Next month on the 12th my DIL is getting married. I will be making her Wedding Cake. I have, also, decided I would like to make cupcakes. She is leaving the entire cake up to me. She has no idea what it's going to look like. Anyway, I'm concerned about when I should bake and decorate everything. I'm thinking I'm going to need around 200 - 250 cupcakes. Can I make everything ahead of time and just store them in the refrigerator or freezer? The cupcakes are going to be iced with buttercream frosting and the Wedding cake is going to be covered with Fondarific. Can Fondarific go in the refrigerator? Could the cake be left out over night if I just wait and decorate it the night before? I'm so stressed out! I don't know how to make this work since on the day of the wedding I HAVE to be AT the wedding!

Please help!!!

I can't give you a link but there is at least (rather recent)  one thread with a similar question.  The advice given there is that cupcakes need to be baked the day of the event :(  

Yes, the cake can be left out overnight (in fact up to 2 days)  *if the filling does not need to be refrigerated*.    

Thank you for the reply. I might have to second guess these cupcakes unless I can get up really early and make them all. 

I don't work with fondarific, so can't help you there.    If you make the cake the day before, however, it should be perfectly fine to set on a counter overnight as long as you are not using perishable ingredients like real cream cheese or fresh fruit.    

I make cupcakes with buttercream all the time and freeze them fully decorated and/or filled. 

Typically I will make a bunch of cupcakes, fill them with sleeve filling like raspberry or lemon, or white or chocolate ganache.  Then I will do a 1M swirl with buttercream and freeze them.  I would only apply any fondant or modeling chocolate decorations AFTER the cupcakes had fully defrosted if those were being used. 

If you purchase 2 gallon freezer ziploc baggies (dollar store) and also use a cupcake plastic clamshell for a dozen cupcakes, you can slide the clamshell inside the freezer bag and seal for freezing.  You could get all the cupcakes completely finished ahead of time and just take them out the day of the wedding.   Leave INSIDE the Ziploc/clamshell until any condensation is gone, then they should be ready to be placed out for serving.   It only takes a couple of hours to completely thaw. 

You will have to find the space to keep 250 cupcakes frozen, and you should try to avoid other smelly frozen food like fish or meat being in the freezer at the same time.  If the wedding is being held at a church with a kitchen, ask if you can freeze the cupcakes in the church freezer. 

Once I make/fill/frost the cupcakes, I try to get them in the freezer no later than 24 hours after they were baked.    They will defrost beautifully and taste fabulous. 

Congrats on your DIL's wedding!

If you have your heart set on cupcakes, ignore this reply. If it were me and I could do whatever I want, I would make a beautiful 3 or 4 tier cake and a large 2 layer sheet cake.I think cupcakes in large numbers are extremely cumbersome to bake, store, decorate, and display. I feel like you are already a little stressed about this choice and may regret it. Just sharing my choice....The choice is really yours.

I think it makes a huge difference if you are scratch baking or mix or doctored mix. I bake using a doctored mix and my cupcakes take 3 days to dry out if kept at room temperature.

I bake from scratch and use very moist recipes for cupcakes. I tend to bake them either the day or the day before. I also have cupcake boxes that I use for transportation so they keep well in that semi-airtight enclosure. Anything over 100 and i make them the day before, especially if they're for an early wedding. I always decorate the day of since I use SMB and like it super fresh. 

Don't forget the transportation part of this, get yourself the boxes/liners that hold at least 12 cupcakes, this will ensure they get there in one piece, looking like they're supposed to 

As far as fondant, it will be fine in the fridge. Just be careful about condensation. It doesn't sound like you're airbrushing so it shouldn't be a problem. If you're planning to feed everyone with the wedding cake then also make sure you have the space to handle that in your fridge. I would recommend not stacking the cake until early in the morning (you can decorate beforehand and refrigerate though) because storing a fully stacked cake for 200-250 guests can be challenging in a normal fridge. 

Hope that helps,

Frank

Thank you so much everyone! Your responses have really helped. I do bake everything from scratch. I haven't even decided on the flavor of cake yet for the Wedding Cake or the cupcakes. Plus, it's been a good 8 months or longer since I have baked anything. She knows this is a special occasion and hopefully this will get me back in the mood for baking. Funny how tragedy in the family can take away the things we used to love so much. 

Again, thank you everyone!

@Lazy_Susan1963  Glad we were here to help.  CakeCentral has certainly helped me MANY times.

Family tragedy takes a huge toll that we often don't even acknowledge until long after when we realize that we haven't done something for a long time.  Probably some or even all of the people who have responded have been through something similar and experienced the same type of withdrawal from once-beloved hobbies or activities. 

Think of me and the others giving you a long, gentle, understanding hug and holding your hands through this process.  Making this wedding cake and cupcakes will push your thoughts in a happier direction and provide a much needed distraction. 

Please show us photos when you're done, ok?

To give you my very honest opinion @Lazy-Susan1963, I wouldn't do it.

It's a very important day for your family and I'm sure you don't want to miss a second of it or be physically and mentally exhausted before it has even started. 

I always find it very very sweet when the MOB wants to do the wedding cake but unless you are (pr rather your DIL is) in a financially difficult situation, I would suggest support her in any and all other ways but the cake. 

@Apti ‍ Thank you so very much for your kind words. They are just what I needed. I will definitely post the pics when I am done. :)

@julia1812 ‍ Thank you for your concern. I think, however, that this, more than anything else, means a lot to my Step-daughter (sheeesh! I just realized I called her my DIL. I tried to fix it but it won't let me edit. Oh well. LOL) Money is not the problem. I have already bought her dress and ALL the accessories that come with it (including the $250 veil) and paid for her Venue. But,this cake (if this makes sense) is a part of me and what I used to be. I can think of no one better to make a cake for than my step-daughter if this is going to be my time to come out of my world of tragedy and back into the, as my mom put it, World of the Living. This may sound silly but the reason this cake is so important to me is because baking used to always make me happy. And I need to find this happiness again. Long story short I lost my son this past April and I have not been, nor do I think I will ever be the same person again. Certain parts of his life just became too difficult for him and he had to go away. It's been 6 months now and I am still in the healing process and I guess I see this cake as part of that process. 

OMG I'm so so sorry for your loss!!! How terrible. Well...knowing a bit of the background I wish you all the best for the cake and cupcakes - I'm sure you can pull it of! It's such a wonderful thing if the baking can help you deal with all the pain you must have been through...and am sure you still are... Loosing a child is the most horrific thing that can happen to parents and I hug you from far. 

Am sure your son will watch over your shoulder and be proud of you!

@julia1812 ‍ Thank you