premade ones. The premade are thicker and chunkier looking, i figure they must make them thicker to survive shipping.

I to omake my own and in fact make them to order for ladies who cant make them for their wedding cake orders themselves... i love to make them i love watching them take form and the finished product it is a challenge and i too find them so relaxing but yes time consuming... apart from that i agree the shop ones seem so much thicker and rushed no time to make the finer details etc...

I suppose though if you were to buy white ones you would be able to dust them with your colours then steam them for the colour to attach itself nice and deep if you want them too i have also seen that they can be airbrushed so really its each to their own .

I'm still really new at cake decorating. I have bought ready made gumpaste flowers and colored them. I have never taken any classes on making my own, but I'm crafty and bought books and did a decent job on making some. They are definitely time consuming, especially if new to making them......and if you are a perfectionist like me. Cost is a big factor too. You still need to make a profit on your wedding cakes. If you can pass the cost on to the customer for the ready made flowers or the time/ hours you would spend in making them yourself.....then do what is comfortable for you. I don't always have the time......so getting them ready made is more practical. But if you have the time to be creative......the pride and satisfaction of making your own is really great!

I make them too but if I am in a rush and need them faster I go to my local cake decorating supply store. I can usually find something that is pretty and will work.
I make my flowers in the summer while we are at the cottage. Then when I get back home in the fall I store them until I need them. I also get my boys in on it on those rainy days. We just have fun making things. Good luck

when you buy the cheap ones online, you get what you pay for, IMHO. Take a look at some of the people on here who make their own, and you will see the difference.

That said, it isn't for everyone. If you don't like making them, find another source. Life is too short to spend time on any part of a hobby that you don't enjoy.

I enjoy making gumpaste flowers They do add alot to the cost of my cake due to the time but people are willing to pay for them.... The purchased ones are nice but not the same.... they are a great starting place for a new decorator.

There are a lot of folks who do use them, maybe they don't want to post and say they do, I don't know. I was an idiot when I first joined here, I would see pics posted and wonder how in the world some of these people made such perfect flowers.....well DUH - they were the purchased ones!! Do NOT feel bad about using them, they are beautiful, and there are several places who sell them.

Thanks for responding everyone!

I don't mind doing gumpaste flowers and yes, I'm a bit of a perfectionist...so i end up doing many extras! But that aside, a restaurant told me if i can charge cheaper, they'll recommend me. So i'm thinking, hey, why not use store bought, because that would save me time & money. And because their budget is lower, they don't expect a "fancy" finish. (so you get what you pay for, right?) My other customers that can pay will get my homemade ones, yes?

I can get decent gumpaste flowers ( all white though). So I think it's an "economic" decision I have to decide make.

Thanks anyway for your feedback, appreciate it!

I love doing the flowers! I don't know I find that it's a great stress reliever for me.

I also like the idea of being able to color them certain colors that people might want.

I plan on taking some times this summer and just doing several dozen flowers and keeping them in an air tight container and then when I need them...there they are!

I would buy them IF I were really pressed for time. But, I know that I would not like them as much as my own!

Plus, I'll admit this.....I love to see the expressions on everyones face that can not believe that the flowers were hand made! My ego loves this

HERE is a pic of some that were posted today - and bless her - she wasn't afraid to tell folks that the flowers were purchsed ones. They are beautiful! Do what you are comfortable with.

i like making my own...you can usually tell the store-bought kind because they are thicker and not as delicate-looking.

I was wondering about this as well, but I can only find RI flowers and sugar pressed flowers where I live unless I am just woefully misinformed! Where would you even get gumpaste flowers? I wouldn't mind buying some to look at how they are made. And just to have on hand until I learn how to make mine (class starts in June!! )

PS if we use them do we need to tell our clients that they aren't ours? Does it matter?

As you can see in that link, those store bought ones look very nice. A "lay person" is NOT going to be able to tell if you made them or someone who works for wholesalesugarflowers.com did it. I know there are people on here that use them (and just do not post that they do) I don't think you have to tell them you didn't make them either. They are gumpaste flowers, period. Doesn't matter WHO made them. (I am sure those who freeze cakes do not say.....yes, here is your cake, I baked it, then froze it for a week before I decorated it. )

I know there are a couple of places that sell them - do a search for discount gumpaste flowers. I'll see if I can find a couple of links for you.

If it's just a few, I'll make them. If it's a lot, I buy them. Yes they are costly, but it would cost more for all the hours I would spend making them. Just STAY AWAY from the ones made of royal icing. They look horrible!

http://www.discountsugarflowers.com/
http://www.caljavaonline.com

Sam's Club will sell you their gumpaste flowers at a great price.

For those of you who make your own, how much do you charge per rose? Is it more economical for the bride to use gumpaste or real flowers? I've been wondering about this. I love the look of real flowers on a cake, but 100 roses would be pretty pricey.

I got married 2 years ago. The topper was 75.00 and I had 3 dz roses on the cake in between layers. I had to pay per dozen so I would hope it would be cheaper!

If you enjoy making gumpaste flowers, then do so. I just made a bunch a double daisies in various sizes and the leaves to go with them and frankly I thought it was tedious. So my instinct is to say just buy them. I know some people make absolutely beautiful and delicate flowers and I am amazed at them. But I'm not one of them, my flowers are at best OK.