I tried to post earlier, but I don't think I put a subject, so I am not sure where it went (?).

Anyway, I am making a wedding cake with sizes 18, 14, 10 and 6. I know how to do stacked construction, but this is with push in pillars and separator plates.

My question is "Do I use the plates the same size as the cake pans, or do I use them a little larger to accommodate for icing, fondant, decorations, etc.?"

Thanks so much !!

Jennifer

I do not have much wedding cake experience but from the Wilton class I took you would use a plate a size larger than the cake. That way you have room to do a border around the bottom along with any other decorations. Under the bottom layer you would use something at least 4 inches larger than the cake.

So, under the 6" cake you would have an 8" plate, under the 10" cake a 12" plate, etc.

When I did my first (and only) wedding cake, I wasn't sure either. The cake plates I used were larger than the actual cake. Once the cake was put on the plates and the borders put on they were hidden. With the exception of the top tier, which I accidently bought much bigger, it looked fine.

I am covering with buttercream icing and MMF, so should I go 1 or 2 inches bigger??

Thanks for all your help and information!

Jennifer

Since you are doing plates/pillar construciton, I would go 2 inches bigger to allow room for the border on the cake along the bottom.