Oh. My. God.  I must have said that 20 times Sunday night when Felicia and I overdosed on DELICIOUS cupcakes from Sticky Fingers Bakery in Columbia Heights.  We joined them at their open house and are so glad we did!

If you don’t know about Sticky Fingers, they’re the only all-vegan bakery in the Washington, DC area.  That means no animal products at all…no eggs, no dairy…they’re all “cruelty free” all the time!  So not only is it great for vegans and vegetarians, but with all of the folks with allergies these days, it’s also great for people (like poor Felicia’s niece!) who are allergic to those same products.

So you’re probably thinking “Great, no eggs, no dairy…no taste” right?  Um, no.  These cupcakes were AMAZING.  And you’re not going to believe which one was my absolute favorite:

See that sign?  In addition to being vegan, my absolute favorite cupcake of the bunch was the chocolate GLUTEN FREE cupcake!!!  So it was also without wheat flour — great for those with Celiac disease who are unable to eat wheat products.  In fact, all of Sticky Fingers’ icings and fillings are gluten free (but be sure to ask which cakes and cupcakes are gluten free, since they are all vegan, but not all gluten free).

Actually, my favorite wasn’t the chocolate gluten free with chocolate icing — they also make the most AMAZING peanut butter icing — put that on a gluten free chocolate cupcake and you are in HEAVEN!  I won’t tell you what I said when I ate it…it’s not appropriate for a family friendly blog.  Let’s just say I was very happy in my tummy

Let’s take a look at some of the other goodies we had that night!

The cupcake above, on the left, is the vanilla cupcake with almond buttercream.  It tasted JUST like a wedding!  That sounds silly to say, but the adorable cake decorator, Kamber, put it perfectly — it really does taste like a wedding!

The chocolate ganache was the PERFECT texture…shiny, creamy (accomplished with the highest fat content soy milk they can find) and, by using the perfect dark chocolate, it’s SO SO GOOD!

Speaking of Kamber, this girl is AMAZING!  Not only did she decorate all of the cupcakes, but the table was decorated with all of these gorgeous flowers.  It took an eagle eyed Felicia to realize they were all SUGAR FLOWERS!

Is that not amazing?! There were all kinds of flowers — tulips, calla lilies, magnolias…you name it, she can do it!

Not only can she do cupcakes, she does GORGEOUS cakes!  From their web site, here are some great photos of weddings cakes she’s done:

LOVE the flowers on this next one:

What a perfect time of year for these cherry blossom cakes!

And does this cake look familiar?

It’s from Stephanie and Chris’ wedding in 2008 with Allison!

Not only can Sticky Fingers do wedding cakes, they can do great groom’s cakes too!

Lost fans (like me!) will love this one (hmm…maybe I can get a remake for the finale?!):

How cute is this cake, for a couple who met on a plane?

These berry cakes could be great for any occasion!

And, from a personal experience at Crafty Bastards a couple of years ago, your dessert table is not complete unless you have the following two desserts:

Cowvin Cookies, the greatest Oatmeal Cream Pie EVER –

And Little Devils –

Like an iced Devil Dog.  But SO MUCH BETTER.  Seriously — go to the store.  Eat them.  Email me and thank me.  You’re welcome

I feel the need to point out that this is NOT a sponsored post.  Believe me, if the cupcakes weren’t good, we would tell you (or, more likely, just not do a blog post about it, but would certainly tell you the truth if you asked about it).  But I was FLOORED at how good everything was at Sticky Fingers.  The staff there was SUPER nice, the cafe is adorable, filled with 50’s hot pink diner chairs and walls painted like dripping chocolate, and a case full of delicious treats!

Sticky Fingers also does catering with things like vegan “egg” salad and “chicken” salad sandwiches, breakfast pastries, and savory side dishes.  We were so full from cupcakes we didn’t try anything, but if you’re a vegan couple, it’s a great option for lunch while the girls are getting their hair done before the wedding or a casual rehearsal picnic.

Sticky Fingers delivers weddings cakes throughout the DC area.  You can email Kamber to talk about their wedding options.  Let us know if you’re a fan too!

