Need some expert help on this one! I have a 3 tier buttercream wedding cake,and two fondant covered cakes due this weekend. All the cakes are baked and in the freezer. I have made all the floral etc for the cakes. My question is how soon can I fill and begin to decorate? No perishable fillings are being used. I just want to make sure I can deliver a cake that doesn't taste dry/stale, but at the same time making sure I have enough time to do a beautiful job. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!

For a wedding cake due on Saturday, I level, torte, fill, and crumb coat on Thursday night. I decorate on Friday and deliver on Saturday. From reading a lot of posts, I think that a lot of people use this schedule. In my opinion, I wouldn't decorate a cake more than two days before delivery, if I absoltely had to deviate from my above schedule. Beyond that, I don't think that the cake would be fresh.

Thank you cakegirl, that is what I was planning! If you don't mind... can I also ask if after I crumb do I place back in the fridge for the night or leave out?

My daffodil cake was ready on the Saturday for pick up on the Sunday. I explained to my friend that I could only do it for the Sunday though they needed it for the following Thursday. I advised it would last that long, but it was ultimately his decision. Obviously he ordered it from me, and I got rave reviews from him and all his family. They do last over two days, so if you wanted to start on the wednesday you could. So long as when you get the cake out of the freezer you do your buttercream/ganache coat so the cake is sealed.

Do you have a dry fridge? That means a fridge without anything but completed cakes in it? If you do, you can ice the cakes on Wed or Thurs, and finish on Friday. But if not, then fill them, crumb them, then freeze them again now if you want. I do this when I have a really big weekend. Then all I have to focus on is the icing and decorating at the end of the week, the mess isn't so big because I'm not filling cakes and leveling them at the same time I'm preparing fondant.
Just be sure to let them thaw a bit before you cover with fondant, and allow the buttercream cakes to warm to just cold, not frozen, so there isn't condensation once iced.
This summer, almost every wedding i do will get this treatment, and so far, the cakes have been amazing and perfect because I'm never scrambling.

After crumbcoating - yes, place it in the fridge for overnight storage but just make sure there's nothing stinky in there like leftover pizza that could taint the flavor.

Thanks Jen and Denise. Yes, I have a dry fridge so I guess for the two cakes friday, i can begin wed, and for saturdays cake, I will start thurs.