Photo Shoot Friday: Cake for dinner

Last night my friend Lauren invited me to the Astor Center for the "Eat.Drink.Be Married." event. It was basically like going to a wedding reception, only there wasn't a bride and groom and I didn't have to spend money I don't have on a present.

I had never been to the Astor Center before, so it was really cool to check it out. It would be a great place to have a wedding reception, bridal shower or any other big event. I put my name in the raffle to win cooking lessons and a dinner for 14 people (worth $5,000!)--I would diiie if I won.

When I entered the room, I was overwhelmed with wedding cakes (in a good way), but I wanted something savory before I started the taste testing, so I tried this tempura fried grape gorgonzola appetizer. Delicious.

This cake from Cake Alchemy is a bit flashy for my taste, but it certainly caught my eye. Wow.

The cookies from Fatty Cakes are called The Movie Theatre. Why? It's a chocolate chip cookie made with buttered popcorn and Swedish Fish. I was a bit wary at first, but they were actually really good! And, you can even request your own custom mix! Throw in some Milk Duds and I think we'd have my perfect cookie.

I attacked a piece of carrot cake from Love Street Cakes. It was heavenly.

The next three cakes are from How Sweet It Is. (My grandfather used to always say that, How sweet it is! Aw.) They were certainly some of the most creative cakes I saw all night! I thought this one was really groovy.

The present cake! I've actually had a cake like this before. The icing was a bit thick and not really practical, but the cuteness factor more than made up for it.

I thought this abstract cake was cool, but I'd be worried it would tip over!

After a few sweet bites, I was ready to hit the meats and cheese station. 

This bite of chicken pot pie is easily one of the cutest things I have ever seen.

Here's Lauren with her grape martini! I tried one and it was good, but I'm not really a martini kind of gal. I visited the wine tasting station several times. Ohh and we went to the champagne tasting presentation where we learned about fermentation and all that shit. Yeah, I was more focused on the actual tasting part! My ears perked up though when I heard that you can get great bottles of champage at Astor Wine & Spirits (just downstairs from where we were) for like $7! Score.

How awesome are these NYC cookies from Eleni's?

And look at these bride and groom cookies! Presh. The ladies at the table asked if I was planning a wedding. I said "no" and that's where the conversation abruptly ended. Right.

What a cool event! I'm not even going to let myself feel guilty about all my indulgences. I mean, how often do you get to experience something like that? So tell me: What's your favorite wedding food? Of course I love the cake, but I tend to be more of a cocktail hour gal--meats, cheeses, and bite-sized apps are my fave!