Having some trouble narrowing this down. The bride wants a 4 tiered, possibly up to 6 tier cake, (thats 11 options already), to serve anywhere between 250-300 guest. I have never done this large of a cake from home before. My oven on fits up to a 14" round. I do offer kitchen cakes. It just seem like a lot to type up and figure out for her pricing. I would like to narrow it down to 3 or 4 options.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

1- Find out if she is inviting that many or if that is how many have said they will be there. You don't need to have enough cake for all those invited, as typically only 60-75% of invitees actually come to the wedding.

2- Find out if she what shape cake she wants.

3- Double barrel tiers help add extra servings (and height).

What are double barrel tiers?

Probably double height cakes? I don't think I've ever heard that term.

A 6/8/10/12/14 serves 211, using the entire cake. Then add a groom's cake.

I did wonder how to do the percent thing that Indydebi was talking about. What about percentages for the time of day the cake is served?

Im assuming its round. No mention of a square cake specifically.

I like the double barrel idea, but how do you fondant and cut it?

I never thought of using the groom's cake as servings!

Also how do you put the fondant on a double barrel tier without it ripping at the top seam. It seems as if the fondant would pull downward and mess the top edge up.

I've added an extra 2 inch layer to a few of my tiered cakes. Just make sure that when you lay the fondant on that:

1) its fresh fondant...nothing that's been rolled out before and is a little dry

2) secure the top rim of the cake first! after you lay the fondant on top of the cake, smooth the top out quickly to get any air bubbles out and then immediately run your fingers around the rim of the cake. This will help the top rim not to crack as easily.

3) work quickly!

Anybody know the post where Indydebi explains how to do the percentage of guest thing?

I think that Indy uses 65% of INVITED.

I use 75% of INVITED = ATTENDING.

You figure one serving of cake for each person attending.

Double barrels are a new trend. Basically it's a tier that is 8" tall instead of the normal 4". You have to have a cake board in the middle, separating each 4" tall half of the tier, and the bottom half has to be doweled to support the upper half.

I've not done one yet myself, but I wouldn't think covering one of those would be that much different than covering one of the larger tiers, like a 16" round.

The cakes below all include a double-barrel tier: