I am freaking out about this and could really use some advice. I am making my cousin's wedding shower cake; a slightly shorter version of this:

http://www.gateaux-inc.com/details/doublehappiness.htm

I have not yet transported a fondant cake of this size or caliber. I don't feel confident in my abilities to assemble on-site. I am particularly worried about the cakes settling and/or my fondant sagging or cracking due to the hour of driving to the final destination. I was originally planning on my internal structure support being cardboard rounds & dowels; doweling through all three cakes.

Does anyone have any transporting tricks or suggestions for alternate support methods that might provide me some peace of mind? My aunt is a HUGE perfectionist and I don't want to let her down.

Thank you for any help you might be able to provide!

Angie

that is a beautiful cake.....and i am sure yours is going to be great!!!! but honestly an hour drive?? you know angie...everything you are concerned about are huge factors in transporting a stacked cake....if it was a shorter drive i would say drive really carefully....but if it were me i would put it together on site!!!! if you can make cakes out of your home...you are more than capable to put them together on site!!! i looked at all the cakes you have made..they are beautiful... you are more than qualified and should have more than enough confidence to assemble a cake on site!!!! you rock!!! arrange to get there before the people come so you could work in peace!!!! good luck...keep us posted!!!!!!!

I agree! Get there early to have some privacy so you don't feel judged in front of everyone and you will do fine. It makes me nervous to travel with a stacked cake even a small distance and I also hate doing it in front of people, so get there early and don't worry!

I have transported a fondant cake already stacked (my waterlily cake)and it was ok but it was only 2 tiers not 3 and only a short distance so it wasn't really put to the test I guess and I couldn't guarantee it would work for such a long drive but I did the following:
a) after dowelling I put some blobs of royal icing between the tiers to hold it together and I also piped royal as a border as part of my design it seemed to hold it fairly firmly (obviously the royal needs to dry before you even think about moving it)
b) I don't think I would use cardboard rounds, I used foil covered wooden boards so they won't flex and less likely to cause issues with cracking/ moving.
c)I put my cake into packing style box just a bit wider than the bottom cake board and put in on some of that magic grip non-slip mat stuff underneath the cake. I also clipped of that spongey foam around the internal sides of the box (as I was a bit paranoid about some of the delicate decorations on the sides of the cake). I also cut the front of the box down each side verticially so I could open it up like a flap and slide the cake in and out (I had this taped for transport).

I don't think the fondant should sag I have never had this happen (but I always use ready made fondant I haven't tried MMF or any other homemade one) your fondant should have firmed up before you stack it and definitely before you move it.

good luck with whatever you decide to do

Thank you so much for your tips and encouraging words! I think I will do a trial run or two and practice putting it together on-site. I'm probably setting myself up to fail if I transport it fully-assembled. I'll post a picture and let you know how it goes! Thanks again!!