I don't think anyone is saying she can't do it. I think it's more of a question of why the heck would you want to do that to yourself? Do you really want to be covered in buttercream with bags under your eyes the night before your wedding? Who would? Sure she can do it, but why?

I like the idea of recruiting help, but I like the idea of ordering cakes and buying a stand to put them better.

Who needs the stress. Seriously hire it out, you'll be so glad you did.

Making cakes is so incredibly time consuming. People who make the occasional box mix with canned frosting have no idea how much time just making the cake and the frosting can take, never mind putting the whole thing together and decorating it takes. I know covering cakes with fondant looks easy on tv, but those people have many years of experience doing it and they still have problems sometimes. All this stuff is also very expensive. You'll have to buy good pans, cake boards, some sort of base, dowels, ingredients, and possibly icing spreaders. I find purchased fondant much easier to work with than homemade and it costs a lot. You have to use much more than you think you will.

Can you do it? Yes, but you may not be happy with the results and you will be exhausted. If you decide to do it, I agree with others here that you should do something small and use a rough icing technique rather than forndant. People do like buttercream much more than fondant.

As someone with little training and also someone with little money, I think these people are right, ALL of them!
Yes, you can do it, but it will be difficult and very stressful. Cake for 400 is a huge undertaking.
If there is anyway possible you can find to have someone else make most of the cake, DO IT. If you absolutely must do it yourself, go with butter cream frosting NOT fondant. Fondant can be really difficult to work with and can look really crudy if you don't do it well. (Ask me how I know!)
I also advise making a small cake for display if you have to do it yourself. I think you can learn about dowels and stacking from here or other sites on the web, That part isn't really so difficult. If you don't have a store around that sells fondant then you probably don't have access to some where to rent or buy a cake stand. Just stacking and frosting a 10" 8" and 6" cake (I am assuming that these sizes are obtainable in some manner) then wrapping with ribbon and decrating with fresh flowers is do-able.
You will need 6 to 8 one layer sheet cakes (12 x 18 - this will fit in most home ovens) with just frosting. Some where between 3 and 5 cake mixes each. Shouldn't be impossible either. But remember you will need to store them some where.
Ideally you will want the cakes all baked and frosted at least the day before the wedding. One day on the dining room table won't hurt the quality much. Be sure to use a buttercream frosting that doesn't have lots of dairy in it. The butter in it will be OK though.
Good Luck! (but I still think you should try to get someone else to bake the majority of the cake)

[quote="dukeswalker"]If you do take this on, I would forgo fondant and go for a rustic buttercream look or go with a cupcake tower and one 6 inch fondant covered cake at the top of the tower. I would also suggest starting NOW. Bake/wrap/freeze anything you can now. I would also suggest inviting over friends for a "cupcake decorating party". [quote]

Good suggestions dukeswalker. I was about to suggest the same thing...going for a 'rustic' aplication of just buttercream would eliminate a lot of stress and work. And tools too!...if you go with fondant then you're going to need to get some fondant smoothers, a wide bench scraper, pallet knives, turntable etc to get a good finish - whereas a rustic buttercream finish you can apply with just a pallete knife or the back of a spoon.

Definitely bake the cakes, wrap well and freeze so they're done in advance, don't try to do everything at the last minute...what you're taking on is a big enough job as it is.

I'm not a pro caker, but I make loads of cakes for family and friends...I would turn down any requests for a cake for 400 - that's a big undertaking!

Good luck with it though! And remember to post a photo of the cake here when you get back from the honeymoon!

ETA: here are a few pics of some rustic buttercream cakes, in case you're interested:

2 tier pale green with white daisy borders: http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1743208

3 Tier white with green flowers: http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1465608

3 Tier with silk hydrangeas (I love this one, it's really pretty!): http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1742518

3 tier with gerberas: http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1939242

2 tier with yellow ribbon and roses: http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1561301

3 tier with red roses: http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1841597

3 tier with mixed flowers: http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1476718

RamieJoe where are you located?

where r u from

I love this cake for its beauty and simplicity. A few tiers and a 1M tip and go to town!

http://cakecentral.com/gallery/2030858

This is one of many inspired by iambaker (I believe is the original). Sorry if I'm wrong.

