Flowers on a cake will always be a hugely popular form of decoration, and artificial wedding flowers are becoming more and more used as an alternative for fresh varieties. My signature style of wedding cake involves sharp edges, smooth sides, abstract use of colour and more of a minimal and clean look. and I do love using flowers to create excitement, colour and a contrast with the precise finish of the cake.
Flowers are often used extensively on the day of the wedding, from creating the wedding bouquet, to decorative floral arches and of course table decorations and can be used to transform the blank canvas venue into something magical.
Everyone loves real flowers, and as a human beings we're drawn to nature and the feel and smell of flowers. However, you may want to consider whether using real ones is going to make you sneeze throughout the day. If so, there are a number of hypoallergenic varieties you can choose, such as dahlias, ranunculus, orchids.
If a couple is wanting to use flowers on the wedding cake, I will liaise with the florist to ensure that there's continuity in the varieties used. However, there are potential problems - alot of varieties of real flowers are actually toxic and therefore not food-safe. These include varieties such as lilies, daffodils, poppies, hydrangea and eucalyptus to name but a few.
Of course, to avoid these problems totally, you may want to consider using silk artifical wedding flowers, and the quality of these flowers has come on along way, with the highest quality brands being almost indistinguishable from the real counterparts.
Wedding flower cost is always a consideration, and with the increased quality comes an inceased wedding flower cost, and often the best quality silk artificial wedding flowers will be more expensive than the real ones, so it's a misnomer that you'll save money. However, do check with your florist if they 'rent out' the flowers, i.e. if you choose to have lots of floral decorations, the florist might be able to take back the silk artificial wedding flowers after your wedding and re-use them. Of course, there is always the option for real wedding flower preservation if you want to keep dried versions.
Other than removing the risk of toxicity, silk wedding flowers aren't sensitive to the weather so there's no danger of them wilting in the heat, something that we're experiencing more and more in the UK!
It may be the case that the variety of fresh flowers you want might not be available at the time of year you're getting married. Choosing silk wedding flowers can open up the possibility of using more unusual and exotic varieties that might not be normally available in the UK.
In summary then...
Real Wedding Flower Pros
Natural, flowing feel and look
Sweet smell
Easier to source
Real Wedding Flower Cons
Certain varieties might not be available during the year
Allergic reaction/hayfever
Wilting in warm weather
Lots of varieties are not food-safe
Silk Artificial Wedding Flowers Pros
Not affected by hot weather - will not wilt
Safe to use on cakes
More variety - out of season or foriegn and exotic flowers
Can be kept after the event as a memento
Silk Artificial Wedding Flowers Cons
Lack a natural flowing form
Cheaper brands can look noticeably fake
No floral scent
Simon's Bakery is located in Tooting, south London, and I deliver across London, Surrey, Sussex, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Essex and Norfolk. I design luxury modern bespoke Swiss meringue buttercream and ganache wedding cakes and event cakes, characterised by a clean precise finish, with sharp edges, a bold use of colour and other modern design techniques to create interesting textures and shapes.
I draw on my years of cooking and baking experience to cakes that not only look stunning, but also taste amazing, experimenting with flavours and texture combinations to create a memorable taste sensation.