Should I stack my cake before or after I put my finish frosting on? I know to decorate after. Also- Buttercream in the fridge because my filling is perishable... if I get condensation, will it air dry with a little fan? Any advice appreciated!??
Actually you can finish all but your trim before stacking. Sometimes this is much easier than trying to do any piping on the cake after stacking. But finish as much of each tier as you can before the final stack. And, yes, if given enough time your condensation will evaporate but you may have issues with colored royal or buttercream melting a bit or sliding a bit so be careful.
Thank you! I am doing a super super light blue, almost white color to the cake, so hopefully I will be ok. 3rd wedding cake ... someday it will get easier 
Should I stack my cake before or after I put my finish frosting on? I know to decorate after.
After. First you ice, then you stack, and decorate last. A lot of tiered cakes, especially wedding cakes have designs that are continued on each tier or need to match up to the same or similar design as the tiers above and below. If you decorate them first and then stack, you might be surprised when you find out just how much they don't match.
Yup,that's why I said sometimes it's easier. I have yet to do a cake where I follow a pattern (like leaves or vines that travel from the top of the cake to the bottom) where it's continuous but I'd sure have to stack them first in order to make them line up! <G> But, for instance, if you are making a cake that has different patterns on each tier or a plain cake that has just ribbon around the bottom then you can certainly do that before the cake is stacked..otherwise you may bump a higher or lower tier. As with everything cake...it depends on the project. Cat
I know to decorate after.
I agree... it's a good habit to get into, or if it's the way you first learned. Way back when I started, all the "old school" wedding cakes had garland swags and drop stringwork on the sides, so you needed to mark all of the divisions after stacking if the final result was intended to be in proportion to all of the other tiers.
I like to stack my cakes before I start decorating.
that way I can really get the joints sealed good with icing and not ruin any decorations.
Thanks for all the advice! I take it the consensus is to travel to the cake site with your cake stacked?
Do you all run a sharp wood dowel down the center of your cakes to have a "spine" as well as the supports in each layer?
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