Our amazing bakery!

Brandon and I had a plan. We were going to seek out THE best bakery in Chicago to make our dream wedding cake. So before we began our quest, we researched various bakeries on Yelp and through referrals. We then called around to set up tastings with the ones we had a good feeling about. But neither of us knew that our quest would end before it really began.

On Saturday, Jordan and Pam (our caterers from Jordan's Food of Distinction) surprised us with a sampling of Naomi Levine's (of Tipsy Cake in Humboldt Park) great work. We were left licking up the crumbs. Coincidentally, our first cake tasting was scheduled for the following Tuesday (yesterday) with none other than Naomi herself. 

We walked into our first cake tasting adamant that we were going to find the best baker in Chicago....and we did! Naomi's cakes were light and airy and her choices of fillings were absolutely amazing (try the peanut butter mousse, the raspberry infused chocolate mousse, the passionfruit...just try them all!) And her cakes look as good as they taste. She truly is an artist!

We had so much fun with her, that our tasting lasted almost two hours! She brought us out everything that we wanted, and after showing her my inspiration boards she came up with some really great ideas (our inspiration above). And best of all—her work is incredibly priced! 

If you're looking for a custom bakery to make the cake of your dreams (and believe me I dream of cake A LOT) be sure to give Naomi a call—just don't forget to tell her I sent you!

My new favorite Web site!

My co-worker and fellow bride-to-be, Chi-an turned me on to this amazing site! So if you're tired of the usual wedding frill and want unique, non-traditional accessories and accents in your wedding then you definitely need to check out Etsy.  This site is an online community that connects custom artists and craftsmen from over 150 countries to buyers like you and me. All of the items found on the site are handmade, and absolutely beautiful. They have an entire section dedicated to weddings where you can find everything from veils to guestbooks to custom paintings of your wedding gown.

A few of my faves:

This is an original, silk hairpiece created by Etsy artist
Virginia Geiger Jewel . It has a Swarovski pearl and crystal center, with a touch of soft feathers adding the perfect finish to a vintage bridal ensemble.

Paloma's Nest handcrafts unique, ceramic mementoes, including the Ring Bearer Bowl™ (seen right) which can be used later as an ornament or wall decoration—try hanging a dinky silk pillow on your Christmas tree...

 

And for the nerdiest of groomsmen, how about a pair of Lego cufflinks by artist qacreate. They come in a bunch of different colors that would look great when paired with Chuck Taylors of the same hue!