I just made a wedding cake for an aquaintance, but had major troubles with the frosting oozing out the sides after the tiers were covered in fondant. I attached a picture. Sad thing is, in the transport, it got much worse to the point that it was slightly tilting. Question: is there any fixing it at this point?

I thought that it was the frosting. And maybe it was. I made the frosting just out of cream cheese and butter, no shortening. I don't like the taste of shortening. Is there any frosting that doesn't require shortening that will hold up?

But, I just read a post about "settling", which I had never heard of. I'm a beginner. I've never "settled" my cakes before covering them with fondant. I'm curious what steps I'm missing in covering my cakes. I usually freeze my cakes after baking, then thaw them before I fill and frost, then I immediately cover in fondant. Please help! What am I doing wrong?

i think you need to let you cakes sit overnight (if possible) so they can settle. once torted and filled cakes will settle its a natural process. i didnt know about this either until i came on CC.
you can't cover your cakes so soon after filling them, especially with fondant. (a process im still trying to master since time is always my issue).
also, i just tried tonight for the first time using gnache instead of BC under my fondant and it was a success!! definatley try that instead. this way no ooozing under your fondant.
by the look of the picture your cake looks fine to me.
HTH

the cake looks great!
cream cheese icing doesnt always work with fondant, some recipes do, some dont. but if ur not having problems with the fondant its self going soft, it sound like thats ok.

theres a lot o traditional bc recipes (made with butter, not shortening), and as long as you are not in a hot climate, then they hold up really well.
maybe try a meringue bc? although again not great for hot climates.
there are plenty of shortening based recipes (ie: indydebis) which are really good, so if heat is an issue or you, experiment a little - and add more flavouring!

your steps sound fine, but yes, it is a good idea to let the cake settle once its filled. you can leave it to do it its self (over night, a good few hours), but some people sit books tiles etc on top to force it along! you can get away with not doing it sometimes, but its unpredictable, then you end up with the bulging round the side.

i dont know if that problem would be related to the tilting of the cake, that might be more related to your support system?

as to whether its fixable - really only if u can take of the fondant, sort the bc, and recover. the tilting, if you have dowels etc and can easily take apart and restack the cake *could* be done, but it might just make things worse. id probably cross my fingers and hope for the best - but im not experienced at deliveries or more than two tiers!
xx

Cakes do need to settle. You can fill them, wrap in plastic film and let them sit for 12-24 hours. OR fill, wrap and place ONE ceramic tile on top and wait for two - three hours. The tile needs to be generally the same size as the diameter of the cake.

As far as tilting goes, that's your support system. Try SPS.

As for the taste of shortening in bc, try some high-ratio, or perhaps a mix of high-ratio shortening and butter.

Pretty cake! It's important to allow your cakes to rest before decorating them, preferably in the refrigerator. Also, make sure the icing is rather stiff/thick bewtten the layers, and use a dam.

Thanks guys! I used wooden dowels as my support. I think they were too close to the middle of the cake. I printed off the SPS instructions. My only question is do the plates show if there's no border? Do you have to cover them up after you've stacked the cakes?

So, the weight of the tile doesn't ruin the cake?
I do think my filling was a little too thin and so was the dam. Well, I've definitely learned for next time!

Beautiful cake!! I have a questiion. Do you all crumb coat right after you torte and fill? Can the cake rest with the crumb coat on?

Personally, I crumb coat right after filling and then place them in the fridge. I can see where the icing is bulging a little in the picture, but honestly, it's a gorgeous cake and I think the decorations hide the minor imperfections very well. I had the same thing happen on my SIL's cake and I think I was the only one who really noticed.

You did a great job and you deserve a great big pat on the back!