Since moving to Chicago I am amazed at the variety of vendors and choices you have as a bride and groom.  Recently I came across a bakery like none that I have ever seen: The Bleeding Heart Bakery. They were the first certified Organic Bakery in Chicago and have lived up to their mission since, always changing their menu but staying true to their out of the box organic style.

This is one of the few bakeries where punk rock and delicious pastries go together.  Its funky style, and scrumptious sweets are addicting.  Their mission is simple: “to create edgy yet beautiful pastries that provoke thought and emotion and is above all, superior in taste and always organic.” Over on Belmont and Damen, Michelle Garcia is taking baking to a new level!!  She is showing everyone how delicious organic foods can be and still manages to have time to incorporate events such as canned food drives and knocking on doors selling cupcakes for Obama.

Is your mouth beginning to water by looking at these cupcakes? Would you believe me if I told you they were gluten free?  Bleeding Heart Bakery is able to make vegan look and sound salivating even to every carnivore out there! Many brides have incorporated this bakery into their big day and have uniquely wonderful creations for their cakes. A few of my favorites are shown below but if you want to see most of their artistic ability visit their flickr page: Bleeding Heart Bakery.

I adore the designs on these cakes and can’t even begin to imagine what the flavor of each one is, all organic, all the time!  If you are in the area, stop by this bakery and meet Michelle and Vinny and try one of the many tasty treats they have available!

Check out their website: Bleeding Heart Organic Bakery.

I LOVE sweets.  But I am not a cake person, so when it came time to choose my wedding cake flavor I didn’t have much of a preference.  I always heard about how much fun it is to go to the cake tasting, with the millions of flavors and icing choices!  I left that decision mainly to my husband.  If I had heard about this idea sooner maybe I would have taken an extra piece of cake on my wedding day.  Rice Krispie Treats are my weakness, and having an entire cake made of rice krispies is what I would call my perfect day!

You might not believe me when I tell you that the cake above was made purely of rice krispie treats…but that is the wonderful thing about the recent artists that took on baking!  They can take any flavor or texture and turn it into a beautiful creation!

Scrumptious marshmallow goodness will await you on your wedding day if you choose this specialty cake flavor! It will also save you some money in the budget due to the fewer ingredients and less time that is spent baking.  You can still find a unique cake topper and decorate with the same flowers you had planned to use, but this is something that your guests will definitely not be expecting!

If you still want the traditional cake on your wedding day with the different flavors and icings, consider having a rice krispie grooms cake or building miniature rice krispie cakes and giving them away as favors.  This could be a great DIY project! Look for a future blog post on how to make Rice Krispie Treat favors!!

If you decide to have this unique style of wedding cake…make sure you invite me

What flavor of cakes have you done that are outside the norm?

Sources: Manis Bakery, Cup Cake Tree, Richardson Wedding Blog, Art of Dessert