Here is an idea if you don't want to worry about stacking:
http://cakecentral.com/gallery/368153

I used two of Wilton's Cake N' More stands and just placed some fabric over them. This will serve 236.

Good Luck!!

This is what I love about CC. So many helpful people, even in a situation that looks daunting.

I agree with several posters on here.

Cupcakes would be time consuming because of the sheer amount you would need.

Multi-cakes, set at varying heights on a satiny cloth (use styrofoam blocks underneath) and iced with 1M Tip with the swirly design, ribbon at bottom and possibly a flower arrangement on top would be the easiest and look the best with the least amount of effort. You could even vary the design of each cake and the flavor. I saw a couple of years ago on Martha Stewart's website that a bride had nine different kinds of cake (they all looked different) and what brought them all into the same theme is that each had an antiqued paper "sign" with a different word on them - love, unity, commitment, devotion, etc.). If they are all different then they don't have to match... for example - one redvelvet, one coconut, one chocolate, one white chocolate. Also you could enlist some of the bakers in your life to contribute their favorite cake, frosted plainly and then use ribbon and flowers to bring them all into the same theme. Those suitable for freezing could be frozen now and thawed the day before.

Just make buttercream, lots of buttercream. I may get thrown off of here but I just gotta tell you.... I hate fondant - it can be like the Devil's Play-Dough.

For my wedding we followed an old Cajun tradition where several important family members contribute a dessert that holds family meaning. We provided matching cake plates (cheap!) & place cards for each baker to write the significance. Virtually free for us & so many people loved the idea!

Ladies...we're not making a cake for 400!!! I'm not that brave! lol The only thing the cake will be used for is our cake cutting and to look pretty. Our guests are getting Costco sheet cakes!!! My mom did a trial run and I must admit she might have found a new love. It looks great, especially for a first go at it. I am not worried about whether or not we can make it happen...I have complete faith in my mom. She's very crafty and we're using real flowers and ribbon to decorate so any imperfections will be easy to hide. I greatly appreciate all the concerns and pointers. I'll be sure to post a photo of our final product!

My cake is 3 tiers (8",12", & 16") How many lbs of fondant do I need???

Well I'm glad to hear you are not taking on cake for 400. I'm sure it will be beautiful and memorable. Congrats & Best Wishes for the happy day.

Do you really have your heart set on fondant? Here's what I recommend-bake your cakes ahead of time and freeze them, then when they thaw out, make some buttercream and ice the cakes home-style. These can look very elegant and beautiful-it's all in the execution. You can either stack them (which isn't hard-look into SPS which is easy and cheap) or have floating tiers on separate stands which is what I did for my cake. If you do floating tiers then you'll need floral toppers for each one.

I just think the fondant route is a bad way to go if you've never done it before, and honestly buttercream tastes much better. Most people peel the fondant off anyway which kind of makes all the $$ and hard work spent on fondant moot.

Here are a few examples of "rough iced" or "homestyle" iced cakes that look really pretty:

http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/photogallery/coconut-wedding-cakes#slide_3

http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/photogallery/coconut-wedding-cakes#slide_4

http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/photogallery/modern-wedding-cakes#slide_25

This from someone who has baked all my life but is new (two years) to stacking. My advice, of course you can bake and decorate a cake. Anyone can to a degree. But please... STUDY the stacking and transportation.

Just be careful of the flowers you choose as some are poisionous and can contain pesticides. They should never be placed directly on the cake or inserted into the cake. Always use a barrier between the flowers and the cake. Wishing you the best.

Just because you've seen it doesn't mean it's safe. I've seen people do a lot of things that aren't safe but they do it any way. Only the growers would know if they are pesticide free, that's why a barrier needs to be used. I don't remember which are poisionous but you should be able to google it.

I have not seen this question asked, so forgive me if i've missed it, but will your venue allow home baked goods? From what I've read on the forum there are loads of venues that require the cake to be from a licenced baker. It would be horrible if your mom spends all the effort on a cake tthat wont be allowed.

The venue is no problem because it is at our ranch!