Using Fresh Flowers on a Wedding Cake

There is absolutely no disputing the beauty Mother-Nature provides in fresh flowers, however, there are also safety concerns to take into account when using fresh flowers with food. As an alternative, you may wish to decorate your cake table with fresh flowers, and use sugar flowers on the cake itself to avoid any problems or concerns.

Below you will find general information on using fresh flowers, as well as a few questions you might ask your florist and consider when making your choice! Don’t ever feel there is a “stupid question” when it comes to making your choice – it is your special day… you have every right to ask your questions!

Questions to ask:

· Are the flowers toxic? Some florist may not have been asked this before – but unfortunately, many popular wedding flowers are indeed considered toxic. While the two most poisonous yet commonly used fresh flowers are IVY and DELPHINIUMS, I have composed a list below of commonly used toxic flowers from various horticulture web sites that you may want to keep in mind.

· Are the flowers organically grown? These are the best option, although often hard to find, as they do not use any of the toxic pesticides to keep the bugs away. Be prepared though, you will find these may tend to cost almost double if they are truly organic.

· Does the florist prepare the flowers in some type of container or pick? One simple way to avoid most contamination is to arrange the cake flowers in a container that can be sat on top of the cake, or taping them into a corsage type arrangement which will allow the stems to be placed into a special food safe plastic pick to be inserted into the cake, rather than inserting the flower stems directly into the cake. A simple vision… have you ever looked at a bucket of water that flowers have been in??? Imagine drinking that water… it doesn’t sound very appealing, right??? If you stick the flowers directly into the cake, that water (along with any toxins the flower stem may contain) will now be in the cake!

Toxic Flower List

This list in not considered to be an absolute listing, just a compilation of research of common wedding flowers.

African Violet Amarylis Anemone Anthurium Arum Lilies Autumn Crocus Azalea	Bird of Paradise Bittersweet Black-eyed Susan Bleeding Heart Bluebell Buttercup	Caladium Calla Lily Carnation – pink family Carolina Jasmine Christmas Rose Chrysanthemum Clematis Crocus
Daffodil Daphne Delphinium	Four O’clock Foxglove Fuchsia	Gardenia Gloriosa Lily Goldenseal
Holly Berry Honesty Hoya Hyacinth Hydrangea Hypericum	Iceland Poppy Iris Ivy	Jasmine Jessamine Jonquil
Laburnum Lantana Larkspur Lily family Lily of the Valley Lobelia Lupins	Marsh Marigold Mistletoe Monkshood Morning Glory	Narcissus Nightshade
Oak Ohio Buckeye Oleander Oriental Poppy	Periwinkle Philodendron Poinsettia Primula Privet	Rhododendron Rock Poppy
Snowdrop Spring Adonis Star of Bethlehem Sunflower Sweet Pea	Tobacco Trumpet Vine Tulip	Virginia Creeper
Water Hemlock Wild Cherry Windflower Wisteria Wolfsbane	Yellow Allamanda Yellow Oleander

Again, these are just a few things you may want to consider… some may not concern

you as much as others, or you may have a completely different set of concerns – whatever

the case may be, just always remember you are entitled to ask your questions! J

LINKS:

Wedding Gallery Pages

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Sugar Flower Photo Gallery

Questions to ask when Choosing a Decorator

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