Whether you're using paper flowers, sugar flowers, or real blooms, a floral motif always says "wedding." Here, we share some of our favorite floral wedding cakes.

Any cake frosted in buttercream can be decorated with crisp meringue flowers in shades of white. On this cake, some flowers are piped in one piece and baked in the oven, while others are piped petal by petal, baked, assembled with more meringue, and baked again; the overall effect is that of a heavily embroidered bodice. The finished flowers, which are easy to cut through, add a delicious crunch to each slice.

This bloom's reputation as nature's most definitive love symbol stems from the Greeks, who used the flower to represent the goddess Venus. White roses, specifically, have come to symbolize purity, unity, and true love -- as opposed to red roses' association with passion -- which has earned them the status of Ultimate Wedding Flower. Here, New York City cake guru Sylvia Weinstock blanketed three tiers of cake in handmade, edible sugar petals to gently echo the shape of a French croquembouche -- and create a temple to Cupid's favorite bloom.

Swiss meringue buttercream icing, piped through a petal tip with a slight wiggle of the wrist, is the medium for the squiggles enveloping the Loose Petal Cake. Buttercream is soft, free form, relaxed -- and very delicious. Each buoyant, cushiony tier of this peach-tinted powder puff of a cake is almost imperceptibly elevated above the preceding layer.

Hidden beneath a gentle flurry of bittersweet chocolate curls are three tiers of mocha spice cake made tender with sour cream. The cake gets a lift from coffee, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove; each layer is brushed with ginger-infused syrup before it is frosted with chocolate buttercream. The edible sugared pansies make the cake lovely for a springtime wedding, but the curls are too delicate to be placed outdoors in summertime. The spices are also right for fall and winter.

This stunner of a cake, with roses that appear to bloom before your very eyes, takes its cues from a swatch of graphic 1960s floral cotton. The leaf and bud designs were photocopied from the fabric to make patterns, then cut out from tinted sugar paste using a craft knife and transferred to the white-fondant-covered tiers. The finishing touch? A sprinkling of yellow sugar-paste roses throughout for an eye-popping embellishment. Cake by Ron Ben-Israel Cakes.

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. The cake's petite form gains presence when displayed on a footed cake stand.

Simple designs, like the luscious buttercream blooms atop these tiny cakes, can make a big impression. Just three inches high, these beauties could be the highlight of a dessert buffet or be served at each place.

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. As on the mini cakes, rows of dots are piped in the same buttercream that covers the tiers.

Smooth poppies and white-on-white patterns cover a square cake with cropped corners; gossamer ribbon brings out a hint of green in the fondant blanketing its tiers. The flowers were made using floodwork: A border was outlined and then filled in with royal icing, which has a fluid consistency. The blooms were transferred to fondant panels, which were then applied to the sides of the cake.

The spirit of a century-old French silk ribbon can be felt in every bite of this darling cake. On top rests a dramatic bow of molded gum paste (so realistic, you'll be tempted to untie it). An edible luster dust was mixed with lemon extract and then painted onto the fondant in a rose pattern that evokes the blurry quality of an ikat weave.

A two-dimensional calico print comes to life on a cake with diminutive hand-sculpted flowers, leaves, and fruits; the soft colors are reminiscent of the faded look of a vintage apron. Real rickrack trim, bordering clusters of fruit on the middle tier, imparts a cheery, homespun feel. Set against ivory fondant, strawberries and cherries grow from stems of piped royal icing, tinted brown. The fruits are shaped from sugar paste painted in delicate shadings and hues. Rickrack trim is secured with royal icing.

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. The oval shape of the confection makes it appear slightly different from every angle. The cake board is covered with fondant and edged in a vintage silk ribbon. Cake by Ron Ben-Israel Cakes.

A stretch of silk from a Victorian-era dress provides a glimpse of a lost art: ribbon embroidery, in which thin lengths of ribbon are embroidered onto fabric to create intricate designs. To mimic its tactile quality for a cake, Ron Ben-Israel marshaled all of the ardent attention to detail of the era's seamstresses, shaping sugar-paste carnations by hand before affixing them to the sides of three fondant-covered tiers. Tucked between the sumptuous carnation-bedecked layers are two shorter tiers decorated with icing and sugar-paste flowers and stems.

Techniques used by dressmakers to turn fabric into flowers inspired this sophisticated cake. A combination of fondant and white chocolate both envelops the cake and decorates it. Prim buttercream dots frame the designs.

The subtle aesthetic of ironstone pottery made it popular in nineteenth-century England. This confection takes on the quietly raised pattern and charm of the original.

The classic American layer cake is dressed up with geraniums for an informal wedding. Use your favorite devil's food cake recipe combined with our favorite old-fashioned chocolate frosting for this delicious cake. The soft frosting is made of semisweet chocolate chips, heavy cream, and corn syrup. It is spread on the cake in broad strokes that require no special decorating skills. The fanciful frosting playfully echoes the frills of the edges of the flowers. Vibrant geraniums are secured in floral foam in trays around the tiers.

Dotted with meringue blossoms, this quirky cake has a 1960s feeling. The cake is made with seven tiers coated with Swiss meringue buttercream and decorated with about four dozen meringue daisies.

A cascade of 60 piped meringue flowers tumbles down a stack of rectangular tiers for the Ribbon Rose Cake; each tier is edged in a pristine border. Each rose on this cake is piped with a single, continuous squeeze onto a flower nail and baked before being affixed to the cake with royal icing.

