Christening cake - never iced a cake before help!

[sophie150]

Hi, so I've offered to make a couple of cakes for a family christening. One sponge and one fruit ( although perhaps this is not enough as it needs to feed 80 albeit with a token slice as there will be puddings also). Any advice on size would be great!
I'm a confident cook but don't bake all that often. I think the cakes themselves will be fine but my main worry is the icing bit. I've never iced a cake. Will it be easier to ice a square cake or a round cake? Is ready to roll stuff ok? Can you buy Ready to roll marzipan? I'm a bit clueless so any tips great fully received! Thanks

I love butter cream, which is easy to spread and to decorate.

I have also used american style icing, which is reasonably easy to use, but you have to knead it well before using it and rolling it to avoid cracks.
It can give a nice neat aspect with not a lot of effort.

A friend has gone to make fantastic decorations from Youtube clips, so I'd check those carefully to learn the tricks for what you have in mind.