Would you stack the top tier before decorating this cake?  I'm worried I would mess up the "scrolling" if I try stacking it up once it has been decorated.  What do you think? 

Also, I'm just free handing the white scrolling using Royal icing, but I'm open for any ideas, should I create a template?  What's the best way to transfer the design??    What do you think??  Thank so much, you ladies are fantastic, and I truly appreciate your opinions.

AIf the cake is covered in fondant with royal icing swirls I think you will be fine stacking once the icing is dry. If the cake is iced in buttercream then you can't use royal icing, you will have to use buttercream. If the cake has been chilled for several hours to harden the icing, I think you could stack it decorated.

It really depends on how much you usually touch a tier while stacking. If you are really worried, but stack then decorate.

Free hand is probably going to be the easist because of the "ribbon".

if you put the bow on last-- you can place a long dowel sticking up out of the top tier-- you can use that as a 'handle' to facilitate stacking anywhere you want to stack it at home or the venue-- then remove the dowel, and place the bow --

that's a pretty specific pattern there -- yes you could cut a template for some of the larger strokes and mark the cake then pipe over that so everything all fits right in there-- then just ad lib (pipe) in the littler bits -- then place the ribbon is how i would do it--and i hope your cakes are the same approximate size of those too or the design won't work as well

and i would mark each cake by quarters and make a mark where the outside edge of the black ribbon will rest --the ribbon is black with a pink stripe -- because you want all the curves to be showing just right there-- and the markings will be hidden under the ribbon so no worries

that's just a beautiful cake though-- i love the hand made symmetry of it --

but to answer your stacking question no i would not stack before decorating because it would make it really hard to have enough room to get in there and pipe