If the bride is asking for a 5 tier wedding cake and the middle 3 are dummy cakes - can I make those the weekend before the wedding so I can work on the real cakes just before the wedding?  They will be covered in white fondant with no decorations other than ribbon going around the base of each cake.  I won't put that on till it's delivered so I'm not worried about bleeding.  My concern is - will the fondant on the dummy cakes dry out to where it looks dried out?  I've never done dummy cakes before.  Hope you can help.  Thank you.

I've covered a dummy cake the weekend before an event and it was fine. Just kept it in a cake box to avoid dust and other marks. It was great doing it that way because the week of the event I could concentrate on the actual cake. The dummy didn't appear dried out at all but you can always do a practice one since it's for a wedding and want it to look perfect.

I have dummy cakes here that I have had covered for years and still look fine. I just keep them out of the sun and in a box so there is no dust. Cover as soon as is convenient. 

AYou can do a month to 2 works before. I have. Kept in a cool room for storage...looked fine.

Thank you. :)

The fondant won't dry and crack ?

AFondant will not crack. I usually cover my dummies twice. First with a very thin layer if fondant. Let that dry overnight. Then a second slightly thicker layer. I have a dummy I covered beginning of June, and it's as good as the day I covered it. Eventually, all cake dummies fade in colour, but that could take up to a year.

ACan I ask what you use to adhere your fondant to the foam? I've heard both water or shortening.....

AI tried water...didn't like that. Dried too fast. I used a small amount of shortening. Piping gel works too, although it is a bit sticky. Found if I didn't position the fondant 100% accurately on the dummy with piping gel, I couldn't reposition easily as the fondant stuck. So ve stuck to shortening.

AThanks so much for the help!!