I have my first real wedding cake to do in June. (I made a practice one for my daughters birthday last year)

I have tons of questions... and Im not sure where to start! LOL

Bride wants 4 tiers. Ok fine. In the process of ordering pans now.

Bride prefers icing to fondant. (Im only used to working with fondant...) Ok, fine again. BUT. Do I use a regular BC recipe? Is there a different icing that tends to work better for wedding cakes?

How do I get that super smooth finish on the icing?

Anyone have any pointers for making this as painless as possible? lol

Thanks in advance!

Welcome to CC....quite addicting and quite informative.
Use the Viva towel method to get a smooth icing. Let your icing crust and smooth with a paper towel and fondant smoother. You can use most any BC icing, use one that you are sure of and feel comfortab using. Be sure to support each layer properly,boards, dowels, or SPS system. You are going to have 4 tiers....if you are new at stacking, I would suggest that you travel with the cake appart and assemble on site.
Hope this helps some...don't be afraid to ask more questons....good luck

I like the Upside down method to frost my cakes with buttercream. It's a bit time consuming, but I love the smooth finish and the great edge you can get with it.

could you please explain the upside down method?