So I am making my first wedding cake and am very nervous. It will be 3-tiers and I have to drive about 45 minutes. I have a couple of questions:
1. The wedding is on a Saturday, so what day should I start baking?
2. How long do I chill the cake before the filling and do I chill the cake after the filling?
3. I was reading the disaster stories, so what is the best suggestion for delivering a tiered cake?
I am definitely a newbie, so any advice is greatly appreciated!! 
1. The wedding is on a Saturday, so what day should I start baking?
Depends on if you want to freeze your cake or not. If you want to make it well advance then you can freeze. If you do decide to freeze it you will need to wrap it will first in saranwrap and then in heavy duty foil paper and if you have a box/container to put it in that would be great too.
If you don't want to freeze it you could start baking on Wed/Thurs. If you want to fill your cake the same day as you back it make sure you give it enough time to cool first. After you have filled your cake you will want to give it several hours (preferably overnight) to settle so that if you have any bulging issues you can take care of it before it is iced and or has fondant on it.
2. You do not need to chill the cake before/after filling unless you are putting in perishable fillings
3. Use SPS preferably if not make sure it is well supported with either dowels or straws. If your not comfortable traveling with it tiered then perhaps you can stack it on location. SPS is supposed to be the best method for stacking cake. I've never used it as I haven't had to travel with a tiered cake yet so cannot speak from experience, but it what I have read here on CC.
If you do not use the SPS system and do decide to travel with it stacked then make sure you put in a center dowel for stability as well.
HTH!
Amazingly, freezing the cakes doesn't dry them out....the moisture in the cakes seems to redistribute so the edges are just as moist as the center. Just be sure you wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and then foil, and thaw them slowly.
For a Saturday wedding I always bake on Thursday, and frost and decorate on Friday. Deliver the cake in pieces and assemble at the venue. I bring a "toolbox" with me that includes: extra icing, piping bags with couplers and pre-filled with icing, wet face cloth in a zip-loc bag to wipe my hands, dry kitchen towel, spatulas, tape, camera. I have driven as far as 1 1/2 hours with wedding cakes in my trunk with great success. Watch out for potholes and print out a sign to tape to your car window that says "Caution: Wedding Cake Delivery". Good luck!
Perfect, thank you!! I am afraid to freeze the cake because I think it may dry it out. The filling will be strawberries, so maybe add the filling Thursday?????
Are these fresh strawberries or are you going to be using a sleeve filling?
I have my first wedding cake coming up soon as well. Interested in reading all the suggested feedback.
For a three tierd cake how dense should the cake be?? Does it need to be denser than a traditional one or two tiered cake? OR is that just for a 3D cake?
I plan on purchasing the SPS very soon.
Thanks in advance for the great help!!
I have my first wedding cake coming up soon as well. Interested in reading all the suggested feedback.
For a three tierd cake how dense should the cake be?? Does it need to be denser than a traditional one or two tiered cake? OR is that just for a 3D cake?
I plan on purchasing the SPS very soon.
Thanks in advance for the great help!!
The fresh strawberries will leak causing your filing to be runny.....I would rethink the filing.
Amazingly, freezing the cakes doesn't dry them out....the moisture in the cakes seems to redistribute so the edges are just as moist as the center. Just be sure you wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and then foil, and thaw them slowly.
she is so right! I use to not freeze cakes but due to time limits I started freezing them and they are soooo moist.
If you are still worried about them being moist you can always add simple syrup to each layer. I do this sometimes for extra flavor. It's 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water boiled until sugar is dissolved. Then, if you want you can add a flavor like almond extract after the syrup has cooled. Then, brush on cake with pastry brush. Good luck! and post pics
When I got married, many moons ago, the caterer wrapped the top tier of our wedding cake in six layers of Saran Wrap, then six layers of foil. He said it would not dry out and will taste freshly baked even a year later. So, a year later, with much skeptisism, I thaw it out and it was WONDERFUL! It did taste freshly baked and even the icing tasted fresh! So today, as a decorator, I always wrap my cakes this way when I freeze them. I've never received any bad reviews. Everyone says, "Oh your cakes are so fresh!" Tee-hee-hee..... 
The fresh strawberries will leak causing your filing to be runny.....I would rethink the filing.
Yes that is a possibility. I haven't used fresh strawberries as a filling but I was wondering if you could using bc as a barrier btwn the strawberries and the cake. My concern though is more about the strawberries not going bad. Maybe glaze them 1st? Also, you'll want to ensure that the strawberries are thoroughly dry before using them.
I have my first wedding cake coming up soon as well. Interested in reading all the suggested feedback.
For a three tierd cake how dense should the cake be?? Does it need to be denser than a traditional one or two tiered cake? OR is that just for a 3D cake?
I plan on purchasing the SPS very soon.
Thanks in advance for the great help!!
You definitely need the dense cakes for carving cakes for tiered cakes it doesn't matter, you'll just want to make sure it is well supported. SPS I hear is the best way to go!
Good luck with your cake!
P.S. I really like WASC cakes (using any flavour I want of course) and not only is it great tasting but it's pretty dense too. That's what I have used for all my cakes since I 1st made it back in Nov. - I use kakeladi's Original WASC recipe. Let me know if you need the recipe and can't find it on here (last I checked it wasn't in the recipe section).
Thank you xstitcher! I have been hearing a lot about the WASC and I think I will give it a try. I will be using the SPS as I see it also has great reviews. I did see the original WASC receipe on here recently. I think I will retrieve it and save it. If I cannot find it again I will let you know. Thanks again for helping me with my decision.
ejwillen - good luck with your cake. I wish I had some advice but I see more advanced supporters have helped. I am glad I saw your post cause I was going to post for similar help.
I have another question to ask on this subject. I am doing my first wedding cake this weekend too. I am icing today and decorating tomorrow and the wedding is Saturday. There are no fillings, just buttercream. How should I store the cake until then? Refridgerate or out? How do you usually cover it without hurting the icing?
TIA
I have another question to ask on this subject. I am doing my first wedding cake this weekend too. I am icing today and decorating tomorrow and the wedding is Saturday. There are no fillings, just buttercream. How should I store the cake until then? Refridgerate or out? How do you usually cover it without hurting the icing?
TIA
Just leave it out. No refrigeration necessary.
I do a lot of 3D cakes. I usually bake on Monday, then freeze until Wednesday or Thursday. They will last I think a month or two in the freezer. I made one in Feb and forgot about it. Realized I didn't have enough batter for another cake, and saw it in there. I decided to taste test it first and it was still great. I did this at the end of March. HTH.
Thanks Xstitcher, should it be covered? if so, how? Sorry about all the questions, I am very new to this.
georgia..you can either box it up or just stick it in the oven...just make sure nobody turns the oven on!
Well I lied, it did not attach. I am not computer savvy enough to shrink the pixels.
Try using this site:
http://www.shrinkpictures.com/
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