AOkay, so I have made several tiered cakes... However, none of them have been more than 3 tiers high. I am doing my best friend's wedding cake due on March 11th, so as the date is drawing closer and closer, I want to have all my ducks in a row!! Any help anyone can give me will be much appreciated! I have only used the cardboard separators when stacking a cake, now I feel I need to try the plastic separators, columns, etc. (All these things I have never used and I'm not sure where to start with them)! This will be a 4 tier cake. To serve 80 people, I'm thinking of using the 12" , 10", 8", and 6" rounds. I don't plan to actually stack the cake until I get to the place she will be having the wedding, so I'm also trying to figure out how much slack I will need to cut myself (as far as time goes) to get this cake stacked & completed before the guests arrive. And oh, by the way, I'm also a bridesmaid in the wedding... I am going to go ahead and have all my hair and makeup done before I work on the cake))). Well, that's it. So, if anyone can help, thank you thank you thank you in advance!!

http://www.wilton.com/cakes/tiered-cakes/
 

You will have far more servings than you need with 4 tiers :(

A 12" round serves 56; the 10"R - 39 ; the 8" 24(?)

I find it hard to stack or pillar tiers that are not at least 4" different in size.   I strongly suggest using just the 12, 8 and 6.  OR a 12, 9, 6.

As for time element on putting the tiers together it shouldn't take very long if you insert the pillars before leaving.  Be sure you have support in the cake before using plate/pillar construction.  Putting that together should not take much more than 30 minutes - or at the very most if you are slow than 45 minutes :)

DO NOT! under any circumstances wear your dress while setting up the cake! :)  Yes, hair and makeup is fine, but not the dress.  I would set it up before the ceremony......not after.  If it is well supported and on a *level* table it should be just fine for up to 10 hours - or more.  I once set up a 6 tier cake the night before:)

And I would always have the cakes set up in my shop the day before so I know they can stay up just fine for more than 24 hours.  

A

I was looking at wilton website that she posted & it looks like you really only need the plastic plates & pillars if there will be space between each layer..... The cake she (my best friend) picked out for her wedding is actually going to be stacked (no space between each layer) There will be no need for the columns then, I assume? Just the regular dowel rods and cardboard separators should work, right? don't know how else I would do it.... Don't worry, I won't wear my dress while working with the cake haha.... And yes... Definitely plan on getting it all put together before guests arrive for the ceremony. I think I will have my dowels pre-measured & insert them in appropriately before I leave the house.thatway when I get there, all I will have to do is just stack the tiers... She wants the cake to feed 80-100 people, with the top tier for her & her hubby to save and eat on their 1 year anniversary.... So I'm thinking the 12", 10", and 8" should feed approximately 115? 1 x 2 slices, but some may want a slightly bigger piece (such as myself) :) so it should all pan out well then.... Then, the 6" will be for her to save.... Am I on the right track now? Lol! I really didn't know anything about the pillars / plastic plates, so thank you for the information about that, but I don't think I will need them... Still not sure? But I don't think so....

AThe plastic separate plates are designed to be used as a system with columns that fit snuggly. If you prefer, you can use dowels & cardboard rounds. I personal use the plate & column system.

I like the Coast system sold by Pfiel & Holing.

For this size cake, depending on the complexity, I usually arrive about an hour before the ceremony. If you will be attending, it may be best to arrive 1 1/2-2 hours before the ceremony.

ASorry, more on SPS:

So the way this works is a measure the height of the bottom tier. I trim the columns to fit. A tap the legs into the plate then slide or into the cake. When I get onsite, the next size cake (10" in this case) fits right on too. The 10" is just on a cake round not a other plastic plate. So the bottom of the 10" is placed atop the 10" plate of the 12".

Oh that may have been even more confusing.

I know there is a great explanation in the SPS thread.

ADelicious desserts: thank you! I will check out the sps thread also.... Forgive me though, what is sps? Would u mind sharing the pfiel & holing website with me? I'll need to order this quickly... Thank you!!