Ok, so I finally got engaged! WOOHOO...!! I am trying to talk my friend into doing my cake for me but she hasn't ever done a wedding cake before. She does wonderful work and I think I can talk her into it...but if I can't I am planning on doing it myself to save on cost. This is both my fiance and my second wedding but my fiance never had a "real" wedding the first time and really wants a full blown thing this time around...so I am trying to pinch pennies so my Dad won't be paying anything. What do you guys think??? Has anyone ever done their own cake? I figure, if I get it all put together early and deliver it before I put my dress and make up on it should be good right? 
Hi Erica,
I did do my own wedding cake, also a second marriage. I will tell you this, it is VERY stressful. With all of the other details you have to take care of it is really going to put a lot on you unless you have lots of help from family and friends. I know we have several members from the San Jose area and I am in Concord in Contra Costa County, so not that far away from you. If there is anything I can do to help you just PM me. If you might be interested in gumpaste flowers for your cake I would be happy to make some for your cake as my gift to you, if you could find someone to come here and pick them up.
What if you made a dummy cake before hand? You could just make one tier real, (like the bottom) and have sheet cakes in the back. That way part of the stress of decorating can be done before hand...
ShirleyW thank you so much! I haven't decided on the location yet...either San Jose or Livermore...so I may look into finding someone that can do it. I know I will be totall stresses and nervous for this wedding so maybe I should just spend the money and have someone do it for me. I haven't decided on a design yet, but thank you so much for your generous offer! I will keep you informed!
Maybe it's a second marriage thing, because I too am getting married again and am also going to make my own wedding cake. 
The wedding is of course on a Saturday, but I figure I will do the baking on Wednesday night and start the decorating on Thursday. I am a stay at home mom so having the time to do it is not going to be a problem. Plus, I live out on a 60 acre farm that has a walk-in refridgerator (think refridgerator ROOM) so I am very optimistic that this will work out well. 
This will be the first wedding cake that I'll make, and only the third cake that I'll have decorated, but I know that as long as it doesn't fall apart on me, it shouldn't be too difficult. I need to try some techniques first (I really like the brushed embroidery a lot!) but I think I can do simple elegance just fine. 
Besides, my MIL from my first marriage is a cake decorator (and one of the best if I do say so myself) and she is giving me tips and ideas to help. Combined with a site like this, how can it be wrong? 
Man I wish I was able to stay at home...but the price you pay to live on less than a quarter of an acre in CA is worth going to work everyday! Brushed embroidery is not very difficult to do and with a little practice you will do just fine! My wedding will also be Saturday night and I was planning on doing the cake after work on Wed, Thur and Friday. I may have to hire ShirleyW!
Congratulations!!!!! I think if you plan every detail out well in advance and you can enlist the help of friends and family that it can be done successfully. Do not try and be Superwoman and try to do everything yourself.
Shirley - what a sweet lady you are!!!!!
I too am getting remarried lol. This will be my second marriage but to the same man and his 4th but again same person for the 3rd and 4th lol.
None of his have been anywhere but the court house and our first was at the court house and we don't want that. We are getting married at the park where he proposed 10 years ago (I HOPE) at night time (AGAIN I HOPE lol) and the reception will follow at a local club if I can book them.
I too am planning on doing my own cake and have recently gotten hooked up with a local CC'er who is very kind and generous in teaching me gumpaste and fondant and other stuff and has offered to help or do the entire cake for me so I don't have the added stress lol. But we also decided we didn't want the traditional wedding either... no foo foo wedding dress for me lol I'm a rather big woman and do not look good in white lmfao 
but we are going with dressy stuff... and I've narrowed it down to two or three or four cakes I'm loving lol. One of which I fell in love with last year and was sent to me by someone on the wilton forums and I recently found her here on CC as well lol.
So I think since I'm not doing the traditional wedding stuff like the dress and tux and all that stuff to save money and to do it our way... most of our money will be spent on the reception and I think the cake is the main thing at the reception it's the center of attention cause the bride and groom were the center at the ceremony
But I think if you have support of friends and family and track down some local CC'ers that can and will help you either for a small fee or for free... you should do that
Congrats to you as well Ohmygoodies! I think I am going to just go ahead and do it. I think it will have to be 5 tier since there are 200 people attending...I think....my fiance is Mexican and that only includes his family that lives here in the bay area...!!! I am going broke just from serving the 200 dinners! I think I will solicite help from my friends and family...let me know how your cake turns out!
For our wedding in 1996, I made our cake. Simple, three tiers, bottom two stacked, 3" between middle and top tiers. All basketweave, my first time doing it, with silk flowers that I had done up before hand and ribbons.
It was so stressful!! And I didn't have to transport it anywhere! The reception was in our home!
Definitely get the cake all finished by Friday morning! Store it in the fridge, and see if you can get someone else to deliver it to the hall, since you'll be kind of busy getting ready for the ceremony!
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