Working W/ Florist For Wedding Cake

Business By OhForCakesSake Updated 5 Mar 2014 , 10:29am by cakebaby2

OhForCakesSake Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
OhForCakesSake Posted 28 Feb 2014 , 7:13pm
post #1 of 15

Hi Everyone!

 

I am doing a couple of wedding cakes this summer that will have fresh flowers, and I have some questions about working with the florist - I know you guys will have the info I'm looking for! :)

 

Both of my brides said that their florist is providing cake flowers. I'm assuming I need to get in touch with their florist to let her know the design of the cake and what I need?  Or do they always just provide a standard amount / standard size topper, etc?

 

Do they normally meet you at the venue with the flowers (they have to set up centerpieces and decor anyway), or should I offer to pick the flowers up on the way to deliver the cake?

 

Any info you can provide about dealing with florist for cake flowers would be GREATLY appreciated! I am just starting to branch into weddings and don't want to look totally unprofessional when dealing with them :)

Thank you!!!

~ Jen

14 replies
Valscake Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Valscake Posted 1 Mar 2014 , 2:42am
post #2 of 15

Hi.

 

In the past when I've had fresh flowers on a wedding cake, I've simply told the bride what I needed for the cake.  I would give it to her in writing that I needed a certain number of flowers, filler (such as baby breath), etc.  I would tell the bride to ensure that she included the flowers in her bridal party order delivery. 

 

Always ask for more than you will actually need.  Once I arrived with the cake, the flowers were waiting for me.

 

I found this easier than trying to navigate between the bride and the florist.  Of course the brides I worked with gave me free reign on what / how I was going to arrange on the cake.

 

Hope that helps.

OhForCakesSake Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
OhForCakesSake Posted 1 Mar 2014 , 3:42am
post #3 of 15

AThank you! I appreciate your response! :)

klan30 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
klan30 Posted 1 Mar 2014 , 4:59am
post #4 of 15

I don't put the fresh flowers on a cake I leave that to the florist.  I deliver the cake to the venue and the florist must place the flowers.  I know nothing about real flowers, which ones are safe, organic and all that.

cakesbycathy Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
cakesbycathy Posted 1 Mar 2014 , 11:37pm
post #5 of 15

I NEVER let the florist touch my cake.  IMO that's a disaster waiting to happen.

I tell the bride what I need and have them tell the florist to leave it at the cake table.

Elcee Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Elcee Posted 2 Mar 2014 , 12:36am
post #6 of 15

Quote:

Originally Posted by klan30 
 

I don't put the fresh flowers on a cake I leave that to the florist.  I deliver the cake to the venue and the florist must place the flowers.  I know nothing about real flowers, which ones are safe, organic and all that.


Neither does the florist.

JWinslow Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
JWinslow Posted 2 Mar 2014 , 12:43am
post #7 of 15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elcee 
 


Neither does the florist.


This happened to me on my wedding day.  I didn't know anything about cake at the time.  The baker told me she did not put flowers on the cake - the florist would.  Well NOBODY did.  the flowers were left and I ended putting them on myself, before the reception.
Now that I am into cakes, I wouldn't want a florist touching my cakes.  I also try and discourage real flowers if possible.

Elcee Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Elcee Posted 2 Mar 2014 , 1:04am
post #8 of 15

A florist shop is NOT a place that is conducive to food safety. They are grungy at best. Florists DO NOT get your wedding cake flowers anywhere different than they get any other flowers. Many times, they are supplied from out of the country. Unless you grow them in your own back yard, there is no way to know how they've been treated and with what.

 

They DO NOT use tools kept specifically for flowers going on (or in!) cakes; they use the same tools they've been using for everything and haven't washed in years.

 

The flowers are taken out of the shipping boxes, trimmed with dirty cutters, placed in unwashed buckets of sometimes clean, sometimes not, water; kept in dirty coolers for days without changing the water. When they are needed for a cake, they're taken out, trimmed again with the same dirty cutters. And then someone will allow them to be jammed into a cake? Yuck, not me.

 

A florist is not providing food, they don't need to be aware of food safety. We are and we do.

 

Sorry, been sitting on that rant for a while :).

JWinslow Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
JWinslow Posted 2 Mar 2014 , 1:22am
post #9 of 15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elcee 
 

A florist shop is NOT a place that is conducive to food safety. They are grungy at best. Florists DO NOT get your wedding cake flowers anywhere different than they get any other flowers. Many times, they are supplied from out of the country. Unless you grow them in your own back yard, there is no way to know how they've been treated and with what.

