Wedding Cake

This past weekend I had a date at an event venue deep in the farmlands of Dickson, Tennessee. In the weeks leading up, I stalked their website and social media sites to pick up some early vibes. The vibes were good.

The road curved along farms and streams. At the heart of the farms, neatly kept farmhouses stood as a solemn shrine of their heritage and built with the kind of porches that invoked visiting and fellowship. There’s a certain grace that wraps itself around beautiful things and awards them with an undeniable and unexplainable timeless beauty – those houses displayed this amazing grace.

The trees grew more plentiful, the open fields disappeared into the wooded landscape and the road narrowed as I drove deeper into the countryside. When the trees suddenly cleared, the stunning black barn came into my view. This is where the road ended, and the proclamation of love began. That’s what a wedding is – a declaration of commitment to the one you love in the presence of witnesses. And today I would be part of a young couple’s nuptials whose love was as hot as a Tennessee summer.

I went there to film the wedding with my partners at HHFilms . I love working with these creative geniuses but honestly, it’s the wedding cake that draws me to these jobs. Having fun while doing what you love…well, that’s just icing on the wedding cake.

The wedding day usually starts strong with the bridal party arriving and getting settled into a long day of hair fixing, makeup, family gossip, and mimosas. Every bridal suite in America should come stocked with functioning gas masks to better the party’s odds of survival through the mushroom plumes of Aqua Net. I’ve heard stories of the alter losing a few brides over the years – maybe it was the fumes that got her.

Then like a hive of fire ants, vendors and helpers from all sides of the business start arriving and things start coming together. Usually not on schedule…but the anticipation of wedding cake keeps everyone civil and well mannered.

If you’ve lived long enough, you’ve probably attended a wedding or two…or twenty. We all arrive with the same searching questions: Is everyone getting along? Has there been any drama? Is it a buffet or a seated dinner? Are they cutting the cake right after the ceremony? Will it rain?

Once we’ve gathered enough information to satisfy our inquiring minds, we take our guard off, relax a bit and start planning our reception party strategy. First task is to grab the seats closest to the cake table. With all the other middle-aged guests. (Unless we’re on the keto diet again.)

But maybe you’re not like me.

Wedding days and stress are like a hand and glove. Which is why every wedding should hire a DJ. And I’m not talking about your second cousin who has a boom box and a large CD collection. I mean an authentic, radio worthy, certified party starter. Aside from the cake, they are the best unifier at the wedding.

Who else but a DJ could get Aunt Lucy to throw her walker aside for a few hip dips on the dance floor? I’ve seen the healing powers of a DJ. I never doubt their sovereignty. I’ve seen youngsters and elders alike craft moves of indecencies that would rise to the crimes of misdemeanors. Everybody’s got the Moves like Jagger - All because a DJ played Footloose and any rendition of Proud Mary. We love our DJs!

Then years after the wedding day becomes a blur, you’ll be super glad you chose HHFilms to document your special day. But this isn’t an advertisement blog post for my partners. This is a post about wedding cake.

Brides to be - I stand by my statement that the most important wedding day provider is the cake lady (or man) and I don’t intend to take the spotlight from them but consider this thought: After Uncle Howard and Aunt Lucy have made their journey across the skies to the eternal disco in heaven, videos last forever. Just saying.

Allow me to digress from cake for a moment because I have to write about these wedding exits…..

Back in my day, we tossed rice (which later was banned because of birds…google it…I have no time to explain it) and bird seed at the departing bride and groom. And their departing was for REAL; they got in a car and drove away from the wedding reception to start their honeymoon. Nowadays, we have faux exits so that we can capture their “leaving” for pictures and video purposes. Then the newly married couple return to the reception - to eat wedding cake, of course.

In other faux exits, I’ve seen bubbles, glow sticks, and the ever-popular sparklers. The sparkler exits are cool and the photos are epic but I ask – are the photos worth the risk? A thick layer of hairspray as the couple runs through a tunnel of flame. What could possibly go wrong?

If you’ve read this far, thank you from the bottom of my writing chair and know and understand this point. Maybe you cannot afford to hire a DJ, a photographer, and a videographer, and all the other hires that make it into the wedding day space. That’s ok. In fact, I admire you for admitting it and sticking to your budget. I salute your fiscal discipline. But there’s one thing you cannot do - don’t cut the cake!