Hi all,
Another timeline question for a wedding cake: I'm making my friends wedding cake. She is getting married the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I'm going to be busy getting ready for Thanksgiving all day Wed and too busy for anything cake related Thursday. So, I'm trying to figure out how to get it all done. I'm also in her wedding, which is at 2:00 Saturday.

Heres my plan. For those of you more experienced with making wedding cakes, do you think this will work? Or what would you suggest? Thanks!!

Monday: Bake all of the cakes. Freeze. (18, 14, 10, 6 in. squares)

Tuesday: Prep frosting, cake board, deocrations.

Friday: Pull cakes out of the freezer. Fill, frost, and decorate individual layers.

Saturday morning: Transport individual layers to the reception site and assemble.

* I'm wondering if it would be better to fill and frost the cakes on Monday when I make them, then freeze. I'm also going to be putting a syrup on them to keep in the moisture. Is that better to do before freezing the cake or can it be done after they are pulled out the freezer?

Thanks in advance for your help!!

I would probably stick to your original timeline. At least that is how i would be doing it. I have never had success when it comes to freezing and thawing a frosted and filled cake. But i am curious as to what others have to say.

btw... don't wear yourself out too much in that you don't enjoy the wedding!

I think your plan sounds fine if that's what normally works for you.

(if this is your first wedding cake and you aren't used to icing and decorating 4-tier cakes in one day, you might want to allow yourself more time than just Friday to finish that part even if an all-nighter is needed to be squeezed in there somewhere.) Best of luck!

Thanks! Yes, this is my first wedding cake, and my first cake even close to this big. I'm a little nervous about getting it all accomplished in time, especially given its around Thanksgiving, so I'm open to any and all advice you have!

Why not bake the cakes the weekend before and make the icing? I did that for my son's wedding in April. I baked and froze the cakes and I made all the icing the weekend before the wedding. It made it a lot easier for me the week of the wedding.

I agree with luv_to_decorate... get even a little more ahead of time just in case something doesn't go as planned.

I would even get ahead of the Thanksgiving plans if you can.

Well... I have the added complication that I live in Texas, but home is Nebraska. So I'm going home for the week of Thanksgiving and staying with my parents. I'll have to take over my moms kitchen, but wont be able to make the cakes too far in advance! Yes, the more I think about this, the more I think it may have been a crazy idea!

Thanks for all of your suggestions though. I think I will bake the cakes as early as possible, maybe start Saturday when I get into town and freeze then.

Fortunately, decorations will be pretty simple. She doesnt want anything to flashy, and no fondant. It will just be buttercream with ribbons for borders and maybe some simple scroll work. We'll see how long the cake process takes first.. Thanks all!

I think your timeline looks good, but I would take the cakes out of the freezer Thursday night, that way everything is ready to go Friday morning for you to start torting, filling, icing, and decorating. Also if anything goes wrong (like a cake breaks into 50 pieces or falls on the floor) you will still have time to rebake and cool IF YOU HAD TO!

As for the syrup, I would apply it after the cakes are completely thawed from the freezer....freezing them adds quite a bit of moisture to the cakes and I think it would be best to wait until after they're frozen and thawed so you can determine if you actually need the syrup or not, wouldn't want to make the cakes mushy!

hmm.. distance can complicate things a little bit

I would still try to do as much as you can before you leave (maybe get the boards ready, icing made, gather all your tips/bags and other things that are a MUST) then ship them home. (unless it is all at your parents already ) I know that shipping will cost a little bit more, but at least it's one less thing to do.

But knowing that you have such limited time, i do think that you have a pretty good schedule laid out then. You may want to consider stacking the 6 and 10 together before transporting, this way you can have them all decorated before you go. I don't know if I would stack the 14 and 18 before transporting, and only b/c i don't know how heavy they would be. But you may want to see if you can stack them on Friday too. (just make sure you can lift them!! and that they're on a strong base)