Awesome Wedding Cake . . .and the wedding was pretty cool, too!

We are in that stage of life (middle aged mom and pop) where we receive lots of wedding invitations. I am so thankful for all of the friends that our kids have had over the years. We've been to some really cool locations/rehearsal dinner venues/reception venues over the last two or three years but we recently went someplace new!! We were invited to Jamie and Jenn's wedding and it was held at Oak Island on Lay Lake. We found driving directions and started our drive. The location was about 45 minutes away and we travelled some roads that were new to us.  We saw lots of fields planted with tomatoes and other veggies.  We also saw the horse farm where our dentist lives!! 

When we arrived, the first thing we saw upon entering the house was this cake.  How cool is that cake?  Jamie is in medical school and is obviously an Auburn grad.  I love this cake.  The Fondant icing is yucky tasting (why don't they make it taste better?  Tastes sort of like a stale marshmallow smashed flat) but you sure can do lots with it.  The inside of the cake tasted like a hoho (I think that is what those little cakes were called) - maybe Little Debbie made them????

The bride's cake was lovely also but just couldn't compare to the groom's cake.  Recently I found out that having a groom's cake is a southern thing!!  Who knew?  I sure didn't.

We had to wait in line for the restroom and when we came out, I heard someone call my maiden name.  I was thinking how weird is that?  Anyway, the person who now owns Oak Island and Antebellum Weddings went to high school with me.  She and her sister (also went to our high school) were both there.  What an incredibly small world.  Then we turned around and our sweet daughter-in-love, Lauren, was there.  Glenn was in the wedding and we were excited to see both of them.

This venue is so cool for lots of reasons.  (they are not paying me to write this article - as a matter of fact, they don't even know I have a blog)  The outside location is spectacular.  Huge green lawns surrounded by water.  The inside of the home is beautiful also.  I really loved all the white lights.  One of my favorite things about Oak Island is that the wedding party met there on Friday night and had the rehearsal and then they had the rehearsal dinner.  I don't know all the details but I do know the wedding party had to help clean up after the rehearsal dinner??  Anyway, I'm sure that alcohol was served and the beauty of this location is that the wedding party was able to spend the night!  What a great idea.  It was like a great big house party for them all weekend.  Glenn and Lauren took us upstairs to show us where they slept.  They were on the third floor and there were several bedrooms and bathrooms and a small kitchen and a huge playroom area with a tv and games, etc. 

We were so excited to see so many of Glenn and Lauren's Auburn friends at the wedding.  We have missed all of them.  Levi was there.  We are so proud of Levi - he is going to seminary!!  He will shake up some church in the future!!

That pink building is the boathouse.  We didn't go inside but I've never seen such a fancy boathouse from the outside.  The groomsmen all walked in with sunglasses on.  They looked so cool!

After the wedding, we all made our way back up to the house.  Oak Island is truly one stop shopping.  The reception was also held there. I love how all of the brides and grooms are doing different things as their "guest book."  Jamie and Jennifer had a huge picture frame and we all wrote a message on the mat that will surround the picture.

Here is Mark with his sons.  Mark is a happy happy man when he is with these young men.  Glenn is on the left and Kaylor is on Mark's right.  Levi is next and then Michael.  We truly love these boys almost as much as our own kids.  I first typed as much as our own kids then I thought - not exactly - but almost!!  Mark has always had names for each of them - one is the good son - I've told y'all this before in a previous post . . .another wedding!!!

This is a sweet group picture.  Michael and Laura P. were the first ones of the group to get married.  Glenn and Lauren were next.  Kaylor and Sarah seem pretty serious but I don't have the scoop on that one.  Levi is single right now.

I was one happy middle-aged momma because I got to see my boy.

Here are a couple of pictures of the inside of the house set up for the reception.  Really lovely.

Our friends, Tim and Marietta, were in charge of the light and sound.  They are such good people and such good friends.  They did the music at Glenn and Lauren's wedding reception also.  He does it because he loves these boys.  (that is my opinion :-) Tim had colored lights - the kind that change - for the "dance floor." I think the dance floor is also the parking pad for the house.  You can just barely see the car in the background.  It was an antique car and I believe it was Jamie's grandfather's car and he drove them around the house a couple of times as their "going away" and then they came back to party some more.

Tim and Jon and Marietta created this light monogram.  It was so unique.  I had never seen anything like it before.  I loved it and I'm sure that Jamie and Jennifer loved it, too!!  Tim and Marietta and Jon are all three so talented.

I took this picture so I'm not in it but these three women and I have raised our families together.  We were together many years ago in a "circle" at church.  We've been in various Bible studies together.  We all have sons that have remained close friends over the years.  Jon is not in the picture with Mark (the "sons").  I think he was helping his parents at that point.  Marietta had been working all day and had only time to run in and freshen up.  I thought she looked lovely and fresh as a daisy!!

The one thing that I wish I had known was that lunch was not provided for the wedding party on Saturday. To be honest, that is something I could have offered to do if I had any idea. It would have been easy to gather some picnic type items and take it down to the location. Glenn said they went into town  and went to the dollar general and bought frozen microwaveable pizzas and had those for lunch (which by the way, this venue is located in a tiny town in Alabama - not a city). There weren't any fast food restaurants, etc. around. The location was beautiful, the wedding and reception were fun and we loved being with friends and family. Our prayer is for Jamie and Jennifer to have many years of a good strong Christian marriage!!