Hi everyone, I'm new here on the forums, well I've been poking around but I finally joined because I have many questions that I can't seem to find.

Firstly I'll just say right now that I am not new to baking. I have a crossaint recipe that's absolutely insane, but cake decorating, or more like cake construction is not something I've ever really gone into. Even though it's something that I've grown up with. (No kidding, my mother has been decorating cakes since the 70's back when everything was all in the frosting work)

So here's the plan. I have a wedding (my wedding) coming up here in January the 25th 2014. I have a pretty much non-existant budget, so making my own cake it is. I'm just now starting trials. Buttercream is easy, rolled fondant is easy, covering the cake isn't so bad and with a cricut cake machine doing all the decorations for me, lemme just say I don't need to pay a professional baker. (My sister in law paid 300 for a cake that was nothing but smooth icing with daisies stuck on top, cheapest in the area and knowing what I know about baking, for the small cake she got, I think she was over charged)

I've got a design in my head of blues, whites, and silver. Three tier enough for a 100 people, max. With lots of snowflakes and a few stags for good measure. I know fondant can last darn near forever so making that ahead of time is not an issue. The tricky bit here are the decorations. If I cut them out ahead of time, how do I store them so they stay pliable so I can stick them to the side of the cake? Also how far in advance can I bake the cake and decorate it before serving it? (No one likes stale cake, or so I hear)

I don't have the time to do it all in one go. I'm actually in college with a part time job, while also making all the decorations and non floral bouquets (apparently I'm suicidal, but at least the dress is out of the way). I know if I break up the steps it's not so bad. The question is, how? What sort of time line should I be expecting? 

Any tips on wedding cake making that I might find useful?

Thanks really for any help.

100 servings in round = 6/9/12.

you can bake and freeze the payers 2 weeks in advance.  Wrap them WELL.

Use SPS for support.

I don't normally do this but once I actually froze a cake covered in fondant (it was for a personal project but I lost interest, lol).  So I wrapped the cake very well in plastic wrap and left in the freezer for almost a  month.  OK, although it still tasted good, I would not recommend it that long, two weeks like Leah said would be ideal.  But it was for family, so I was ok with it, lol.  Unwrap first when thawing and place in the fridge to slowly thaw out.  The cake was still moist because I used simple syrup for the cake layers and the fondant helped as well.  Any decorations like bows, flowers were added after the cake has completely thawed out.  Good luck!