I have posted this question in the past, and I didn't get any responses so I'll try again. 
Please help! I've been cake decorating for about 2 1/2 years out of my home and have done many cakes. However, I've only done 2 wedding cakes, so everytime I have a new one, I'm trying something new. This may be a dumb question, but I have a wedding cake for a customer next month and she wants ribbon for the trim. Can everyone give me suggestions or tips for attaching the ribbon to the cake and how to keep it smooth? Also, she may want just a few fresh flowers. Maybe one flower here and there. What is the best way to attach these. Are the water tubes really thick and where would I get them? Help!
I saw a thread about attaching ribbon to cake before Christmas (was trying to find it for you, but the search function doesn't seem to be working right now). The only thing I can remember is that if your cake is iced in buttercream, then you should line your ribbon first (can't remember what with, sorry!) to prevent grease soaking into it and changing the colour.
That wasn't much help really was it - oh well, here's a bump for you!
Kelly
It would help to know what the cake's surface is...buttercream? Fondant?
As for flowers....they're tricky, IMHO. Some ooze liquid - sap kind of stuff - when they're cut. You never know if there are little bugs hiding within...or if they've been sprayed with insecticide. Yuk! I prefer to avoid them, but if the bride insists, using them where they can just be cut back to the flower head and gently laid on the surface - to me, at least - is preferable to sticking the stems into the icing and cake.
Another option is to use edible flowers - like roses, violets, nasturtiums....break them into petals which can be washed and patted dry...and scatter the petals around the tiers and base of the cake.
Sorry you have had so much trouble getting a reply on this. I use ribbon all of the time on cakes. You have to let your buttercream crust over before you put it on to avoid having the ribbon soak up any moisture and discolor. All I do is lay it around the cake and put a small dot of buttercream at the end to hold it together. This makes it easy for removal when cutting. Keeping it smooth has not been a problem if you don't adhere it to the cake all the way around. Watch out for the type of ribbon you use though. The florist type ribbon does soak up the oil and moisture and does discolor. I use a nice satin ribbon for the wedding cakes and have not had a problem as long as I wait for the BC to crust.
When a bride wants fresh flowers on her cake I usually just wrap the stems with white florist tape. I put them on at the very last moment possible and they stay nice for hours. If you are not sure about the source of the flowers and are afraid of pesticides cut a very small circle of parchment paper and punch a hole in the middle. After you have wraped the stem push it through the hole and that will keep it from setting directly on the cake. Just make sure the circle is small enough so it doesn't show.
I hope this helps and good luck with the wedding cakes.
Ribbon is my favorite thing to use on a wedding cake. It is not a problem to get it to lay flat. I usually wait for it to dry/crust and then wrap it around the cake. I have heard of some people lining theirs with parchement paper and other such things to keep the oils from coming through, but I haven't ever had this problem. Just make sure it dries first. I am no help on the fresh flowers. I have been lucky and not had to use any fresh flowers.
Thanks everyone for your advice. I kind of thought the ribbon would be easy to use, but I'm glad I got the advice of waiting until it crusted before laying it around. I am using BC and I'll use the advice of putting a dab of BC on the ribbon to attach the ends--that is what I was mostly wondering about. Thanks for the advice about using fresh flowers also! 
As for the fresh flowers, the suggestion to wrap them in florest's tape is a good idea. What I do is put the stem in a drinking straw, cut the straw to general length (but just a bit longer than the stem) and push that into the cake. It's easier than using flower picks or water tubes.
When you use the ribbon, do you use the wired ribbon or just flat ribbon? I have use the flat but wondered what it would do if you used the wired? Any ideas?
I haven't ever used wired ribbon, but I am not sure that it would work so well. Wired ribbon is so hard to straighten out. If you are doing a square cake it would probably be pretty difficult to get it to lay flat. A round cake might not be so bad since the wired ribbon usually wants to curl up anyway. Any kinks in the wire and you loose your nice smooth look.
Hi,
Sounds like you have all the advice you need but thought I'd drop you a short note too. I've used ribbon several times. It's quite easy and really adds dimension to your cake - a finishing touch!! I use satin ribbon mostly but you can use others but wired can be a little tricky. I iron mine between waxed paper so both sides are covered. Make sure you have the waxed paper over a paper towel as to not get wax on your ironing board. It works really well and by covering both sides you can be assured there won't be any b/c staining your ribbon. Good luck. 
I have to admit that I have a wedding cake for Saturday that has a satin ribbon border and I have never done this before. The cakes in the pictures I have seen look great, but I am realy worried. The advice that was given to me by a local baker (and store owner of 30 years) was to line the back of the ribbon with scotch tape. It sounds like a great idea and it is what I have done. she likes the way it stabilizes the ribbon and keeps the icing away from the surface of the ribbon.
I guess I will find out really soon if it works or not 
I use satin ribbon on the cakes and let the B/C crust too. Then, I use a tip 1 and using very thinned B/C icing, run a line of icing along the top and bottom of the ribbon, then attach it to cake. This never shows as it is so thin, and it keeps the ribbon attached securely. Good Luck with whatever method you choose!
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