 

They DO NOT use tools kept specifically for flowers going on (or in!) cakes; they use the same tools they've been using for everything and haven't washed in years.

 

The flowers are taken out of the shipping boxes, trimmed with dirty cutters, placed in unwashed buckets of sometimes clean, sometimes not, water; kept in dirty coolers for days without changing the water. When they are needed for a cake, they're taken out, trimmed again with the same dirty cutters. And then someone will allow them to be jammed into a cake? Yuck, not me.

 

A florist is not providing food, they don't need to be aware of food safety. We are and we do.

 

Sorry, been sitting on that rant for a while :).

 

  ;-D  Couldn't agree more!  Your specific details about flowers and their "travels" make it very clear for me.

Elcee Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Elcee Posted 2 Mar 2014 , 1:30am
post #10 of 15

Thanks, @JWinslow, I worked in a florist shop so I know. I did one cake for a friend (free) that I let her talk me into having fresh flowers and decided never again. Now I have enough confidence in myself as a cake decorator to just say no. Of course, I don't make my living at it so some business loss isn't a hardship for me.

Newtothis Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Newtothis Posted 2 Mar 2014 , 2:31am
post #11 of 15

I , too, am branching out into wedding cakes and two times I was told the florist would provide the flowers they were just sitting on the cake table not arranged or anything. Luckily the venue had florist tape so I was able to put together something. The other time the florist was there putting all the other flowers on the tables and such. She came over and handed me a vase of flowers. I asked if she could arrange them to be placed on top of the cake not in. I think you need to be very specific in what you want for example the flowers should be arranged by the florist in a small  plastic bowl that will be placed on top of the cake. Unless you are comfortable arranging flowers?

 

That is my two cents worth!

costumeczar Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
costumeczar Posted 2 Mar 2014 , 11:51pm
post #12 of 15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elcee 
 


Neither does the florist.

That's what I was going to say. hahaha! I never let the florist touch the cake, they don't know what they're doing.

Number2daughter Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Number2daughter Posted 3 Mar 2014 , 12:58am
post #13 of 15

I have been on both sides of this issue-I worked in a florists' shop and was often sent along with a senior designer to deliver/set-up the flowers for weddings and receptions. In this shop, all flowers that were placed on the cake were wired and taped so that the stems/wires were completely covered.The flowers were "arranged" in clusters the night before (much like corsages and boutonnieres). Also, when the flower shipment came earlier that week we put the flowers in buckets that had been washed with a bleach/cleaner solution to kill any bacteria that might be in the bucket because nothing makes flowers "die" faster than bacteria in the water they drink-dead flowers to a florist is like cake that was not baked correctly to a baker-loss of profit. I can't speak to the "food safeness" of florists' tape and putting it in a cake but that is the way we did it.Never did we stick bare flower stems into cakes.

From the standpoint of a wedding cake baker now, I delivered a wedding cake to a reception venue that is high-end. I waited around for the venues "coordinator" to place the cake flowers so that I could get a picture of the finished cake. I was horrified when she carried in an armload of flowers, threw them on the wood dance floor (where my own shoes had been walking not to mention the staff that was sitting everything up) and proceeded to break the flowers off the stems and poke them into the cake wherever. At this point I should have said "stop!" but I was intimidated to even have delivered to this venue.I waited until she was done, got my picture and left. It has haunted me ever since. It is part of my contract that I am not responsible if I do not place the flowers. I often wonder what my cakes experience at the hands of others.

craftybanana Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
craftybanana Posted 4 Mar 2014 , 12:35am
post #14 of 15

Wowsers, I guess I got lucky at my wedding. My florist knew a little bit about the food safety of flowers and suggested that she could order edible ones or I could use my throw-a-way bouquet as my topper. By edible, she meant that she doesn't normally carry the food-safe flowers, but if I decided to put my bouquet on top, she would provide something to sit under the flowers. It was a small flower shop, and that was the first time I had even heard about 'flower food safety.'

cakebaby2 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
cakebaby2 Posted 5 Mar 2014 , 10:29am
post #15 of 15

A

Original message sent by Elcee

Neither does the florist.

Lol! This florist does. I make it my business to know which foliage and flowers should never be near food.i frequently liaise with brides and their cakers to make cake toppers and base /tier arrangements to match the wedding flowers.

Quote by @%username% on %date%

%body%