Hi there! I have been asked to do a wedding cake for a friend but i am extremely confused on how deep a wedding cake should be. Please can someone help me. Thank you

In general most wedding cake tiers are 4" tall/deep.  This can vary if you want an interesting/different look.

To create a 4" cake, one bakes 2 layers - each 2" deep and puts them together with filling between them.

Some of the newer cake creations have tiers that are as much as 6" and 8" tall - which are created by stacking two 4" tiers then icing it as one cake.   Hope that helps you understand better :) 

First up - congratulations on being asked to make the cake and taking up the challenge 

I have found These days there is no standard for height

but the previous post is a good guide 

(I have found personally the following was helpful for me)

best idea for heights  - is work out what you have tin wise and how deep you can do them 

or if your going to invest in tins for making the cake - spend the extra and go to a speciality store for them 

they should be able to give you advise on this how  to make the cake too if you find a good one - just do not let them talk you into buying decorations there if its not what you want 

also you need to know 

Are you doing a tiered cake - if so how many layers 

will you be flat stacking them placing cakes one on top of each other -much easier then pillar stacking

also if your stacking them We found it was easier to make them ice them then stack 

  talk to the Bride (especially) and groom over what they are after, our personal experience 

My wedding cake was 3 tiers approx 7 inches high in each tier mine was made by an Aunt for me as it was not standard size - my Aunt had made all the flower decorations on our cake out of icing 

each tier was iced individually on cake boards and there were balsa wood poles pushed through the lower tiers strengthening the cake - this was decided with my husband when she offered we sat down with her and books looked through worked out what we wanted together with the skills she had to make the cake 

I made my sisters wedding cake, I discussed this with her and her husband  - it was a large 4 cake affair using pillar stacking off centred from a main large central cake - decorations we used the same flowers and ribbons that were used  her bridal bouquet as they were silk and had smaller ones - this kept the cake in theme with the wedding colours 

-I am by no means a professional cake maker - but the wedding  venue asked her where she had the cake made as they had another couple inquiring for something similar 

AThank you for your replies. It's been very helpful indeed. Didnt know where to start. Just wondering how much mixture do I need to make a 2" deep cake as the books I have got don't state the depth of the cake with the recipe. Also i have seen on some forums where people have discussed inserting rods through tiered cake for transportation and extra stability is this essential or can the cake remain stable without this? Thank you :)

This chart will help you with how much icing and batter you will need.  http://www.wilton.com/cakes/making-cakes/baking-wedding-cake-2-inch-pans.cfm

This will help you with your support system.  http://www.wilton.com/cakes/tiered-cakes/stacked-tiered-cake-construction.cfm.  You must have each tier (two layers of cake or about 4 inches of cake/icing) on their own cake board.  This board must be placed on dowels/heavy straws that are in the layer below it.  Like a table to support the above cake layers other wise the above cake tiers can smash and damage the lower tiers.  The long dowel going through the center is only needed if you are transporting it assembled, which is often not recommended due to weight and additional possibility of damage during the delivery.