Cake Help

Hello. I have some cake questions, and am hopinhg that you pro's out there, or anyone who has experience can help me. Thank you in advance.

This is what I am thinking for the cake that I am preparing. Anything can be changed if needed:

-the cake will be 3 tiers
-it will be a STACKED CAKE, so there won't be pillars!!!!!!!!
-each tier will be 2 layers (is this large enough?)
-the cake will be covered in Marshmallow Fondant (a must!)
-the pan sizes are a 12in round, 9in round, and 6in rounds (pans already purchased--cannot change)
-I'm not sure of how to decorate--was thinking to have large fondant bow on top tier, polka dots on that tier or another tier, and stripes on one tier (iff-ey???)
-I am using (and must use) cake mix from the box 

Now for my questions:
is there anything I need to do inbetween layers or tiers (other then frost between layers)?

do I need cake boards/dowels for in between tiers, even though I'm not doing dowels or lifting the tiers?

How far ahead can I make the marshmallow fondant before I plan to put it on the cake? Days? A week? How long???

How do I make a large fondant bow? Do you have pictures to reference?

Is there anything special I should do to the cakes to make it so they won’t collapse from the weight of themselves and the fondant?

Thanks, and please answer any and all questions you can.

*****


Your cake sounds like a wedding cake? Between the layers you should use a filling such as lemon or pineapple. . It gives the cake a really fresh taste. Yes, you need boards and dowels between the different sized cakes or they tilt or have other problems. Your fondant would go on each sized cake separately.
You can go so far as to make the cake and the fondant and freeze it until you are ready to put the cakes together and decorate. That also lets you rest up a bit before the hard work of setting the dowels.
The dowels and boards will keep the cake from collapsing. you will be able to set each cake off the others, or slice them separtely especially if the top tier is to be saved. Since you are using box cake mix, doctor it up just a little if you are using a white cake mix, by using 1/2 each almond and vanilla extract instead of just vanilla. Also, while each layer is still warm, you should cover it with a thin layer of butter cream frosting, This keeps crumbs out of the way when you are patting on your fondant. I personally have never made a fondant frosting but I have watched them being done. I learned cake decorating from a wilton book I got from the library. I bet they have a site online now. You could ask them how to make a fondant Bow. It would also depend on the size of the bow and how you want it placed. Good Luck


Source: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AhrA5w72ZmxusSvXOO1gm48jzKIX?qid=20061006171702AAICbAU