AI'm making a 5 tiered wedding cake this month. I've seen allot of opinions on the forum, but I could really use some experienced advice.

Here are the options I'm thinking through. These are just the ones I thought of. Let me know if I'm forgetting something.

Its going to be a buttercream cake. Its a 1.5 hour car drive. The bottom will be made out of 2 - 1/2" circles of foam, glued together. Normally I put the wilton cake boards in between layers, but I'm open to other options. It will be in the middle of December, and the car will be well air conditioned, with do direct sunlight which will be very nice. Whatever way I do it, I will be placing shelf liner on the floor of the van.

Should I use the SPS system, or use dowels/bubble tea straws (I've done that before, and it's worked well, but never tried the SPS)? Should I take it fully stacked, or take it stacked in two sections (3 stacked, and 2 stacked, attaching together at venue), or take all the tiers in separate boxes, and finish at venue?

I know that no matter how I do it, I still will be very concerned during the drive...I just want to be as confident as possible.

Thank you so much!

Rachel

If this was my first 5 tiered cake and I was driving 1 1/2 hours away I'd be nervous, so I'd transport the tiers separately and stack it on site. You could just use regular dowels and not worry about a special support system then, because it wouldn't be moved once it was set up. It would also totally eliminate the possibility of a tier shifting during delivery if it wasn't stacked.

ASPS can totally support your cake. Its very easy to use VERY stable and inexpensive. You can prestack whatever you can lift.

AI have a question about the SPS. What is holding the top tier on? Do you dab icing on the plate to secure it?

I have transported cakes before, but they were a little smaller. Regardless, I am still very nervous about it. :)

Thanks...

When you use something like SPS, you stick each cake tier down onto its plate with a good gob of buttercream.  You can also consider the Wilton hidden pillars, they make more of a hole in the cake but the separator plate feet give you lots of finger space underneath for carrying. 

I would NEVER transport anything more than a 6" tier stacked onto something else. With single tiers, you drive at a constant moderate rate and at a double distance from cars, and there won't be any damage.  You drive and finish five separate tiers the same way you drive one or two cakes--DO NOT be nervous. Take a deep breath and work carefully but confidently. 

Then you stack onsite after correcting any finger marks from carrying tiers into the venue.

You might consider starting with the two smallest tiers frozen solid for your long drive. The larger tiers need to be chilled overnight but they will stay cold long enough.

I used SPS for the 1st time today and it was amazing! I finally found cake separator plates and 4" high legs in the cake store and it allowed very safe delivery for 2 hours on very bumpy roads! Leah_s has been recommending this for so long and I finally got a hold of the set! You will want to look up some videos on youtube on how to assemble it if you are a visual person. I find it easier to assemble than having the cut dowel roads. It is also safer. Just make sure to charge your customer for the pieces in case you don't get them back. They were very expensive for me to purchase the cake separator plates and legs. Costed me $100US+
 

$100 - woah.  Where do you live, Pearl?

BakingIrene, DH always drove normally with cakes assembled with SPS.  Normal speeds, too much braking, whizzing around curves., etc.

AShipping to a lot of countries is really expensive. I ship things internationally all the time and it's crazy how much they charge for some things. Then I know that the customer is getting hit with the customs charges on top of that, so the cost of buying a $10 item can end up costing three times that much or more when they're done.

I spent $307 on SPS supplies from GSA a couple of months ago. Shipping was $70ish. Customs here was another $70ish. Oh and it took 4 weeks to get it delivered to my door. It's painful but I personally find it necessary. Even transporting a 6"/8" setup makes me nervous if I don't have SPS.

You guys need to vacation in the US and bring a big, empty suitcase.