I have a customer who wants to put her 3 tiered wedding cake on a pedestal stand like the one below. I've had other customers request that too but I've always told them it makes me too nervous because they seem unstable for a tiered cake. It seems like it would be too top heavy and all it would take is a bump on the table to send it toppling over. (and everyone always bumps the table) I know it's done in all the magazines but those are usually dummies or set up only for the picture. This will be sitting out for a few hours. I was hoping to see if anyone gives their customers the same warning or if you've found that the stands are more stable than they look. This cake will be a 4", 7", 10" round. (and my cakes are kind of heavy.) Thanks.

I did a 6/9 on a stand like this about a month ago. The stand was set up on a crate on top of a table. I was worried also, but it seemed pretty stable to me. And yes the table was bumped quite a bit, the appetizers for the birthday party were on the same table. I was more worried about the crate the stand was sitting on than the cake on the stand itself.

Here is the cake for reference.
http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1628878

They look so lovely on pedistal stands...but, I worry too about the stability. I always encourage my brides to go with something a little more stable. It just seems like too big of a risk to me. Though I have to say...I'm guilty of putting dummies on them at the bridal shows

I won't do it.

Look at Rylan's cake on the home page. His sure looks nice. It is the black one.

The dummy cakes are ok on pedestals but not sure about real ones.

I put a three tiered cake on a pedestal for a friend's anniversary recently, and while it stayed up and seemed stable enough, it was much more wobbly than I was comfortable with. The stand was made of metal, with four curling strips of metal coming down to make the stand part.

I guess it depends on how tall and how heavy the cake is. A light sponge cake with buttercream is lots lighter than a heavy pound cake with ganache and fondant. Although on the other hand, the heavy cake would weight down the stand better...but if not perfectly centered, can weight on one side and topple.

Thank you for your replies. I was worried I was just being paranoid but I think I'll advise her against using it. I hope she hasn't bought it yet. Leily, your cake is so pretty! I'm glad it was ok on the stand. I think I'd feel better using a more solid stand. Thanks!

Janell, I've done it a few times with 3 tiers of real cake. I never had a problem.

Also, I suggest you ask her to look for milk glass cake stands--they are heavy and a lot durable. I prefer the ones by Mosser.