Sugar flowers are edible & free of any pesticides, unlike real flowers.
While real flowers are beautiful, they are often laden with pesticides. Thus for food safety & hygiene reasons, they should not actually be used to decorate your cake. Even if the flowers and stems have been wrapped up well before being placed on your cake, the liquids inside the flowers can still leach out into your cake, and you and your guests will definitely end up consuming some pesticide. Sugar flowers are made out of an edible gum paste which is certifiably food safe.
You can choose ANY flower you want, and you are not bound by seasonal restrictions.
Let's say that you want to have peonies for your cake in December. If the florist doesn't stock peonies that are grown in South America (where it's summer in December), it won't be possible for you to have lovely large peonies for your cake because they just are not in season. With sugar flowers, this is not a problem.
You can be as creative or extravagant as you want with your cake's floral design.
Want gold flowers for your cake? Or silver or even pearl flowers? Then sugar flowers are definitely the way to go. With sugar flowers, there is no limit to the floral design for your special cake & there are so many amazing cake designers & sugar artists that are constantly pushing the boundaries & creating sugar flowers that can be even more beautiful that real flowers.
Some real flowers are toxic & should never be used to decorate a cake. However, you can always have that flower recreated in sugar.
Did you know that calla lilies, baby's breath & hydrangeas are toxic? These flowers are actually highly popular for wedding & celebration cakes, yet many people are not aware of this fact. Calla lilies highly toxic and can cause diarrhoea, stomach pain, intense burning sensations, and swelling of the throat, tongue and even be fatal in some cases. If you love these flowers & want to have them on your cake, sugar flowers are the only way to go.
Sugar flowers can be kept & enjoyed for much, much longer than real flowers, if proper care instructions are followed.
The higher cost of sugar flowers is completely justified when you consider the fact that they can actually last for months (if not years), which is a huge advantage over real flowers. By following the proper care instructions & ensuring that your flowers are kept cool & dry at all times (crucial in Singapore's humid weather), you can continue to enjoy your sugar flowers for a long time. Many of our clients keep their sugar flowers in a glass cloche (see picture below), which protects them from the moisture in the air.
What do you think about the pros & cons of sugar flowers versus real flowers? Leave a comment below - I'd love to hear what you think!