“Free Wedding Cake for Washington DC-Area Military Men and Women

Fluffy Thoughts Cakes, a McLean, Virginia based specialty bakery, are offering a free wedding cake to a member of our armed forces serving in the Washington, DC metro area. Fluffy Thoughts Cakes will be accepting entries for the free wedding cake beginning now through November 1, 2009. The recipient will be selected on Verteran’s Day November 11th, 2009.

To qualify, the bride or groom must be a member of the military and must be getting married in 2010 in the Washington, DC metro area. To enter the give-away, the applicant should send an email to Fluffy Thoughts Cakes at lara8@aol.com including the following contact information: Name, Phone Number, Wedding Date, Location of Wedding.  Additionally, please include: why you should win a free wedding cake and a photo of the couple.”

We’ve worked with Lara several times over the years and she consistently brings beautiful cakes that are darn tasty too!  Here are just a couple of the creations she’s brought to Wish weddings:

Stacey & Todd’s cake at The Washington Club:

Laurie & Rod’s cherry blossom cake at Meadowlark:

Rob & Maya’s cake at the Hotel Monaco:

Victoria & Michael’s damask cake at the Westin Grand:

Gorgeous, no?  See more yummy cake designs on the Fluffy Thoughts blog!

::Disclaimer!  The photos in this post are purely inspirational and not from events that Wish Special Events has planned or coordinated (except where noted with links to ‘real weddings’).  We can re-create what you see below for your event but these are not a part of our portfolio::

Okay, so we’ve covered chocolate cakes, we’ve covered “traditional cakes,” and we’ve even talked about non cakes! Now let’s talk about…well, unusual cakes.  Gone are the days that you have to have a five tiered wedding cake with plastic columns and a Precious Moments cake topper.  (Wait…were those ever the days?)  These days you can have cupcakes, layer cakes, mini cakes…whatever you want!

One of my favorite trends is, rather than having one cake, having a group of lots of different types of cakes!  I mean, not everyone likes the same kind of cake, right?  I have to think this way is cheaper too, don’t you think?  And oh, the possibilities for awesome cake stands!

Here’s Kelly & Jason’s cake table from their wedding in May:

I especially love Nicole & Matt’s cake centerpieces!  :::shhh::: this is a sneak peek.  Their wedding hasn’t even been blogged yet:

(How perfect do these cakes look – yum!)

Another trend that SO many people love is cupcakes!  Laura told you about a new cupcake store in Fair Lakes recently, but there are TONS of amazing cupcake shops in our area!

I love that idea of having a little mini cake for the bride and groom to cut on top of a tower of cupcakes!

Or even a cute GIANT cupcake for them to feed each other!

Of course, there are plenty of options for those couples who still want a wedding cake, but want it to be different.

How completely preppy is this cake?

Take the Cake:

Rebecca McAlfin Photography:

Michelle’s Custom Cakes:

Gabriel’s Desserts:

Of course, you can’t have a post on unusual cakes without featuring semi-local favorite, Charm City Cakes:

I also love the idea of a bunch of mini cakes…too cute! 

Or what about a tower of mini cheesecakes!  (My sister had cheesecake instead of wedding cake…I remember fondly my cousins in my hotel room at 2 in the morning, eating leftover cheesecake!)

Speaking of cheesecake, some couples have decided to go COMPLETELY out of the box and have a Cheese. Cake.  As in a cake, made of wheels of cheese!!! (ed. note: In addition to working at Wish, I also work part time at a shop in Del Ray called Cheesetique.  I’m DYING for someone to ask us to do one of these!!!)

Are you going the non-traditional route for your wedding cake?

::Disclaimer!  The photos in this post are purely inspirational and not from events that Wish Special Events has planned or coordinated (except where noted with links to ‘real weddings’).  We can re-create what you see below for your event but these are not a part of our portfolio::

Remember that episode of Friends where Joey was auditioning for a commercial, and the line was “Mmm…soup” except Joey kept saying “Mmm…noodle soup” and messing it up?  That’s how I felt when writing this blog post.  I kept looking at certain cakes and thinking “Mmm…chocolate cake” instead of just “mmm…cake.”  I realized the only way to resolve this issue was to write a separate blog post on more “traditional” cakes. You can read that one here.  This one is for you chocoholics out there.

