I am doing a 50th wedding anniversary cake and the cake the want is a square on the bottom with 3 round on top of that. They only want to feed 100 though. I am trying to work up numbers but am lost. I didn't want to do a 10, 8, and 6 round because it makes no room on the edges really and the pic they have has room but I can't think of anything else. Ideas?
this is the cake idea they want. Not like that at all but just that shape. http://www.brides.com/weddingstyle/cakes/gallery/editorspick/detail/2940/?ff=Cakes&offset=127&page=15
I suggest using styro dummy for the sq. tier. If you don't want to pay the price for styro, you could get some scrap wood from a lumber store or use a cardboard box covered w/contact paper, then iced.
That way you can get 100 servings from 14, 10, 6 rounds.
Yup. A styro square dummy makes sense. Then use 6, 10, and 14 inch round tiers, which according to Earlene's chart, will give you 105 servings.
http://www.earlenescakes.com/ckserchart.htm
Wow, it's a beautiful cake! I agree with kakeladi .... go with the styrofoam. Lots of times I have to tell brides they can't have a certain cake with only xx of people.
And actually, I hit that from the git-go when they give me a headcount: "With 100 guests, you can have 3 tiers." "With 175 guests, you can go 4 tiers, MAYBE 5." Then we move forward from there with design. If the design they want doesn't fit in the number of tiers I gave them, then we talk dummy pricing for the extra tier.
a dummy for the square would be doable but my last resort because I HATE working with dummys. LOL She said we could do a 3 tier. square then 2 circles but she liked the height and look ok the 4 tier. so if Iwant to do it all in cake any ideas? My brain is tired of thinking. lol
hate dummies? 
They don't bulge, no crumbs so no crumb coating, you don't need a strong board so there's no cracking icing, they aren't heavy to carry, they keep nice even edges, you don't have to trim them or use dowels, no worries about how to put the second layer on top of the filling.
You need to see that your glass is half full, not half empty! 
hehe I guess I am weird about the dummy things. I had some bad experinces when I was having to makes tones of dummy's for displays when teaching wilton classes. Maybe I should try it again. 
Do yall use buttercream when doing dummy's? I had to use royal when doing the ones for my displays and that is what I hated so much.
Here's a tip for ya though to ease the cleanup when the event is done and they return all your equipment, just wrap the dummy is saran or plastic wrap and when yer done with it just peel off the wrap frosting and all and yer done. woohoo!!!!
I take it your icing doesn't get hard when applied to a styrofoam? 
it'll crust but it won't get hard.
p.s. just wanted to add that I have done some where they sat on display so long that the buttercream icing did get dry, but I was still able to peel it off it just flaked off in chunks over the dumpster is all. You could do the same with fondant too. I use corn syrup mixed with water to glue the fondant to the dummy and I just peel that off when I'm ready to do it again.
I use an all-crisco BC and mine gets as hard as concrete within 2-3 hours. Pops right off when I run a knife under it when I'm ready to change it.
I always thought this was odd because my icing doesnt' get rock hard when I put it on a cake.
Things that make ya go "hmmmmm!"
I never knew that buttercream would get hard on a dummy!
I am going to look for a dummy today.
Indydeb
What do you mean by they cant have xx number of tiers because of the size of their party??? what is the reason. im speaking from ignorance here.
If they are planning a wedding for 75 people, they can't really have a 5-tier cake. (because I am not messing with a 2" top tier!).
Had a bride who wanted my double wedding cake: two 3-tier cakes sitting on top of fountains, connnected by stairs......for 100 people. I just can't do two 3-tier cakes for 50 each and set these tiny little cakes on top of an 18" plate on top of a fountain. It would look pretty stupid. So we did one 3-tier cake in styrofoam and one in real cake. Worked out fine.
Some things are just not workable. You can't have a cake that looks EXACTLY like Eve Longoria's wedding cake ..... same size, same number of tiers ..... but only have it serve 100 people. MOdifications must be made.
oh my gosh, how ironic!! I just got an inquiry from The Knot. A bride is planning on 50 people and wants pricing for a 4-5 tier cake!
Holy cow, even if the base is an 8" cake (then 6, then 4, then 2, then...?)
Big Sigh! Time to get my "mom" voice out.
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