OK, so when I first began learning how to decorate I kind of put the cart before the horse and jumped right into wedding cakes. Specifically my wedding cake. I wanted a fancy 3 tier fondant covered wedding cake and couldn't afford to pay a professional to do it. Not to mention that we live in Alberta and the wedding was on Vancouver Island. So I used my cake budget to buy materials, got some books from the library and started practicing. It was my supreme good fortune to get Toba Garret's The Well Decorated Cake and I was able to pull off a reasonable first wedding cake. (After many practice ones!!) However, this means that I started off doing fondant and not buttercream. That was three years ago and I've never really practiced any of the beautiful BC accents I see here all the time. (And am really envious of.) But man oh man!! I just saw a BC rose tutorial on youtube (that incidentally was posted by another CC'er but can't remember who!) and that was really fast! I mean 5 or so seconds and you've got a rose! My fondant figures take forever! I spent well over an hour on one clownfish last night! I think BC could revolutionize my cake decorating. I think I need a class. Or maybe just a lot more youtube videos! Anyhow, this is long now, but I thought I'd share my awe with all of you. And let you all know how much I respect your skill. Now I want some too!!

sounds just like me, lol!!! my first cake was my wedding cake for the exact reasons. i made one small practice cake the week before and that's it. i def stressed myself out the night before cuz it was more work than i thought it would be, mor to that story is kinda funny, but anyway, here's mine...

http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1353924

i looked in your photos but didn't see yours. i would love to see it

and about the bc, i am the same way, lol. i have been paranoid someone is gonna request bc instead of fondant and i won't have a clue what to do, lol!!!! funny stuff. i have started doing more with it lately as far as the tiny details and writing etc. it is easier than trying to roll out tiny fondant and make fondant letters. i actually think the roses and stuff are made of royal icing which gets hard unlike bc. i would suggest taking a class to get a head start. i have been thinking about that lately. i just started doing cakes and all of a sudden i have 1-2 a week!! the more i do the more i think i should probably take a class instead of learning the hard way, lol

So what were you guys putting under your fondant?

CountryCakery4: i suggest indydebi's BC. It's in the recipes section. Also, Sugarshack has a DVD about buttercream (and I belive a recipe). Also Tonedna has a youtube tutorial all about it. Check those out.. HTH

that is so funny because I am a buttercream decorator only (use some fondant accents) and wouldnt have the first clue how to do a completely covered fondant cake

I actually suggest the Wilton courses, if you can take them. Yes, they're aimed at people who do it for a hobby, but they do teach buttercream and royal icing flowers such as roses, daisies, daffodils, violets, pansies, etc. as well as swags and borders. Most importantly, they start you off with the basics of how to hold the bags properly! I still have trouble with that part. I can't get a good rosebud for the life of me; my arm HATES the 4:30 position.

i am on the same boat i only do fondant i couldnt cover a cake with bc and have it look decent to save my life

Sharon Zambito has a really good video. It's called The Art of Buttecream. I highly recommend it!

Wow! more like me!! Thanks for all your responses everyone.

woodruffbn, I do use B/C under my fondant and I'm just beginning to figure out how to do that nicely so that the fondant doesn't have too many bumps etc. I've tried Indydebi's BC but my family has gotten used to the taste of real butter! Expensive, I know. I will definitely be checking out those tutorials. Thanks for the point in the right direction!!
I think I will take a Wilton course at some point. Those basics are definitely indispensable!

yamber82, wow! That's a great first cake!! Mine was supposed to be a fancy 3 tier but we only had 50 guests so my practice ones were big, but my husband's common sense won out on the real one. Then, the actual cakes were supposed to be tall 3.5" or so after torting out of a 3" pan but I live in Alberta, (the prairies) and the wedding was on Vancouver Island (Basically sea level) so my cakes hardly rose at all b/c of the change. I was mortified!!! But my tiny little two tier was pretty in the end. I'll attach a pic of one of my practice cakes and the end product too. I wasn't thrilled enough with either of them to post in my pics but maybe I will. It was my wedding after all!