I hope this doesn't seem too much of a dumb question,but I need some help. I need to make a cake for 50 people. I've only done basic cakes,so this is a 1st for me. I was thinking of a 2 tier cake. Yes? Then I'm unsure of the sizes the 2 tiers should be. I thought maybe 8" & 10". Then if I do a 10"-how much mix do I use? The recipes that I have done specify that it's for a 8" or 9". Or if I go with a box mix,how much of that would I use? I feel really nervous about doing this cake-I feel this is more than I can handle!
It's also for a Baby shower & I was wondering if anbody had any ideas that are easy enough,since I am still new at this. I like working with fondant,so I wanted to try something with that.
This ended up to be a lot of questions....I would appreciate any help that I can get!!!

Deep breath...you'll be fine!

I am a mix baker.

10" round need 1 mix (2 mixes for a 2-layer 10" round).
8" round needs 1/2 mix (1 mix for a 2-layer 8" round).

Here is the wilton chart that I go by for servings. A 10/6 is exactly 50 servings. A 10/8 is 62 servings. http://www.wilton.com/wedding/cakeinfo/cakedata.cfm

Find out if they are inviting 50 or expecting 50 to show up. THere's a difference.

Here is a link to my website that shows how to cut a cake to achieve the wilton wedding servings. Notice the pieces of cake on the plates are a normal, regular piece of cake....not itty-bitty. http://cateritsimple.com/_wsn/page19.html

I don't work in fondant so I will leave that for the fondant experts. I will share a pic of the cake I made for my daughter, covered with BC booties. It went over really well and it's very easy:
http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=322993
and
http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=322983

Using the 'average' of a serving being 2"x2"x2" you can figure out how many servings from any pan by turning it over and marking out the size.
Another way is to figure 12-15 servings from each cake mix used.
Do you think an average cupcake is a good sized serving? You get 20-24 cupcakes from each cake mix.
A 10"x4" sq cake will give 50 servings - each being 1"x2"x4" - the *same* amount of cake as a 2"x2"x2" piece

Thank you both very much for the info!! I might try the booties - they seemed simple enough(hopefully)!! And I need to use dowels & cake boards with a 10 & 8,right?