How to pair a cake topper with fresh flowers

Use only flowers that are safe near food. Wrapping the stems does not make a toxic flower safe, because its petals and leaves still touch the cake.

• Often used: roses, pansies, lavender and chamomile
• Keep off the cake: lily of the valley, hydrangea, calla lily and sweet pea

Lists differ between bakers and florists. One flower seller suggests calla lilies for a topper, while two bakers tell you to avoid them. When the sources disagree, leave that flower off the cake. Ask your florist for flowers grown without sprays. Most flowers sold by florists are treated with chemicals that are not meant for food.

• A clear acrylic disc from your baker, a little wider than the figure's base
• Safe flowers grown without sprays
• Clear straws or food-grade flower picks
• Floral tape

The figure needs the disc as much as the flowers do. Our figure stands on a flat bottom and is not food-safe, so it goes on the disc, not on the frosting.

To see what may touch the frosting, read whether a cake topper is food safe.

1. 1. Prepare the flowers

   Rinse the flowers gently and let them dry fully. Cut each stem at an angle.

2. 2. Seal every stem

   Wrap each stem tightly in floral tape. If a stem goes into the cake, push a clear straw or a food-grade pick in first, then slide the wrapped stem into it. The tape alone does not keep the stem away from the food. Never push a bare stem into the cake.

3. 3. Set the figure on its disc

   Stand the figure in the middle of the disc, the same way you would without flowers. Then lower the disc flat onto the top tier.

4. 4. Lay the flowers around it

   Cut the flowers short and lay the heads on the disc, around the figure's base. Keep the petals below the faces, so photos show both of you.

   Small roses and pansies on the disc, around the figure's base.

5. 5. Add them late, lift them off early

   Add the flowers as late as you can, ideally the morning of the wedding. Before the cake is cut, slide a spatula under the disc and lift it off with the figure and the flowers.

For more on the disc, read how to insert a cake topper.

You can keep the top for the figure and put the flowers down the side tiers. Each stem goes into its own clear straw, pushed into the cake first. Clear straws show less if one peeks out.

For a big bunch, push the wrapped stems into a small ball of fondant and set the ball on the cake. Small water tubes from your florist work too. Fill them with a little water, like a vase. Flowers can also be the whole topper. Arrange them on a small cardboard round and lift the round off before the cake is served.

Bakers work in different ways. Some place the flowers themselves. Often the florist places them and tells the baker which flowers they used.

• Name one person, the baker or the florist, who puts the flowers on.
• Give that person the figure as well.
• Agree on the time the flowers go on.
• Share the list of flowers, so they can check each one.

My baker wants the flowers the day before. Is that too early?

It is normal for some bakers. They keep the flowers cold until they arrange them. Fresh flowers stay fresh only a few hours out of the fridge, so ask when the cake leaves it.

Can I use grocery-store flowers?

Only if you know they were grown without chemicals that are unsafe for food. If you cannot find out, keep them for the tables.

Can I use baby's breath or eucalyptus?

Leave eucalyptus off. A food safety trainer says it is not food safe, even if you remove it before eating. Some sellers suggest baby's breath, but a florists' trade guide expects it to be ruled out. Ask your baker first.

Are sugar flowers safer?

Yes. One baker calls sugar flowers the safest flowers for a cake. They cost more, because each one is made by hand.