Ok so I have a small not very busy home bakery and have made a few wedding cakes along the way (mainly because I don't put much into advertising etc because I have 3 small kids and a crazy husband who tried aels constantly) anyways!!!

So my brother in law has asked me to make his wedding cake and I live in Massachusetts and the wedding is 2+ hours away in Connecticut. We are planning on going to his mom's in CT on Thursday morning and the wedding is on Saturday morning. I am trying to figure out how far in advance I can bake and frost these cakes.

It's a 4 tier 6/8/10/12 with a short 8 in layer and a double barrel 10 inch with an added 10 inch out back for slicing (bride had a specific cake size in mind but needed 200+ slices) anyway, it's all buttercream with very little detail except gumpaste flowers and goldleaf. 

So after all that... What day can I start baking? I was hoping to at least bake, slice and crumb coat before leaving for CT on Thursday morning. Is that too early? Will the cakes be gross or stale? 

Thanks in advance!! I think the out of state travel is messing with me 

When i do wedding cakes I bake and freeze them months ahead of time, well wrapped of course. You could bake, crumb coat and freeze them as soon as you want, as long as they are well wrapped and can stay frozen during your travels.

I recently made a cake for someone who was driving 18 hours for a birthday party and she had me deliver the cake three days before she left home.  I sealed it well inside a box and she kept it packed in dry ice, frozen until time for the party.  Believe it or not, it was perfect.

In your case, I would bake, crumb coat and frost the cakes and freeze them, transport the sealed in individual boxes with ice or ice packs and stack and finish decorating after you arrive either at his mom's or the  destination.  So much less stress and everything stays very fresh.