I have my first wedding cake in a few weeks and the bride is picking it up rather than having me deliver it. She doesn't want to pay the extra expense, and yes she has signed in the contract that I am not responsible for anything that happens once it leaves my door!

Anyway, I plan to put it on a masonite circle and I want to center dowel it for the best security, but I don't know the best way to do this for her. My initial thoughts are to make the dowel long enough to stick out, like suggested in Dede Wilson's book, and then when they set it up, they can remove it and then have the top decorations (fondant daisies) on a small cake circle for them to place on top. My worry here is that I feel like they aren't getting a completed cake this way. Yes, I can make your wedding cake, some assembly required.

Is there a better way to do this? I am attaching a photo of the cake she wants me to make. It will be iced in buttercream and have fondant flowers.

Thanks,
Kathi

I'm sure if you just call her and tell her you wish to put a dowel through the cake she would understand that the dowell is for the support. AND since you aren't delivering, this is how you would have done it anyway, for the safety of the cake.

i agree, i dont think she will mind condsidering she has chosen to pick it up

Another perfect cake for SPS. No dowels, sturdy, and secure.

You could trim the dowel so it's shorter than the cake. Then, they'll only have to deal with it when they start cutting. This only applies if they're planning to serve the top tier. This is how I deliver most of my tiered cakes.

I would recommend topping your masonite board with a piece of 1/2 inch foamcore into which you'll drive the dowel. You can also do 2 dowels for extra peace of mind (no spinning!) Just be sure you clear the support dowels under each tier.

the other thing i would is refridgerate that cake,
cold cake delivers easier then room temp cake. Give her a piece of non skid matt to go under the cake. And place the flowers on the cake. Maybe send a few extras incase there is some breakage. And a small disposible bag of icing, to attach flowers if needed.

And next time build the delivery cost into the cake. Cause no bride should be picking up her own cake

leahs, what is SPS? I thought you always had to dowel a tiered cake.

DianeLm, How do I attach the foamcore to the masonite? I thought I would be hammering the doweling into the masonite itself. Is this not accurate?

peg818, I already planned on sending those items. The bride is from out of state and is having her reception 1.5 hours away from me. Due to the excessive time for delivery I explained there would be a charge. She didn't want to pay that fee, but preferred to pick it up herself the night before the ceremony, since she will be in my town anyway. I'm not sure how I would build that into the price of my cake, unless I increased the price per slice charge, and then other brides would be paying less per slice, etc...

Kathi

The SPS system replaces dowels. The Search button will provide you with several great discussions.