Wedding Cakes with Sugar Flowers That Look Incredibly Real

By Emily Platt
July 27, 2011
Tracy Burch, Jenny Haas, and Leah Barry

You don't need to decorate your dessert with real blooms—at least not when fake ones can be this sweet!

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Rebecca Yale Photography
Get More Wedding Cake Ideas

Your wedding cake doesn't need real flowers to make a statement. In fact, you may actually prefer to decorate your dessert with sugar flowers. That's because fake blossoms can look just as pretty as fresh ones. Better yet, they're hardier, which means their petals won't wilt. And if your favorite bloom is out of season (or pricier than your budget can afford), a sugar version can bring your vision to life instead. If you need more convincing that the edible alternatives are worth considering for your reception's dessert, get inspired by these wedding cake design ideas using sugar flowers.

Sugar flowers—which are commonly made using gum paste or fondant—are totally customizable. Without the limits of nature holding you back, you can decorate with blossoms in any size or color of your liking. That being said, cake bakers and designers are pros at making the fake blooms look real. If you play your cards right, your guests might not be able to tell the difference between your sugar roses and fresh ones!

We've seen everything from dahlias to peonies in sugar form. We've also seen sugar flowers used in ways that range from traditional to totally modern. Take this creative Superfine Bakery wedding cake. The four-tiered red confection boasted both painted and sugar blooms, giving it a look that was totally unique. No matter your event's color scheme or theme, there's a way to incorporate sugar flowers into your dessert's design. For more proof, browse the rest of our examples. You'll be amazed at what you find.

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Floral Wreath

Jenna Joseph Photography
Check Out More Wedding Wreaths

Sweet Cheeks Baking Co. decorated the top tier of this dessert with a sugar wreath of flowers and greenery.

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Dreamy Details

Tracy Burch, Jenny Haas, and Leah Barry
Get More Gold Foil Wedding Ideas

Sugar Realm decorated this three-tiered wedding cake with plenty of fake flowers and gold foil, giving it a totally romantic vibe.

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Sugar Dahlia

Jasmine Lee Photography

Can you believe that the pink dahlia on this A Spoon Full of Sugar Cakes dessert wasn't real? The sugar accent could pass for a freshly-picked version any day.

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Trailing Flowers

Greer Gattuso

This blue Melissa's Fine Pastries wedding cake had a unique texture, but that's not all. It was topped with a trailing assortment of sugar flowers.

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Faux Magnolias

Joy Michelle Photography

Sugar magnolias are so lovely—especially versions that look as authentic as these Two Sugars Studio ones.

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Creative Design

Scarlet O'Neill
See More Metallic Wedding Cakes

The purple, red, and pink sugar flowers on this Sweet Sister Chic Sister cake were just part of what made it so impressive. Check out the metallic accents and marbled fondant.

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Mini Wedding Cake

Hannah Duffy
See More Miniature Wedding Cakes

This stylish place setting included an individual Claire Owen Cakes confection with a single fake flower on top.

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Single Sugar Flower

Jasmine Lee Photography
Get Inspired by More Colorful Wedding Cakes

A simple white sugar flower was the perfect addition to this otherwise-bold brushed cake by Ma Petite Maison Cake Design.

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Ornate Flowers

Corbin Gurkin
Check Out More Hand-Painted Wedding Cakes

Not only did Ana Parzych hand-paint flowers onto actress Abby Elliott's dark chocolate and strawberry-vanilla wedding cake, but she also adorned it with gum-paste blooms, too. The details made for one truly ornate confection.

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Sugar Leaves

Erich McVey
Get More Ideas for Decorating Your Wedding with Leaves

How creative is this idea? Tessa Pinner took molds of this wedding venue's greenery to help her design its cake's botanical details. The gorgeous dessert tasted great, too—it featured strawberry cake, lemon curd filling, and elderflower icing.

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Flower Clusters

Lauren Kinsey

Confections on the Coast finished this four-tiered cake off with clusters of sugar flowers.

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Statement Accents

Blush Wedding Photography

We love the statement wreaths on these The Cake & The Giraffe confections, which were designed using gold leaves and white sugar flowers.

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Unique Additions

Ballad Photography

The Cake Baker scattered sugar anemones on this white, blue, and gold dessert.

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Trailing Blooms

Rachel Pearlman

Arrange sugar flowers in a unique way, as Cescaphe did here. The cascading decorations were either white or an elegant gold.

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Diagonal Decorations

Rebecca Yale Photography

Vanessa & Caroline Creatices de Mariages placed these décor pieces diagonal from each other.

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Simple Sugar Flowers

Leo Patrone
Get More Fruity Wedding Cake Ideas

Blackberries and small sugar flowers added dimension to this two-tiered Maggie Austin cake.

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Sugar Succulents

Elizabeth Messina
Get More Ideas for Using Succulents at Your Wedding

Green sugar succulents spruced up this white fondant cake by Sweet + Saucy.

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Sugar Sculpture

Orchard Cove Photography
See More Wedding Cakes That Prove Vanilla Isn't Boring

Ana's Custom Cakes topped this vanilla, five-tiered confection with a sugar sculpture wreath inspired by lilies of the valley. 

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Black Flower Toppers

Austin Gros Photography
Learn the Real Cost of Serving Multiple Wedding Cakes

This couple had eight small Flour Power Confectionary cakes, each with its own black-and-white sugar flower. 

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Gorgeous Gardenias

A Bryan Photo

This three-tiered, two-flavored confection was adorned with gardenias (the bride wore a fresh one in her hair), sugar pearls, and ruffles. The Maggie Austin Cake dessert sat atop a pedestal and was showcased within a large wooden frame.

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Yellow Toppers

Barb Simkova/Tara McMullen Photo
We Love These Ombré Wedding Cakes

These gorgeous ruffled layers and bright and sunshiny sugar flowers were made by The Wedding Cake Shoppe.

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Pink Sugar Peonies

Olivia Leigh Photographie
Get Our Best Peony-Inspired Wedding Ideas

This four-tiered buttercream cake by Amy Beck Cake Design had three different flavors: vanilla cake with strawberry buttercream, chocolate bourbon cake with chocolate truffle ganache, and lemon cake with lemon curd filling. Simple sugar peonies tied the whole thing together.

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By Emily Platt