I'm doing my first big wedding cake. The tiers are 14, 10, and 6, stacked construction. I baked, filled, and iced with bc last night and plan to decorate today. I kept them in the refrigerator overnight because they are filled with preserves and just took them out to do more decorating. So now I'm really concerned about them sweating as they come to room temperature. Question #!, will this be okay?

Also, I'm debating on whether on assembling here or on site. The cake will have cornelli lace that goes from the bottom of the tier directly above and then down the sides. I'm thinking that I'll have to stack before I put the lace on the cake because I need the border the cake will make for the lace and I won't smudge the lace assembling after. Question #2, should I stack at home and then put on the lace and drive the cake over to the reception assembled or should I take it unassembled, assemble it there, and finish decorating? I'm thinking there would be too much decorating to leave to finish up on site but would like to get others opinions.

Thank you all in advance!

I think I'm calm now over the sweating but I'm still in panic mode. I don't know why I'm this nervous....at least this is a bump for me...

I think I would put the lace all over the top of each tier and down the sides, and assemble THERE....... all you would have to do is pipe your border on each layer as you placed it on top of the under layer.... does that make sense ? I might not be picturing your cake right... Make sure you dowel each layer, and you should be fine...

Well I just did my first wedding cake and I was in my usual panic mode as well. I wouldnt worry about the sweating unless your home is particularly hot and humid. If it does sweat I would just wait it out until it comes back to room temp. Normally though I wouldnt worry about preserves being out of the fridge for a couple of days.

I think if you have a strong person who can carry your cake, you could manage to assemble it at home. Like I said I just did one wedding cake and I REALLY didnt want to assemble onsite. So it was 6-9-12. I was able to carry it myself, but I dont think I could have carried much more myself. The tiers also shifted a tad en route, but since it was fondant I was able to fix them easily without any damage to the icing.

Could you do most of the cornelli lace at home and then add the final band of it around the bottom after you have assembled it (if you decide to assemble on site?)

good luck! I am sure you will be fine!

ah...so you're suggesting I place the tiers on top of where I have already piped the lace. I never thought of that! I was thinking I had to stop the lace at the next tier.

I'm doing a variation of this cake. Only round tiers, but with the swags and lace similar, but not exactly like the square tiers.

http://www.publix.com/custom/wedding/CakeDetail.do?categoryId=1&cakeId=39

I was okay with stacking and doing the borders on site...but doing the lace too seemed like too much to do when I got there.

I think that everyone goes into panic mode the day before a wedding, so just take a deep breath.

First off, I always refrigerate all of my cakes, I think it makes them more solid and they travel so much better cold than they do warm. I rarely have condensation but if you do just wait for it to evaporate before touching them.

I always travel with the cakes already tiered and decorated and I have never had any issues. I hate the thought of having that much work to do when I get to the reception site (also hate people watching) plus I always seem to need to do fix ups after assembling so I hate to have all my decorating done. I just delivered a 16", 12", 9", and 6" this past weekend completely assembled with no issues at all. I also used a center dowel for the first time and that cake was solid.

HTH, I'm sure you will be fine...can't wait to see pics!

Oh I see. YOu were worried about the lace on the top of the cake. I thought you meant you wanted it to go all the way to the border of the cake. Yeah, I would just set it right on top of the cornelli lace. That shouldnt be a problem, especially with a border on it.

I'd like to thank everyone for their input. It was certainly calming yesterday to have responses when I couldn't see the forest through the trees, as they say.

I assembled on site and it just didn't go well. The cake table was too wide for me to work on and reach the cake so I misplaced the middle tier and had to try to fix it. I broke so much of the lace. The caterer was so friendly and supportive, thank goodness she was there. She helped me move the cake over to a different table to work and then move it back when it was assembled.

I never really could get the lace fixed up so it looked good and of course I stuck my finger right in the front of the middle tier that I had to patch. Honestly, I just don't like doing the cornelli lace. I don't have a very steady hand and mine always looks too sloppy. Next time, I think I'm going to try it with a bigger tip.

This post should really be in the cake disasters forum now. I posted the pic in my pictures and the middle tier looks like it buckled in the picture. Not sure why it looks like that, I didn't notice that in person. Not sure if I will take on another wedding cake. At least this is over.

It turned out GREAT !! IF there were errors, it certainly doesn't show up in the picture........ What did the bride and groom have to say ? Did you get any feedback from anyone there ?

Thank you grama_j for the kind words. I certainly needed that. The picture wasn't a close-up...luckily! I was so horrified about how awful the cake looked I left as quickly as possible. I never saw the bride and groom.

I must say my DH was very supportive about the whole thing. He said that the bride was probably just relieved that it was there and on-time and he said that even if I thought it didn't look that good, it tasted great and that's what folks would remember.

Well, what a sweetheart he is ! But he IS right , you know..... we are always our own worst critics ! I've seen your other cakes, and you are on a roll ! Now stop worrying about it, you did a wonderful job and your cake is just beautiful ! I hope the bride gives you a call or note .... It is always good to get some feedback, but not to worry if you don't... many of them just don't think to do that.....

I think your cake turned out lovely. You should be so proud K'ly

That cake is very pretty!! You know we're our own worse critics & I'M SURE, no one noticed your imperfections but you! Sometimes, I take a picture of a cake and for some reason, the flash or lighting in my room highlights something that you wouldn't otherwise notice. I would have been happy having that as my wedding cake! Don't give up on wedding cakes although I would imagine I would be SO STRESSED just because of all of the work involved.

I only started decorating a year ago as a hobby and when I think back to when I got married 7 years ago & one place told me the cake was $2-$2.50 a person - I was aghast! Knowing what I know now, that was a bargain! $5 pp now is a bargain! My cake had some nice detail but the red color on the roses was pretty ugly.

Can't wait to see your next wedding cake!

Thanks for all your support. Even though I've been really down about this cake, it's nice to know that there is a place I can discuss these things with folks who have been there.

The positive out of this experience is meeting that caterer. She and her husband own a restaurant in my neighborhood I'm familiar with. I've always been a little luke-warm about going there, only because they have a limited menu and it's kind-of pricey. But now after working with them directly, they are such good people, I've already recommended their restaurant to others...at a local wine bar where my dh took me last night after the cake delivery to drown my sorrows!

Thanks again for everyone's suggestions, support, and reassurance.

Belinda

It sounds like you have all the support you need at home.