Help - 2Nd Wedding Cake And I Am So Nervous
Decorating By danette62602 Updated 21 Sep 2006 , 7:04pm by PerryStCakes
I have a wedding cake coming up in a couple weeks and I am going to buy supplies today and I want to make sure I have it right!!!
Ok the cake is round 14" - 10" - 6" (anniversary layer)
I am using a 18" masonite board (covered in paper or foil and contact paper) for the base
14" cardboard circle under bottom layer (DO I NEED TO USE 2 HERE??)
2 - 10" cardboard circles under the 10" layer (taped together and wrapped in contact paper) (Do I need to use 3??)
2 - 6" cardboard circles under the 6" layer (taped together and wrapped in contact paper)
I have not decided what type of support yet - either wooden dowels or the hollow supports. I don't want any equipment to return (havne't been able to afford the nice support system yet!!)
If i use wood do I put the center support dowel in the top layer as well?? They are saving the top layer for 1st anniversary. So I was thinking the center support should go thru the 10" and 14"
Am I forgetting anything else!!??? Why is this so stressfull??? ANy advice or help would be appreciated so so much!! I just LOVE CC and would be lost without it!!
It sounds like you have everything in order. The only thing I would not do is to put cardboard under the 14 inch base. I would just put that layer on your cake board, otherwise what's going to keep it from sliding around. kwim? I am fairly new to all of this too, so maybe someone with more experience can help you.
Are you assembling in site? Then you could probably do away with the center wooden dowel through the top 6 inch anniversary layer. If you are not assembling onsite, I would DEFINITELY put the wooden dowel through all the layers.
I think the plastic hollow dowels are sturdier.
I am sure you will do great! GL!
`What is the construction of your cake, stacked or tiers? If you are stacking it then you need dowels or hollow supports. Only one cardboard circle under eack of the other layers. If it is tiers just put dowels in the bottom layer to help support the other two layers so thaa they don't crush the bottom. I hope this makes sense to you and that it will help. Oh, I forgot even if it is tiers you only need one cardboard circle the same size as the layer under it.
You don't need the double boards between the layers if you're stacking them right on top of each other. You only need 1 board.
I use a cake circle under my largest layer and attach it onto the large cake base with packing tape. You might want to drive a center dowel through the entire 3 tiers once everything else is assembled.
Oh, and I use plastic straws as my dowel support within each tier (its a Sylvia Weinstock trick...). Cheap, easy, strong.
I would just put the 14" cake right on the masonite board...I put a little icing on the board so the cake sticks to it (eventhough I doubt it would slide much given the weight of it).
Also, I always use 2 cardboard circles under my tiers. The weight of the cake caused cracks in the icing whenever I went to pick up or move the tier. Now I don't have cracks in the icing if I use 2 boards, like I did when I only used 1! 
First...thank you everyone for your help!
I am assembling the cake at home because of the way I am doing the flowers....it will be stacked. I plan on taking icing and extra flowers with me to do any touch ups when I get to the site. Since I'm doing this I need to put my center dowel thru all three layers right? Will that mess up the anniversary cake when they take it off to save?
Sorry for so many questions...this is the biggest cake I have ever done!!
The central dowel wont mess up the cake. Talk to the caterer or whomever will be cutting the cake. Generally, they know how to do all of this. But all they need to do is lift the top tier off by the cake board. The cake will have a little hole going through the middle and that is OK!
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