Michael Oher, Who Inspired 'The Blind Side', Shows Off His Nearly 5-Foot Wedding Cake Covered in Feathers
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Michael Oher and wife Tiffany Roy's wedding cake was a showstopper.
The retired pro football player, whose life inspired The Blind Side, exchanged vows with longtime partner Tiffany Roy at the JW Marriot in Nashville, Tennessee, on Nov. 5. Their whimsical wedding included ballerina performances and ethereal décor. With the help of Tennessee-based Jo's Custom Cakes & Catering, their towering cake featured the theme's delicate touches.
The seven-tier confection was nearly 5 feet tall and, when elevated off the floor, it was 7.5 feet — even taller than Oher.
"When putting together the design concepts for the wedding, I knew I wanted the cake to be large. Since Mike is such a tall groom, it had to match him," Roy tells PEOPLE. "Also, since it was a focal point of the room it had to be a stunner."
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The dessert's layers consisted of three different flavors — amaretto, strawberry and chocolate — with Jo's signature buttercream icing. Jo West, the owner and primary cake designer worked with co-designer Mary Griffis to put together the labor of love. West confirms to PEOPLE that only three of the layers were real, and the rest were dummy cakes. (It's not uncommon for wedding cake designers to have only a few tiers be real cake, and the rest be dummy cakes.)
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As for designs, the stunner was embellished with "close to 200" feathers consisting of rice paper sails, West says.
The couple's wedding planner and designer Tiffanie Elliott tells PEOPLE the cake mirrored the overall atmosphere of the wedding.
"We wanted something with movements that would resemble feathers and wings seen through the décor and on the ballerinas costumes," she says.
Roy worked with Elliott to transform the property's ballroom into a heavenly experience draped in white with blue accents, glass elements, 8-foot-tall florals and crystals.
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Along with the cake, Elliot says Roy's love of feathers was incorporated in the invitation details, décor and her ÉLYSÉE by Enzoani wedding dress. Taking the theme even further, ballerinas circled the newlyweds during their first dance before they performed a choreographed number to "This is Why I Love You" by Will Davenport.
As for more food highlights, espresso martinis were served in an ice luge, and dinner consisted of sassafras braised beef short ribs, wasabi cream red snapper and bourbon marinated chicken with creamy Carolina Gold rice and grilled asparagus.
