Neatly tailored tiers draped in pale-pink fondant and trimmed with braids of royal icing serve as the backdrop for a few artfully placed gum-paste camellias. Cake maker Wendy Kromer took a cue from Coco Chanel, who chose the lush flower as her signature bloom. Both elegant and exuberant, it's always in fashion.

The scale and shape of this cake suggest a gorgeous Victorian hat, so it's appropriate that the decorations adorning it are millinery flowers -- fabric blossoms that are traditionally used by hat makers. Ohio cake baker and Weddings contributing editor Wendy Kromer's royal-icing string work, a stenciled top, and icing flocked with shimmery sanding sugar all add to the romantic feel. Favor boxes, by Denise Sharp, ornamented with fabric calla lilies are covered in custom paper.

A rose is a rose is a rose. But the bloom is charmingly unconventional when it's done as a two-dimensional motif in rolled white fondant. Wendy Kromer used custom rubber stamps (from Stampworx 2000) and a sharp blade to form the flowers, meant to recall appliques you might find on a gown, and imprinted the shorter tiers with a reversed set of stamps. The piped royal icing takes its cue from dotted-Swiss fabric and picot-edge ribbon.

Setting vivid (and long-lasting) orchids against spring-green fondant-covered tiers results in a look that's fresh and utterly modern. There are hundreds of orchids to choose from; we used (from left) cattleya, dendrobium, lady's slipper, and 'Japhet' cattleya.

Cheery poppies don't have to be in season for you to make this pretty, fondant-covered cake. If you're the kind of bride who bookmarks etsy.com, fashion crepe-paper blooms yourself, or look for similar versions at crafts stores. Either way you slice it, you've got a cake with flower power that lasts all day.

A tisket, a tasket, a cake that's just fantastic. Chamomile, jasmine, aster, roses, scented geranium, and wax flowers dress up this classic cake topped with piped buttercream in a basket-weave pattern. White hyacinth forms the wreath (hyacinth is not food-safe, so it's used only in the topper, which sits on a foam disk to keep it away from the cake). A particularly sweet choice for a garden wedding, this cake definitely weaves a spell.

Shrinking violets? Not the riotous ones piped in luscious buttercream on this winningly old-fashioned four-tier cake by Wendy Kromer, which also features sugary pansies and sweet peas.

Using dozens of gum-paste flowers in an abundant cascade is a classic, opulent way to display them on a wedding cake. A variety of orchids with the depth and detail of the real flowers flows downward from the top tier. Pale-pink fondant forms a soft backdrop. Ron Ben-Israel Cakes

This cake has a breezy, chic feeling, thanks to a free-flowing ring of flowers encircling its middle tier. Two more blooms serve as a cake topper. The flowers are made of gum paste tinted sage green, chartreuse, and russet. We mixed fondant with marzipan to achieve the parchment hue of the cake layers. Their different sizes and shapes add interest.

Gum-paste sweet peas appear in edible form on this fondant-covered cake. Fondant is also wrapped around the base of each layer; the green ridges are our interpretation of the orchids' verdant striations. A small nosegay of sweet peas and orchids serves as the cake topper.

This charming cake is reminiscent of the flowered hats of the early 1900s. Sweet daisy clusters are tucked into grosgrain ribbon bands. The leaves are fashioned from gum paste in three shades of green and coated in sugar, giving them the look of mottled velvet. The fondant for the tiers was rolled out on straw matting to create the texture of a summer hat.

This cake reflects a dreamy spring moment amid the cherry trees, when a breeze scatters the dainty blossoms into the air. There are enough sugar blossoms to adorn each slice of cake when it is served. Chocolate fondant covers the layers, a striking complement to the shades of pink.

Whimsical and lighthearted, these pretty little cakes -- a fresh alternative to a single grand confection -- are adorned with sprigs of sugar freesia in yellow, lavender, and white. The cakes are iced in the same colors, but paired with a differently hued flower. Ron Ben-Israel Cakes

Tendrils of romantic buttercream wisteria adorn this majestic cake; royal-icing blossoms dangle from the natural, curly willow arbor framing the bride-and-groom topper.

A garden of roses in pink, peach, and yellow encircles a full-size cake. The flowers' variegated look is achieved by placing two colors of icing side by side in the pastry bag. Rows of dots are piped in the same buttercream that covers the tiers.

Sugar-paste daisies drift down a fondant-covered cake, by Gail Watson of New York City. This effect is created by covering the top tier entirely with the blooms, and placing fewer and fewer on the bottom tiers. The choice of daisies, a decidedly old-fashioned flower, gives the simple, modern design a retro appeal.

Sugar-paste roses are fashioned to look like fabric flowers; they add a touch of haute couture to a cake based on finely quilted cotton matelasse. The leaves (fondant formed in a silicone mold) contrast with the textured bands (made by pressing fondant onto a grid) wrapping the tiers. Ron Ben-Israel Cakes

Dotted with meringue blossoms, this quirky cake has a 1960s feeling. Although flowers are traditional decorations for wedding cakes, these are a bit less formal than the usual piped or gum-paste posies. The cake is made with seven tiers coated with Swiss meringue buttercream and decorated with about four dozen meringue daisies.