Well, I am starting the wedding cake for next weekend. I have one of my 16" layers done, both of my 12" and I will finish baking today. I have frozen the three that are already made.
Questions, though...
1 - do I need to thaw the cakes before I crumb coat them, or can they be done frozen?
2 - how long will the cake stay fresh once it is frosted? I don't want it to be stale on Saturday.
3- how long does it take to thaw cakes before I can do the final frost and decoration?
here is my idea, let me know if I should tweak it and how please!!!
finish baking final 16", both 8" today - crumb coat, wrap and freeze
crumb coat and re-wrap/re-freeze first three layers today
Wednesday - take all cakes out of freezer to thaw, start frosting/decorating Tuesday night
Thursday - finish frosting/decorating
Friday - set up cake as it will be done on Saturday as a dry run, take down and set it up in boxes to deliver Saturday - have about a 2 hour drive in AZ heat for it!
Saturday - That's it...it either works or doesn't! lol
Congrats on your first wedding cake!! That's so exciting!!
I would skip the dry run Friday night, and take out of the freezer Wednesday night and do your main frosting coat on Thursday and your decorating on Friday. If you dowel everything Friday night, or even Saturday morning before leaving for delivery, and just make sure you have enough frosting and the right tips with you for the borders and any fix ups you may need during the actual set-up you should be fine.
?1 - I don't know about that one. If you do crumb coat, then freeze, just make sure it's completely defrosted and to room temp before you frost again. I tried that once, and the crumb coat was too cold and was 'sweating' so much that my frosting kept falling off.
?2 - The frosting will seal in the freshness of the cake. It will stay fresh for a couple of days. I generally bake and layer Wed, crumb coat and frost Thur, and decorate Fri and Sat morning (if needed) for a Sat wedding. Always still fresh and moist.
?3 - If you take them out of the freezer at night, they should be defrosted by the next evening. But again, I've only tried that once, hopefully somebody else can give you some more insight.
Good luck on your first wedding cake!!!
Brianna
I usually will freeze mine and take them out the day before their due to frost and decorate. But you can frost it when its still cold which really helps with it not crumbing too much. I would say your plan is fine but I would make sure that after your done decorating that you throw them back into the fridge. Also, if its a type cake your worried might be too dry, you can always give it a coat of a sugar syrup before you frost it. That will keep it moist.
Are you planning to use fondant or just buttercream? I know that the fondant does tend to keep the moisture in the cake more so than a buttercream would.
Here is what I do:
Freeze all layers, and not crumbcoated...........I think the condensation from thawing will make your crumb coat run off.
Wednesday evening, take out of freezer to thaw........leave all the wrappings on them, so the condensation collects on the outside, not on your cakes.
Thursday, torte, fill, crumb coat and start decorating.
I would skip the dry run on Friday.........just like Brianna said.......take plenty of extra icing, tips, powdered sugar, etc. with you to fix any little mishaps. Have all your dowels, pillars, etc already placed in your cake, so it does not take so long to do the set up on Saturday. 2 hour drive, make sure you have your air on, so the heat isn't a factor..........good luck and post pics when you are don! 
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