ARRG!! My second wedding cake EVER! It is in the Wilton books as a decorated 3 tier cake to look like a Christmas present. In the book it calls for covering all 3 cakes in fondant, then using another color fondant to place ribbon like strips.
The bride didn't want to spend as much as it would have needed to do that, so I iced in RED Buttercream. Then my first time ever on a real cake, I attempt to put WHITE fondant on the cake as ribbon, weaving the rows through one another. All on a 14" dummy cake that is bulging because I used saran wrap to cover so I could reuse!
I am trying not to freak out here! I also have 25, (yes, 25) 2-tier cakes to also prepare for the reception that I will have to do Thurs & Fri last minute because I don't have that much freezer space to ice then freeze. I want the quality of the cakes to be the best it can be!
My dear sister is helping me, thank goodness, or else I'd really be freaking out!
Any advice for a second timer? Sorry for the whining! I feel better though!

I hope eveything turns out fine!

I've done fondant on BC lots of times for ribbons and bows. It should work fine. I'll never do another swag on BC though. That is too much of a pain.

my advice is to roll the fondant as thin as you can, so that it doesn't weigh down the buttercream. Make all your bows ahead of time, so they have a chance to set up. You can use an upsidedown cake pan for a guide as to the size of the bows.

I did the 6" real cake today with fondant and it turned out very nicely. I have decided that I'm going to tear apart the 14" styrofoam dummy that I had previously done and redoing it. I would not have been happy with it the way that it was! I know that if it was MY wedding, that I would want things to be perfect, so I'll sleep better once I've redone it to look better!

As for the 25 2-tier cakes, I'm just waiting until tommorro to get ready to decorate. I've made all the frosting ahead of time, so I'm going to rest tonight and hit it hard tomorro! Wish me luck!

Good Luck!!!!

OMG, good luck!!! Wish you the best! And as someone already said, go as thin as possible on your fondant for the ribbon and also, if possible, chill the cake or let your BC crust! HTH.

Let us know how it went!!

You don't have to cover your dummy with anything. When it's time, just submerge the whole thing in a sinkful of water. All the sugar will dissolve and you'll be able to wash it.

wow post pictures when you are done!

I have never tried soaking the dummy in water but I will if I ever have to use one again...every time I have wrapped in saran wrap I have the worst time trying to get the icing smooth and never actually do!! Best of luck to you!! Just stay calm and relaxed!! It will all work out!!!

Just wanted to thank you all for your help in my nightmare! It turned out great! I think most everyone has a happy ending, but not without the stress in between! I got to the reception, placed all 25 cakes on the reception tables and went to work on the wedding cake. I had forgotten to do some of the detail work at home before I loaded them all, so I finished up there. Only took about an hour (had mom & sister help)

The bride called me on Monday and said she was very pleased with it! I am so happy. I am hoping that the more weddings that I do, the more confident I'll be! But, I'm not going to do fondant for awhile I hope!

Can you post a picture?

As soon as I figure out how, I will! I posted some pics about a year ago, and haven't done any since!

Go to your photo album, click on 'upload picture'. That'll open a box.

As for the dummy, I rub a super thin layer of shortening on it, then cover it in Fondant. When it's time to take it off, you can kind of crack it like an egg and it comes off in a few large pieces really easily.