We recently celebrated an exciting milestone…5 years in business! It has been so incredible to watch my company grow from a mere idea in my Las Vegas apartment to where we are at today.
When my team and I started conceptualizing the look for our big 5 year bash {#BBFAB5}, we enlisted the help of Renee Price from Kehoe Designs to help us pull it all together. We wanted a look that was chic, stylish, and on-trend — enter the black & white motif {hello Spring!}. To really bring this theme to life, we partnered with some of our favorite vendors in the city; and on March 5th {despite the cold, blustery and snowy day}, we threw a pretty fabulous fete {if we do say so ourselves}!
The Chicago Illuminating Company’s newest venue, Room 21, was the perfect backdrop, with a built-in white tufted bar and elements of white and black scattered throughout the modern space.
Kehoe Designs went above and beyond incorporating our black and white theme into the décor and florals.
They created custom banners that ran down the center of their Hudson highboy tables with fun phrases that describe Boutique Bites such as ‘Fashion to Fork’, ‘Couture Catering’, ‘Stylish Minis’, and ‘Culinary Chic’.
Since our theme was black & white, with a pop of purple, and considering this was a party that was all about the food, Kehoe Designs made sure to incorporate some food elements in the florals. Baby eggplants nestled into lush flower arrangements really brought this concept to life.
Private Label Linens provided a gorgeous white petal taffeta linen (quite the statement piece and my current favorite!) and striped black and white linen for the highboys and cabaret tables provided by Tablescapes Party Rentals {our go-to rental company}. Black and white mirage chairs and black chaivari bar chairs {also provided by Tablescapes Party Rentals} were the perfect complement to our tables.
The star of the evening was the food, of course; and there was plenty of it to go around. The bar, perfectly situated at the front of the space, was themed ‘Champagne Wishes & Caviar Dreams’. Upon entering the party, guests were greeted with a champagne tower of Veuve Clicquot and our oh-so-chic purple potato chips with crème fraiche and osetra caviar.
Our specialty cocktail was aptly named the ‘Fab 5’ {not only because we were turning 5, but because it only requires 5 ingredients}. It was garnished with fresh lavender and passed on a beautiful custom recipe coaster made by Elizabeth Grace.
Passed Hors D’oeuvres included:
Lobster Tacos
Mini Chicago-Style Hot Dogs
Mini Chicken Tacos
Mini Paella Bites
Mini Reuben Sandwiches
Mini Beet & Goat Cheese Towers
Mini Cheeseburgers in couture containers resembling Louis Vuitton’s Damier-inspired collection {made by Erickson Design}
An Artisanal Cheese Station paired drunken goat, saint andre, and p’tit basque with white wine, fig & apricot jams, marinated olives, and wafer crackers.
The ‘Vintage Couture’ food station showcased retro bites that are getting oh so popular. 
Tablescapes Party Rentals provided all of the adorable mini vessels for our food station as well as all of the beautiful glassware we used throughout the evening.
Our Vintage Couture Station included:
Mini Chicken Potpies
Braised Beef Short Rib ‘Shepherd’s Pie’ in a mini ramekin
Melon Gelee with Prosciutto & Radish served in mini white skillets
Lobster Mac N Cheese served in mini mason jars
Just when guests thought that might be it, we started passing late night breakfast bites. Ham, Egg & Cheese Biscuit Bites didn’t last long…who doesn’t love breakfast for dinner?!
Of course, no menu is complete without a sweet ending, so once again we surprised our guests with mini churros and rootbeer floats. Laura from Elizabeth Grace really helped us keep our theme going until the very end by providing all of the signage for the evening, including these beautiful labels for our mini churro “bags”.
Rather than a step & repeat, we wanted to mix things up a bit and came up with the concept for a ‘Tweet & Eat’ wall filled with black and white balloons {obsessed!} as the backdrop. Guests posed for pics with their mini bites, then tweeted & instagrammed them with the hashtag #bbfab5.
Amanda from Amanda Hein Photography captured every inch of the party beautifully.
Matt from Okyne Media Lab kept the party going until well past the end time on the invitation {always a good sign of a party}.
Al + Stacy Okyne, owners of Okyne Media Lab
Thank you to my wonderful team, everyone who came out to celebrate, and all of our amazing clients and vendor partners who have supported my business throughout the years.
Cheers to another fabulous 5!
*Special thanks to Amanda Hein for capturing everything so beautifully! For even more fun, check out our album on Facebook
Boutique Bites 