Creating a Floral Wedding Cake with a Flair

This is a cake I did recently for a wedding with a Tuscan theme. The grandmother and the bride made all of the flower arrangements and the backdrop of the cake. The cake sat on glass blocks that had gorgeous fabrics flowing through it. The cake was fairly simple. It had a grape impressed fondant border that was dusted with Frosted Lemon by ECG that is one of my favorites. A cascade of gum paste roses, calla lilies, grapes, 5 petal blossoms, grapes and fall leaves tumbled down the side. Flickering candles were placed on the corners of each cake and glowed so pretty. They were LCD lights.

I started by placing the candles on the cake. I attached them with a little bit of piping gel and fondant. Next I placed the grapes to cascade downward. I moved them several times to get the placement that pleased me.

Next I added the roses. I started with the smaller roses at the top and moved down the tiers with the larger roses. The roses are on long toothpicks so they are easy to anchor in the fondant. Move them if necessary. Do not line them up. Tilt the roses in different directions to give them a natural look. The more "relaxed" they look the more natural they will appear. Do not be afraid to pull them out and readjust even after the florals are complete. Be gentle with them but adjust if you feel it will give the arrangement a more pleasing look. Tuck the roses around the grapes and then add the calla lilies. Again, tilt at different angles to fit the arrangement.

Tuck in filler flowers in random spots on the edges and in between the flowers. Make plenty of filler flowers so that the arrangement has a balanced look.

The twigs are "fillers" too. Tuck them in at the edges and the ends of flowers to extend the arrangement. Tuck them in the middle of the flowers randomly. Bend to suit the situation.

Step back and look at your cascade from all sides. Does it please the eye? Does it flow? Move the flowers as needed. Several of the flowers in this arrangement were moved to suit the cake.

Tuck in the leaves on the ends and edges. Have them going in different directions so they flow.Tuck in between flowers, making sure they don't cover the flowers.

Add a few to the top of the cake and attach with buttercream or piping gel.

I hope this helps you in some way. Practice makes perfect. Get silk flowers and practice on cake dummies so you can feel confident when you are ready to place gumpaste flowers on a real cake.

Happy Decorating!

Photos and Tutorial by Denise Talbot. all rights reserved. 2009