I'm a hobby baker and while I'm having fun playing around with birthday cakes and whatnot, I really want to make a wedding cake. I want to experiment with SPS and cascading flowers and all that jazz. What's keeping me from just doing it for the thrill of it is the cost. If I had a friend getting married, I'd at least make them pay for the materials. And a dummy cake just isn't the same because the cake flavors and fillings are almost as fun as the decorating. AND part of the satisfaction of doing cakes is not just that they look pretty, but getting the feedback about how they taste.

Apart from stalking David's Bridal, how do you get experience with this type of thing?

the only way to get real experience is to have a friend or family member be willing to take a chance on you for a free cake. But here's an idea for you...why not make a cake "mostly" dummy? I have a 5 tier coming up...6/4/8/6/10 and out of those only the top 6 and the 8 are real...the rest are decorated dummies. It's her 50th so she wanted a really grand cake but there will only be about 30 people there and she doesn't want extra cake around or waste food. So there's the best of both worlds...practice decorating but make one tier real so you get feedback on your cakes and learn what it feels like to cover and stack. If you have a small family then make it a 10/8/6 and only make the 6 real. This lets you, literally, get to have your cake and eat it too! LOL! (sorry, couldn't resist!)

Cat

You might have an easier time finding people who are looking for shower cakes. You can make them like "mini" wedding cakes. You'd be amazed how fast word of mouth can travel! Everytime you are invited to a party, shower, special occasion, etc. ask if you can bring the cake. Before you know it, you'll be getting wedding cake requests! Good luck and have fun!

I know how you feel! I was lucky enough to do my sister in law's wedding cake last month, but now I'm just sitting around itching for my friends to get engaged and get married.

Cindy's right though, be the one to bring the cakes to any showers and other events, and you'll definitely start getting requests!