TGIF! What a whirlwind week. It’s no surprise that there is A LOT that goes into a new business, but Jill and I have been working feverishly to get ourselves off the ground this week and loving every minute! We’ve had some great opportunities to network and grow our knowledge base. You can read all about them on Pursuing Our Passion. Thanks to all of you for the positive response so far!
***
This week hasn’t been all work, however. Last night, after receiving a tweet from my good friend Kristin, I had an incredible opportunity to visit the Stephen Hamilton studio for a FREE wedding tasting and vendor event! If you haven’t heard of Stephen Hamilton, you must check out his site.
Foodie heaven, right?
Anyway, back to the event 🙂 When Jill and I arrived — she was my date for the evening — we were in awe of the splendor that surrounded us. Wedding vendors all over the city of Chicago went all out for the attendees, dressing the entire studio in glitz, glamour and sparkle.
Apologies in advance for the slightly out of focus photos — I did the best I could in the mood lighting 😉
Eventually, I decided to bite the bullet and use a flash in order to make sure these beautiful cakes came out. How gorgeous is the one in the center?! It’s bold, bright and delicious. Three amazing qualities!
Jill and I started by checking out the cocktails. We were so impressed by the setup: a whole range of fresh fruits that allowed us the chance to create our own ideal mix.
I chose blackberries, raspberries and strawberries with fresh mint, rum and lime. It was a delicious mixture! They also added club soda and simple syrup. It was very sweet, but overall a nice way to unwind on a Thursday evening.
Next up, we decided to visit the Indian and Korean BBQ stands. Crazy it sounds, I’m not too familiar with either type of food, so I was very intrigued!
Here was my Indian plate, which included Naan covered in a green and peanut sauce, samosas, a Tandoori chicken skewer and bhel puri — the mini ice cream cone!
I was a big fan of everything on this plate. The bhel puri was such a tiny taste that I didn’t get as good of a feel for it, but the flavors were so intense and unique that everything blended together quite well.
At the Korean BBQ table, we were given the opportunity to make tacos!
The sauce was slightly spicy but not overwhelming. This was the perfect mini size for doing a lot of tasting. I’d love to explore more of Korean BBQ and venture into other recipes.
After the main meal, it was time to check out the desserts!
This dessert table came courtesy of (cacao) sweets & treats in Chicago. Seriously — out of this world! The milk chocolate below was covered in sea salt and was the perfect combination of salty and sweet. After taking a bite, I realized that there was a fudge brownie center.
BLISS!
The white chocolate was just as mouthwatering. It melted into a creamy, coconutty treat.
I am definitely a fan and have made it a mission to find this bakery someday!
Next up — CUPCAKES!!
Our first stop was Sugar Bliss, which had the most adorable flower tops. I tried red velvet. The cream cheese frosting was very rich, but tasted wonderful.
Our next stop was More cupcakes. We were super impressed with this company because they brought pretty much any flavor you could imagine: salted caramel, red velvet, rich chocolate…and cocktails! They had piña colada, white Russian and more. I went with the margarita, which came with a real lime and salt on top! I felt like I was drinking eating the real thing.
Last but not least, we tried a Mexican chocolate cupcake — hot, hot, hot!
This cupcake had a hard outer shell with a creamy chocolate mousse inside. It was also a bit spicy! I was not quite as big of a fan of this one, but it was still an interesting take on your typical flavor.
By the end of the night, we were on a major sugar high — good thing the cupcakes were small enough so that we could try more of the flavors 😉 I’m all about the volume eating!
Here I am with my “fiance” for the evening!
It was a really great event and I look forward to checking into some of these businesses in the future. It helped generate a lot of ideas for my own wedding, too. Free food and great ideas? I’d call that a success!
Question:
What’s your take on the cupcake craze taking over weddings? Do you prefer cake?
Hope you have a fun weekend ahead of you!
Abrazos,
Can I be your fiance if you ever attend an event like this again?! I’ll fly/drive/train out to Chicago in a heartbeat!
I’m a cake fan, all the way. There’s something that’s overly cutesy with the cupcake craze, unless they’re extremely well done and fancy, which are just as expensive as a fantastic cake! I do however, LOVE cupcakes and need to go to one of the cupcake bakeries in the city… you game?
Wow!
Holy Moly!
Amazing pics, amazing eats 😀
Have a great weekend, girl!
Brazilian XOXO´s,
Gabriela
CAKE! Although I’m not sure I’m going to have any at my brother’s wedding next week. So far I’ve avoided all sweets.
don’t know why I wrote next week. It’s next month…April 24.
all the weddings i’ve been to that have had cupcakes also had a real cake too….so i guess i’m not opposed as long as there is sufficient cakey goodness to go around!
Everything looked amazing!! Especially the dessert table…YUM!
That center cake… OH MY GOODNESS! How gorgeous!
