So far I've only done cakes for family and friends, but I'm going to be making my first wedding cake in October, or possibly in July. I'll be practicing my tiered cakes in the months to come to make sure my creations are up to scratch, so to speak, and able to be transported two hours away.

In my research, I'm finding a variety of opinions on custard-type fillings. I'm not interested in not-from-scratch options for fillings. So I'm curious what kind of fillings do you offer for wedding cakes? Are custards and curds not stable enough for wedding cakes? Does the climate you are in make a difference to whether you use them or not?

Thanks for your opinions!

I try to stick with flavored butter cream fillings for wedding cakes as they sit without refrigeration for a pretty considerable amount of time in many cases and I just don't want the liability of someone getting sick from a perishable filling like a custard or mousse. I leave that liability to the local bakeries.
For family party cakes I do use whipped chocolate ganache, and custards and they do hold up just fine under any of my icings and fondant provided I make a good stiff dam.

Thanks, Melanie. What do you use for a dam? American buttercream made very stiff with lots of powdered sugar? I've been using SMBC for most of my icings, so would it be best to have the dam made of American BC to get it stiffer?

Yes, that is exactly what I do to make the dam. I add powdered sugar to my American Buttercream until I can just about roll it into ropes it's so stiff.
So far that has worked great for holding in my fillings and also not crushing under heavy icing.

I do flavored meringue buttercreams, truffle fillings, and fruit preserves and citrus curds. The curds and preserves are a thin layer, not a 1/4" thick layer of goop. I usually use those if I torte a cake, with two layers of the curd and one layer of buttercream.