This four-tiered cake takes its fanciful spirit from gowns created by some of fashion's most daring designers, who adorn necklines, bustles, and hems with clusters of colorful silk flowers. The cake's flowers and leaves appear to support the weight of the tiers but are actually hiding the dowels that do the work.

Miniature calla lilies, long and sinuous, are a dramatic counterpoint to crisp, angular tiers. Only the bottom layer of this glamorous structure, clad in white fondant, is meant to be eaten; the remaining tiers are Styrofoam, which keeps the flowers from touching the cake. Rubbing the stems between fingers renders them bendable. The tiers sit on clear acrylic columns and a custom stand.

Whimsical and sweet, like strawberries themselves, this cake -- with its gum-paste fruits and flowers atop whitewashed fondant -- is a not-too-classic Bavarian style. A basket filled with tiny strawberries tops off the countryside-chic creation.

Four buttercream cubes topped with brilliant parrot tulips glow with color; every cluster picks up a hue from the one next to it. To prevent marring the soft icing, the blooms are arranged on clear acetate sheets. Each cake serves 60; for easier slicing, foam board separates the two 4-inch-high layers.

The traditional princess cake, an old Swedish wedding standby, is normally covered in green marzipan. In our decidedly floral interpretation of the confection, we cloaked the dome-shaped cake in pink fondant and topped it with a smattering of real cherry blossoms, some of which have been coated with sugar.

Buttercream baskets brim with crystallized flowers, including pansies, roses, lavender, cornflowers, and violets. Sugaring flowers gives them a sparkling appearance; if you want guests to be able to nibble on these lovely decorations, be sure to acquire them from a reputable supplier.

Pink gerbera daisies are the inspiration for this lively cake. The flowers are piped in royal icing; a single plump icing daisy serves as the topper.

A creation that is tropical through and through. The yellow-cake layers are brushed with rum syrup and filled with passion fruit curd and rum-and-vanilla-bean buttercream. The top of each tier is spread with more passion fruit curd. Hibiscus flowers, lychees, coconut, mini pineapple and bananas, and tamarillo crown the cake. Pressing a straw mat into the ivory fondant produces the textured appearance. Serve with a slice of fruit such as star fruit, and coconut sorbet.

Voluptuous fresh cattleya orchids spill over a white fondant-covered cake. Use only pesticide-free blooms; the flowers should be removed before serving.

A sunny canopy parts to reveal a three-tiered, fondant-covered cake. It is finished with an Initial made of hand-painted, sugar-paste flowers, a sweet topper for a garden wedding.

This terraced garden with scalloped tiers is in full bloom with spring's first flowers: hyacinths, tulips, daffodils, and muscari. The tiny blue muscari blossoms are piped in royal icing; all the other flowers and leaves are rendered in gum paste. We had a board custom-cut to the same scalloped oval shape as the cake; you could use an oval or rectangular board as well.

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. This vintage cake topper is from a personal collection. The columns are hidden beneath winding royal-icing vines.

This cake reflects a dreamy springtime moment amid the cherry trees, when a breeze scatters the dainty blossoms into the air. Here they seem to drift from the top of the cake, where they are densely massed, down to the bottom, where the pink petals break apart as they would in nature.

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, which were created by cake designer Ron Ben-Israel, are iced in the same colors, but paired with a differently hued flower. A Swiss-dot motif piped onto the fondant is echoed in the cloth draping the cake table.

A string of soft petals encircling a dainty cake makes romantic use of a classic flower. With sepal removed, the petals of a perfect rose fall open; the flower's grace repeats in a necklace of pale petals -- cream and blushing yellow -- on the cake's first tier. Lemon curd fills butter-cake layers, which are frosted in white chocolate buttercream tinted yellow. Pristine blooms garnish the plate.

On this cake, roses are arranged between buttercream tiers piped in a basket-weave pattern to resemble wicker -- what could be better for a summer garden wedding? Atop the cake, a ceramic pot (with no hole in the bottom) is overflowing with roses anchored in floral foam.

This classically shaped cake with smooth white layers is circled with bold colors that are anything but conventional: dahlias in red, burgundy, orange, and yellow, and wild rose hips.

A petite wedding cake decorated with floral trim looks as sweet as it tastes.

Each tier in this cake is frosted with ivory buttercream and alternated with several types of roses, such as Sabara, shaped in tiers of the same height.

This fondant-covered cake decorated with hydrangeas is made of three graduated square tiers.

Sweet peas appear in edible form on the fondant-covered cake, growing up the sides of the tiers in gum paste. 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 hat bands. The leaves are fashioned from gum paste in three shades of green and coated in sugar, giving them the look of mottled velvet.

Using dozens of gum-paste flowers in an abundant cascade is a classic, opulent way to display them on a wedding cake, and was executed perfectly in this confection by Ron Ben-Israel. 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.

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 four-tier cake covered in pink fondant celebrates the beauty of carnations. Hundreds of them blanket the simple wooden box it rests on, an idea that works well with carnations because they are so affordable.

Crottin cakes in the shape of French goat cheeses are stacked on a wooden stand to mimic a tiered cake. Flowers such as Queen Anne's lace and tweedia are paired with rosemary, lavender, and oregano to capture the romance of the French countryside.

A pristine white cake, piped with tiny beads around each tier, is sprinkled with a flutter of red rose petals.

At first glance, this cake appears to be monochromatic, but the edges of all of the gum-paste petals are actually brushed with powdered coloring in a mix of moss green and pale pink.

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.

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 ones yourself, or look for similar ones 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 sweetpeas.