Hi all, I have my first wedding cake experience coming up and it is a very low-pressure trial run and just a favor for friends. They are doing pastry as their main dessert (they're Italian) but their mom wanted a wedding cake for pictures and the symbolism. So, any type of cake I feel comfortable making would be fine so I am trying to keep it simple but still look nice. It doesn't have to feed any certain number of people. I was also asked to make a groom's cake of a lobster with red velvet.

I work and will be gone the prior weekend of this Labor day wedding, plus the wedding is 8 hours away in the upper peninsula of Michigan, and we're driving up 4 hours Thurs night, then the rest Friday morning, then I'll have a cabin with a full kitchen. Wedding on Saturday. So I'm trying to do the cakes in advance, my mom and I have had great luck freezing iced buttercream (1/2 butter/1/2 crisco) cakes without a problem. I also don't think it's time to start "carving cakes" so I think I'll make the lobster from rice crispy treats, cover with fondant with gumpaste details, and put that on a red velvet seascape/seaweed square. Lobsters aren't the meatiest of animals so I thought the cake underneath would be best.

My first question is about sizing - I was looking at the pans I have and trying to decide between the 10in bottom circle with 6in top tier for the wedding cake (with a 4-5in gap w/ pillars but filled with solid flowers plus a flower bouquet topper). Or, should I upgrade to a 12in bottom circle with a 7in top tier? Or is 12 and 7 too big of a difference and 7 too big for a top tier? I know 4in is a good difference to have between two tiers, but I am worried about 5.

Then for the lobster cake, the 10in square pan I had looked a little small, but a 12in square might overpower the wedding cake, especially if I go with the 10in bottom wedding cake. I have a 14in and 10in square but suppose I could buy a 12in square for the lobster cake.

For freezer questions, I will try and delay how long I have to put the cakes in the freezer as much as possible but I am expecting the cakes to be in there for at least a few days. I thought this might also help with the long drive. Anyone have experience thawing out cakes from being frozen? I am having trouble finding a place to stay halfway with a full fridge to fit all these cakes, so I worry about the cakes being out overnight Thurs. Also for freezing, does anyone use the suran-wrap on top of cakebox method? I was thinking of trying that but read somewhere else your cake might taste like cardboard. I'd hate to spend a lot of time smoothing out the cake to have the finish ruined by wrapping it up for the freezer. I plan to use the Viva towel method and if it stil ldoesn't look smooth, add cornelli lace either before or once I arrive in the wedding town. The borders will be black ribbon to match the wedding colors so that will hide imperfections there.

Thanks for any input on any of my several long-winded topics. I just thought this would be a great place to try and get some help.

Go with whatever size you're comfortable with on the wedding cake. The lobster cake will not overpower it if you put the lobster on a single layer (like a sheet cake). The two layer, two tier wedding cake with pillars between will easily tower over the groom's cake.

On the freezing questions, sorry, I don't know what you should do.