Okay so i have sold cakes for a while but now I will be selling wedding cakes. My question is WHERE DO I FIND ALL THE ANSWERS???? I need to know:

How much deposit to charge and when to accept it
How much to charge for items rented like cake stands
Who is my point of contact, the bride or the reception facility
How early can I or do I set up my cake?
Do I have to go that night to pick up cake stand?
when do I recieve payment in full from bride for cake?
Do I have to place order and pick up fresh flowers for cake?
how much to charge for delivery and set up?
Do I assemble cake there?

As you can tell I have never sold a wedding cake and not sure where to start. I need to cover my a** before I take my first order.... HELP PLEASE!

You can find almost all of those answers by searching the forums here. Everybody does it a different way, so it's best to read why others do it the way they do. If you read thru the forums you'll see what works best for people and why. Good Luck!

I can tell you that if leahs see's this post she'll tell you SPS for stacking... so no assembly required on site...

http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-603925.html

I'm sure there are people on CC who are way more qualified than I to answer these questions, but I'm here now and most of these I have read about on CC numerous times.

50% deposit when the order is placed, balance paid 15-30 days prior to the event.
You can find out what other places charge. You'll want a deposit to cover the cost of the item also.
Your POC is whomever is paying for the cake....this is important.
1-2 hours prior to the event. Don't forget to photograph the cake, assembled, at the reception.
No, someone should return the cake stand to you in order to get their deposit back.
Full payment 15-30 days prior to the event.
It's up to you whether you do flowers or not, but I believe others do not. Brides resposibility.
It's up to you what you charge for delivery and set up. What do others in your area charge?
Up to you whether you deliver assembled or assemble on site, whatever works for you.

I hope this helps.

editted to add: Most of this should be clearly spelled out in the contract between you and the bride. Make sure your contract is complete and covers everything, in order to protect yourself.

moxey pretty much covered everything for you with exactly what I would have said. Just to add a bit to it ....

The deposit is more than a guarantee that they want the order. It is to compensate you for the lost opportunities that came and went because you booked this bride. I used to take just a $200 deposit on my catering. Until I had a canceled wedding. Yeah, I got to keep the $200, but since it was so close to the wedding, I had no opportunity to re-book the date with another $3000 catering. I lost money because this bride canceled her wedding. So now I get 50% up front and if she calls off the wedding, I feel better holding $1500 in my hand.

All flowers, silk or real, are the responsibility of the bride. I am not her personal shopper. I am not going to listen to her complain when my flowers are not an EXACT match to hers. I just tell her to leave them on the cake table and I'll place them when I deliver the cake.

Yes, POC is whoever is paying for the cake, but I will get a contact name/number for the facility so I can work out the logistics of the delivery ... confirming that I want to deliver at 3:00, will the cake table be set up and ready by then? What door do you prefer I enter? Do you need a copy of my license and a certificate of insurance? etc.