I say cupcakes are fine if its what someone wants for their wedding. I mean, no you can’t get the effect of an entire decorated cake but I have seen cupcakes arranged in cool designs and it is a lot easier for guests to just grab one. I always figured people who loved icing would want cupcakes more just because each one has so much 🙂
Hi love!!!! What a fun wedding!!! Indian food! YESSSSSSSSSSS! And aren’t samosas the best?! Amazing! The taco sounds good too!! Korean BBQ is quite the experience. If you ever get a chance to go with a Korean who can order for you and show you the traditional authentic-ness (NICE word choice, ya?!)- definitely go!!! It is a feast for the tummy and eyes, and so much fun!!!
I’m not sure how I feel about cupcakes- I think mini ones are fun, esp. if there are multiple cakes, but otherwise, I also like the idea of a traditional cake….which is def. more messy, but more fun too IMO!
i love you sooo!
happy weekend beautiful!!
~gc
That is total foodie heaven! Call me old school but I think a wedding should have a big cake. Cupcakes are nice but you need a cake too. The cake is the best part of the wedding – besides the whole getting-married-thing 🙂
Ahhh that looks to die for! I love all of thsoe cocktails. 😉 I really love cupcakes, but I did not want them at my wedding. Every wedding I have been to that has had cupcakes – the cupcakes are pretty dry and stale – I’m assuming because they need to make SO many in such a short amount of time.
I had cake at my wedding (chocolate cake with chocolate fudge center, covered in white chocolate frosting w/ white chocolate curls!) and had cupcakes at my shower – that way I got my fix. 🙂
I was married almost 2 years ago, so I don’t think the cupcake craze had really started yet. I did have cupcakes at my wedding, mainly because the theme of the wedding was very relaxed and a huge, overdone cake would have been out of place. I think it really depends on what you are going for in the wedding. Cupcakes worked for my laid, back outdoor wedding- but if was indoor and formal I would go with cake.
Wow what an awesome event!! I love those cakes and the cute desserts 🙂
Those cupcakes are adorable, but I think I will always be a cake person. There is something about the layers and the forstings and fillings, and layers! I love the cake with the tree, by the way, that one is absolutely gorgeous!
Looks like you are having a blast with the new business and planning for your wedding. You are certainly living a little fairy tale!!
That looks like my dream event! So much fun! The Indian food looks great- my mom might be getting married soon and I suggested a vegetarian Indian buffet. She loved the idea! (Now to find a Kosher Indian caterer in Scotland…lol).
As much as I LOVE cupcakes, I think for my wedding I would want just one big cake. Plus maybe some cupcakes alongside…you can never have too much cake, right?!
this post makes me want to get married again. or at least pretend so i can eat stuff like that.
Wowwwww! I’m so glad you were able to make it. What a beautiful evening. I think cupcakes aren’t a bad idea, as long as you have small cake to keep for your first anniversary! Good luck planning your special day! 🙂 (and thanks for the link)
What a fun event! I never had the opportunity to go to any of the classy wedding events. The ones I attended were NOTHING like this!!!
Congrats again on the company! I am so proud of you!
Thank you so much, Sabrina! It truly means a lot 🙂 Congrats to YOU on Bootcamp Philly! I wish I could attend a class…hopefully someday!
I like cupcakes, but I can’t imagine a wedding without a cake…how do you cut a cupcake with your new husband? I mean, those are some good pictures, the cake cutting! 🙂
I had mini cupcakes at my wedding and they were a huge hit. We chose about 6 different flavors and everyone liked the variety. Plus, we had more of a cocktail reception so the mini’s were easier to eat:)
I love cupcakes, but gosh I REALLY love cake. And to be honest, when I’m at a wedding, I want a big slab of cake, not one measly cupcake! At my wedding, I had 4 different flavors, and to this day people are still talking about it:)
Chocolate w/ chocolate fudge frosting, banana w/ cream cheese frosting, yellow w/ fudge frosting, and white w/ raspberry filling….yum!
Oh my gosh, what an amazing wedding! Just the cocktail bar alone is incredible. I can only imagine what that gorgeous food tasted like!
I do love the idea of little cupcakes at weddings, and they are so much more convenient than slicing wedding cake for some many people. However, I guess I’m a traditionalist at heart and really prefer the cake 🙂
omg that dessert table…
i love indian food. tandoori chicken is so tasty and so healthy!
That looks like such a fun event! I definitely like traditional cake, but cupcakes are delicious too 🙂
ah! What a fun event!!! The cakes and cupcakes are beautiful! I would be all about the Mexican cupcake. I like the idea of cupcakes- they make for a really pretty display and you can choose multiple flavors so everyone can get something they like! Hope you’re having a good week so far chicky
Oh my! All those chocolates look mouth-watering! Yum! Looks like a fun time to be there tasting away!
And the cakes are just gorgeous! The middle one is very unique with its colours! Wow!
Oh my, everything looks HEAVENLY!
I think the cupcake craze is cute at weddings… I’m actually doing a wedding cake for my friend’s wedding and almost wish I could have just done cupcakes instead! So much easier… 😉
I’m very impressed that you are doing a wedding cake for your friend! I would love to see a picture of the final product 🙂
As long as there is good frosting, I don’t care if it is cake or cupcake.
Looks like an awesome foodie event!