I would just like to know and understand when would you use each of these products. I need to make a 4 tier STACKED square wedding cake soon. I was originally thinking or using double cardboard seperatator boards covered in press and seal with wooden dowel rods sharpened and dowelled into each of the lower levels. Which would be sturdier??? I do not plan to travel with the layers stacked but will stack on site. Should I use the Plastic hidden Pillars with the square plastic plates with the pegs??? Or should I used the cardboard plates with the plastic dowels? Or should I just stick with my original plan?? Why do I second guess myself so much? This will be my first wedding cake! Can you tell? Thank you everyone!

I would use the plastic dowels. Here's why: a friend of mine works weekends for a caterer. They do everything but the cake but they do serve the cake. My friend is always the one to serve the cake. She says that she has noticed that the cakes that are the sturdiest are the ones where plastic dowels have been used.

Hope this helps.

I have been using wooden dowels for 17 years now with no issues. There cheap and reliable. I get the Wilton packs at Walmart for almost nothing. I also use bamboo skewers (in the cooking utensil isle) and that's the dowel that goes through the whole cake from top to bottom. It's already sharpened and very easy to to. Hope I helped.
Andrea