DIY wedding cakes

So I have decided I am going to make our wedding cake(s).  The first cake bakery we called gave us a an estimate over way over our budget of $500!  My kane and I have a specific design of cakes we would like to have at our wedding.  Unfortunately it looks like if we want it done under budget, we are going to have to do it ourselves.  So the past two days I have been watching cake demonstrations on youtube and on foodnetwork (Ace of cakes.)  I made a list of supplies I will need..

-Revolving cake stand

-Large round cake pans

-Pastry Spatula

-Fondant Smoother

-Cotton strips

-Flower nail

-Airbrush for frosting

-Pastry knife

Fortunately I live with a Pampered Chef representative so the list might actually be shorter!  Yesterday I bought 4 cake mixes at the store for 4/$5! What a steal! I figure no point in wasting expensive ingredients on the test cakes I bake and sculpt.  I am going to make a batch of vanilla buttercream up as well.  I think I might use fondant on the final cake but I am going to play around and see what works best.

Here's what I've learned so far in cake baking:

 -Always preheat your oven as indicated in the recipe. If cake batter stands beyond ten minutes without being baked, the leavening agent in it will make the batter frothy and will produce an undesirable cake. When pans are filled with batter, they should immediately be placed into a preheated oven.

-Have all ingredients measured out and at room temperature

-Lightly grease the side of the pan according to methods. If you grease the side entirely, the batter will have a hard time clinging onto the pan while baking and will not rise well.

-Fill pan halfway with batter. Raise filled pan to about six inches above a hard surface and allow to drop. You eliminate any trapped air bubbles in the batter that create large holes in a finished cake.

-Quickly spin the pan and allow the batter to cling onto its side. Then quickly place in preheated oven and bake accordingly.

-When cake has finished baking, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool in its pan, on a cooling rack for about ten minutes. This allows cake to keep its shape as it cools off.