i am making a cake that will be 3 tiers. Am I correct in assuming from all that I have read on here that I need to construct the different tiers, then using dowels for stability, put the tiers on top of each other then let sit overnight to settle and finish deocrating in the morning? Just don't want to make it then have surprises when it's time for delivery.

Thanks for all the input. I have learned so much from this sight.

You should let the cake settle after you fill it, but you don't need to stack the tiers to let the cake settle. The tiers are supported by the dowels...think of the dowels as table legs and the cake board for the upper tier as the table top. So the cake isn't going to settle more once it's stacked, just from the weight of the upper tiers.

I would bake, cool and fill the tiers, then let them settle overnight, then frost and decorate, add dowels and stack. Some people put a tile on top of the cake while it's settling, or a book, to help it settle as much as it's going to...I've never done that and usually by the next day any bulges that are going to form will be there.