Hi everyone -
I'm just in the works of starting up a small cakery 
- I'm thinking it will be ready by the beginning of next year. I'm doing a few free wedding cakes this Fall since these will be my first, and I'd like to buy a go-to book (for wedding cakes, specifically). Does anyone have one that they love? What do you like about it?
tia,
Tess
I totally agree with the previous post about Sharon Zambito's DVDs. I have the Flawless Fondant and it helped me out immensely.
Book-wise. Are you looking for a reference guide/pictorial on various custom cakes OR recipes?
I found the Planet Cake book helpful for tips and tricks in getting your cake looks flawless, but Sharon Zambito's DVDs answer that already
Recipes - I really love Rose Levy Beranbaum's indisposable cake book: The Cake Bible
HTH! GL in your new venture 
MS's Wedding Cakes tome is great for the white/cream colors and elegant time sucking designs. There are step by step pix and some good piping (huge pix) "tutorials".
On my to-do list is the huge (4 tier?) white confection with a mass of meringue flowers, when I have two or three weeks to do all the deco work, lolol!
OBTW, IMHO the recipes are not worth the flour they are built on.
*** My advice is to hit the library and book stores and find one that fits your style. Then check out one of the used book sites or Amazon.com
**** I also recommended sugarshack's DVDs. If for nothing but her ability to make you feel comfy in the kitchen!
O.k. time for the cold harsh reality here... Not intended to make you 
but just point out the not-so-good business practices you're establishing for yourself right now... This is a BUSINESS, not to be confused with "I really like making cakes"...
First off, NO FREEBIES unless they're family.. Next, you're GIVING someone a FREE WEDDING cake, as the saying goes, there is no such thing as a free lunch, what are YOU getting here? (advertising isn't it because I can get paid $$$, use the picture, make a profit, and still get my name out)... What happens when the bride doesn't return your $150 stand? You still need a contract! It's one thing to do a free tiered birthday cake for 40, it's another to do a free WEDDING cake for 200... That's a big difference in the money that you're going to be handing out. Plus you're thinking of spending the money to make prototypes, so you're going to give them TWO cakes for free!
This is something my stage trainer taught me well (aka: reamed my butt out for 3 hours)... If you are going to WORK as a PROFESSIONAL, YOU GET PAID AS A PROFESSIONAL! Even if all you charge these people is your supplies, you need to break even. and it'll be a good lesson for establishing your pricing of what really IS even...
As for a cake book, I'd say Cakewalk by Margaret Braun and anything by Colette Peters would be my choices for "go to" options. It may just be that you need to take Wilton's Course 3 or hook yourself up with the Stress Free Support Stands people - those things are awesome and take the stress out of tiered cakes.
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