I have a wedding cake coming up this weekend and it's the first time I've used the larger plates with the 13'' wilton grecian pillars with a 14'' plate for the base and a 14" plate for the first tier. Last night I assembled it partially and it seemed so flimsy and not very study. I am doing a 3-tiered cake with the first 2 layers stacked and the 3 tier is on spiked pillars. I see this set up very often, and I'm wondering if anyone else finds that this is not sturdy until you get the cakes on.
sorry, I'm not much help but I am giving this a bump so others can help. Just make sure you dowel everything (I use the hollow plastic dowels which are about 3/4 in thick) and cut them with a sharp knife, there are wilton.
I can't wait to see pictures, I bet it will be beautiful!!!
Sorry I hit the wrong button, my response to your question was put in as a new post under 13" pillars.
You are right....the weight of the cake will elimnate the "shakiness" of the set. You will find it is very sturdy. I've used it tons of times (pics on my website). I even did one that was a double wedding cake .... 2 three-tiered cakes on top of fountains and connected by the stairs .... but it was a small wedding, not near big enough for a double cake, so one of the cakes was total styrofoam. Even the weight of styrofoam will hold the stand steady (can't wait to get those pics out of my camera .... yes, I'm digital camera illiterate! If my 13-yr old isn't with me with her camera, I have to use the old fashioned kind!) 
Okay, so before I read the responses to this post. My husband picked up some double sided tape last night and we put it on the bottom of the pillars that connect to the base plate. This improved it 100%. And I feel much better about stacking a 3-tiered cake on top of a fountain. By the time we were done applying the tape. We could pick up the whole thing by the pillars and they wouldn't come out.
I have used this setup 2 times, and both times I was nervous. They cakes did help with the 13" column system, but the top tier on the smaller columns would still wiggle if you slightly bumped the table. Luckily I was requested to be a server both times, so I guarded the table. The tape or glue sounds like a good idea, so you think it will work on the top column set too?
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