I remember a few years ago when my friends Brian and Kristine got married.  I set them up on a date at Maggiano’s and the rest was history.  Yes, I’m not only a wedding planner, I’m a matchmaker too!  Kristine wanted a chocolate cake but her mother was appalled — “You have to have a REAL wedding cake!”  Well, what she meant was that they had to have a white cake.  Oh, how the times have changed!  Yes, of course, a white cake still says “Wedding Cake,” but there are SO many other amazing options out there, and not just the crazy ones you see on Ace of Cakes.  Even a simple chocolate cake with chocolate icing can still look very ‘bridal:’

I am in lovewith this next one.  Buttercream is my favorite type of icing.  You just can’t beat the taste!  This cake just looks SO delicious, but also beautiful.  The swirls just seem rustic and homemade to me, like my mom made it or something (granted, if my mom made it, it would be falling over, but you know what I mean!)

I’m not sure why chocolate cakes just seem so fall-like to me?  Maybe because the color brown is associate with fall?  This cake, photographed by Laura Novak, will explain what I mean:

Or this one from Martha’s magazine:

Or these, also from Martha:

Photos Unscripted:

Then again, look at this beauty — raspberries aren’t very fall-like, are they?

And let’s take a look inside, shall we??  In the words of Carrie Bradshaw, “Hello, Lover“:

I like the idea of three layers, like a dark chocolate bottom, milk chocolate middle and white chocolate top?

And more Martha Stewart goodness:

I love the glossy ganache-look of this cake, by Jeffrey Miller Catering:

Here’s another gorgeous, glossy, ganache one from Heather & Geoffrey’s wedding in 2006:

I sometimes feel like cakes as gorgeous as this one, baked by Natasha Goellner of Natasha’s Mulberry and Mott, are too beautiful to cut into!

Will you be serving chocolate cake at your wedding?  Is your mom okay with that?!

::Disclaimer!  The photos in this post are purely inspirational and not from events that Wish Special Events has planned or coordinated (except where noted).  We can re-create what you see below for your event but these are not a part of our portfolio.

I guess what I mean by traditional is…well…not chocolate.  And really, it’s not like it can’t be chocolate on the inside, right?  These cakes could be red velvet, devil’s food, who knows what on the inside!  But this post is dedicated to what people “traditionally” think of as wedding cakes.

First, let’s start out with all white cakes.  All white cakes scream “WEDDING,” but that doesn’t mean they have to scream “BORING”!  In fact, these cakes, in my opinion, are nothing short of amazing!

Emilie Inc. Photography:

Martha Stewart Weddings:

Amy Sandoval Photography:

Of course, there are lots of great ways to spruce up a white cake.  One of my favorites is with the simple addition of ribbon, either real or sugar (mmm…sugar…)

Amy Squires:

Jonathan Canlas Photography:

A simple version from the St. Regis hotel at Meaghan & Kevin’s wedding:

Mi Belle Photography:

Martha Stewart Weddings:

Strickland Portraiture:

Another option, as you’ve seen on a few cakes above, is to add flowers.  You can also add elements such as berries, leaves, or fruit!

Unforgettable Wedding Cakes by Ramona:

Ron Ben Israel:

Of course, a traditional cake doesn’t have to be round:

Chris Baltazar:

Cake by the Jekyll Island Club Hotel:

Walters and Walters Photography:

Love Life Images:

In fact, it can still be “traditional” and not even be white!

Martha Stewart Weddings:

And then there are those that definitely push the envelope of “traditional”, either by their color:

Their nuttiness (Photos Unscripted):

Or, in the case of this Ron Ben Israel creation, their complete and total awesomeness:

Are you having a “traditional” cake at your wedding?  How will you make it your own?