I am making a round wedding cake for a bride and I need it to serve 200 people. When I do all the calculating, it looks like I need to use a 16"/12"/10/"8" (21 people. (An 18" pan will not fit in my oven) My question is, will the step down, from the 16" to 12" look funny, with the rest of the tiers being only 2" steps/widths?? If you don't agree with my pan sizes, do you have any suggestions? The cake can either be 3 or 4 tiers, it doesn't really matter to the bride. I appreciate anyone's help! Thanks so much!!!!!

http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1364813


here is a cake with those dimensions (only with a 6" on top) maybe a visual will help you decide!!

You know you could always do a 8",10",12",14" and then make up the rest with a kitchen cake?

Thank you! I did look in the galleries at some round wedding cakes and still couldn't decide if it would look right. The cake I'm doing is going to be all mosaic (painted on). Bottom tier will be full mosaic, next tier, 3/4 mosaic, etc.....I guess I'm just wondering about the blending, making sure that each tier blends into the next. Any other ideas???

Why not do a 16,12,8 and 6 for 176 servings. Not everyone eats cake at a wedding reception anyway or if you feel like you need more, you can have an extra kitchen cake set aside. I've attached a pic of those sizes to give you some perspective.
www.cakekeepsakes.com

I like the looks of the 16/12/8/6 and that's a very pretty cake.

What about getting a half round 18" ?