Hi everyone! I'm just starting out, and have gotten my first order for a wedding cake. The client asked me if I can deliver the cake the day of or if she should pick it up herself. I want to tell her I don't mind delivering it (for a small additional fee) but I am so nervous that something will happen to it during delivery! Does anyone have any tips ideas or advice for me?! Thanks so much in advance!
Just think of it like a regular tiered cake. Just because it has "wedding" tacked in front of the word "cake", doesn't mean you should stress out too much over it. Do as you normally would for a tiered cake delivery, it will be fine. Use good support in the cake. Non-slip matting under the cake in your vehicle, a foldable cart for if you have to carry it a long way at the venue. Don't take the cake out until you have scouted where you are going with it - count how many doors you have to open or stairs you have to go up. And check you can pick the cake up on your own! Otherwise, you may have to travel with it in a couple of pieces and finish assembly on site. Take someone with you to help if you can. Don't let anyone touch or move the cake once it's set up - state you will not be responsible for any damage after you have left.
Take a picture when it's set up.
Good luck!
Most of my wedding cakes are delivered, and I definitely charge for that service. Gas is expensive, and they're taking up your time, so do charge. Use very sturdy boxes for transport. Get rubber shelf liners to put in the box to set your cake/cake boards on. This will prevent them from sliding all over. Make sure your cakes set level on the drive or they will slip off the cake boards or slide into your car seat. An SUV works best, but if you need to use a car, roll up a towel to put under the boxes to make them more level. Drive slowly and turn corners slower, no matter what the other idiots on the road think of you. 
I have a sign for my Jeep that says "Wedding cake on board". It helps with tailgaters. Even a hand written sign taped to the back window would get the point across. I never transport a real cake fully stacked. Some people do, but that's asking for trouble in my opinion. So I make a checklist of tools that I will need to complete the job once I get there, and take a small toolbox along with all your tools and some extra frosting for touchups. Leave early. Can't stress that one enough. I always say that if you're prepared for the worst, nothing bad will happen to you. Good luck!
great advice given on this thread! 
I also had a sign in my back window: "Wedding cake delivery in progress". yes, it helped and made a difference.
I didnt' see any tiered cakes in your photos, so you might consider making a small 2-tier cake (6/8"), throwing it in the back of your car and driving it around for a few miles. Go over a railroad track with it. travel a bumpy road. If something is going to happen, let it happen to this cake, where you can also learn how to fix it when you arrive at the destination!
But its usually a pretty painless process. Deep breathe. Sign in window. Drive carefully.
It puts my mind at ease when I bring my husband to drive and I am in the back seat of the truck with the seats folded up and watching the cake to make sure its not going anywhere.
It puts my mind at ease when I bring my husband to drive and I am in the back seat of the truck with the seats folded up and watching the cake to make sure its not going anywhere.
How funny you should say this! Here's what I said in another thread just the other day:
http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-717795-confidence.html
Getting over the fear will eventually go away with experience as your successes build your confidence. That's all it is .... confidence. goodness, I remember some of my earliest wedding cakes (decades ago!) where I sat in the back of our SUV next to the cake, cringing at every turn and bump. Now I just slap it in the back of the car and take off! ;-
Thanks for the great advice! So what are opinions as far as driving with the cake stacked or unstacked? Should I put it together at the venue, or drive it over ready? Also, can anyone here tell me how much I should charge for the delivery fee? I don't want to overcharge, but with gas prices what they are I want to make sure I don't short change myself either. The drive time will be 2 hours round trip, 40 miles one way. Thanks again!
Thanks for the great advice! So what are opinions as far as driving with the cake stacked or unstacked? Should I put it together at the venue, or drive it over ready?!
You can do either. There is no right answer. I can tell you that I stacked on site my first few deliveries until I was more comfortable driving with cakes in my car. Now, I deliver them stacked. If you have time, try a "dry run" of both ways-- load up the unstacked cakes, go for a little drive, then bring them inside your home and stack them like you were at the venue. Then, take that same cake (now stacked), load it in your car, go for a little drive, and bring it inside your home, like it was the venue. This dry run can help you decide what will work best for you on this delivery. Good luck!
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