I've been making cakes now since the end of march.. so say 4 and a half months maybe? Anyway, all the ones I've made have been as gifts to my friends, just for fun, or for children and family birthdays/tea parties.

Next weekend I have my first 'proper' 'important' kinda cake, and I've taken on 2 for the same weekend, one is a christening and one is a 40th, both for 50 people. When I booked them in I felt totally confident as I've done 2 cakes at a time before without problems, but I all of a sudden feel really nervous about them! I'm totally doubting my ability lol. I'm just hoping I don't disappoint anyone. Although if I do I can say that they only paid £55 for a cake that would have probably cost them a hundred or something was I a professional... but still, it doesn't make up for a crappy cake does it. I think the main thing is that a lot of people are going to see these cakes. And I never see my work as good as other people do so I'd pick out all the faults and thing everyone else could see that too.

Normal feelings for a first time event? Paranoid worrying? Crap cake decorater?

You'll be fine- your work is lovely

You'll be fine! I looked at your pics and you do great work. TIME MANAGEMENT is going to be your key to success: make a plan for any decor items that can be made and done well in advance, when you will bake the cakes, fill, cover, decorate. You can get the decor and baking out of the way ahead of time if you freeze the cake. Good luck!

Whenever I do a cake I make several lists (I use an excel spreadsheet). It helps me stay organized and keeps me from forgetting anything.
Checklist 1 is ingredients for cakes, frostings, fillings, decorations and display (cake drum, plate, box for transport, etc.). I also include pan sizes and how much batter, frosting, filling, fondant I will need for each layer. This helps me know how much of each ingredient I'll need in case I have to stock up before I start baking.
Checklist 2 is a list of all decorations I will be making for the cake and how everything will be laid out.
Checklist 3 is my schedule, which includes baking, leveling, filling, crumb-coating, stacking, making frostings, fillings, decorations, order of assembly, etc.)

It may seem like over-organization but so far it has kept me from missing anything and made sure, for things like gumpaste decorations, that I had enough drying time built into the schedule.

Stormrider that sounds like a great idea, I tend to forget things til the last minute so i'll be sure to plan all the details! I think freezing is the way forward. I've heard you can freeze a fondant covered cake... so maybe I could get to that point well in advance then decorate it all nearer the day. I'm just completely stressing about it, I usually spend a good 3 days on a cake after its baked (i only do it in the evenings). My mum is taking my kids away on Saturday night so I might bake carve fill and freeze all the cakes over the weekend, ready to just pull out and decorate through the week!

Oh and thanks, on the cakes, I'm beginning to quite like my more recent ones. I must be improving!

Jenny