Jen + Mike

Jen and Mike's wedding is one that gives us the warm + fuzzies! Such a sweet, thoughtful and amazing couple, and all their lovely qualities shined through on their wedding day. Set in the incredible pavilion at Lake Rabun, Jen + Mike's wedding was the perfect summer night,  full of romance and rustic grace. From the blueberries in Jen's bouquet to the runners on the guest tables, the little details of this wedding were perfection. Amanda Dana with Ashley Baber Weddings help ensure every one of those details were on point, coordinating throughout the night. We love, love, love the hanging flower installations, and all of the florals done by the ever ingenious women of Amy Osaba. Jen's hair + makeup were done by the fabulous Raney O'Keefe,  and Ashley + Graham of Scobey Photography knocked it out of the park with their fantastic photography.

Guests started the night with miniature take out boxes with our pad thai + baby lamb chops with watercress romesco sauce + caprese salad skewers. Their dinner menu featured our tapas stations, including a low country boil + a quesadilla station + a traditional carving station with prime rib. Their guests also enjoyed late night bites, including hand passed beignets + mini milkshakes with chocolate mini donuts + Alison's famous meatloaf sliders with sundried tomato mayo.  

So simple and lovely, Jen + Mike's is that kind of wedding we look back at and sigh, wishing we could do a hundred more just like it. Congratulations!! Hope there are many relaxing summer nights at the lake in your life together. 

Cheers,

SIMB

Win a North Georgia Wine Weekend Getaway

We can't get enough of our Crane Creek Wines and we want to share the experience with you. Come into Sun in my Belly this week for brunch or dinner and enter your information at the front counter to win a weekend in the North Georgia Mountains. The wonderful weekend away will include a tasting +  tour at Crane Creek Vineyards, delicious food from yours truly, and some special surprises.

Come in and get familiar with our selective wine list-- you won't want to miss these amazing wines:
Villard Noir- This dry rose is produced in the classic French style from the red winegrape, Villard Noir. Limited skin contact at crush provides the delicate color and body to this wine. A wonderful salad wine, and a great treat for brunch or lunch.
Seyval Blanc- One of Crane Creek's first wines, we think Seyval defines their vineyards + winemaking style. It's a perfect accompaniment to fish and chicken and would also be wonderful with a caesar salad! 
Enotah White- YUMMY, rich, buttery and right up our alley. Crafted from the French American hybrid grape, Chardonel, this wine is produced in a classic Chardonnay style. 75% fermentation in new Virginia oak and 25% in stainless steel gives this white a supple mouth feel with subtle buttery overtones without being over oaked. 
Mountain Harvest Red-  This fruit forward semi-sweet wine is a versatile food wine which easily pairs with a multitude of dishes. Its low tannin and softness make it the "white wine drinker's red".
Hellbender-  This unique, big, bold red is a single varietal wine produced from the native American grape Norton. Not for the faint of heart, this red pairs beautifully with red meat dishes and hearty stews. It's one of our favorites!

And we are excited to announce Sun in my Belly's Wineclub details! Become a member for 25% off 6 bottles of Crane Creek's finest. You'll receive the five wines listed above, plus the very special Sweet Sally, the ultimate summertime wine. This sweet picnic wine, is a perfect accompaniment with decks, picnic blankets, Saturday cookouts and good times with good friends. Email us at wineclub@suninmybelly.com to become a member of our latest arrival--Wineclub-- so you can be the first to find out about future wine deals. 

We'll see you here this week for your chance to win!

Cheers,

SIMB

Here we grow

We've got big news that we can't wait to share with all of our friends, fans and fellow foodies. The SIMB gang is so excited to announce that we are the proud new parents of a liquor license!
We'll be starting off small, featuring hand picked bottles of wine from Crane Creek Vineyards, a small, family-owned winery tucked away in the foothills of Blue Ridge. We've been visiting Crane Creek for over a year now, and David and Eric have cultivated our love for great wines, so we knew this would be the right fit. What could be better than enjoying some of our most scrumptious menu items with a savory glass of wine to wash it all down? We're thinking, not much...

Our selective wine menu will feature two whites, one rosé, and two reds; all available by the glass and bottle. The Seyval Blanc, a crisp, dry French Hybrid with a polished finished and beautifully expressive stone fruit and citrus flavors, would be amazing with our miso glazed salmon. While our wild mushroom ravioli would pair well with the Enotah White, a rich Chardonel vintage with aromas of apple and vanilla, and flavors of tropical fruit, toast, smoke and butter--- yum! We'll also be featuring Crane Creek's Villard Noir, a light and tasty rosé, with notes of caramel and toasty nut flavors, the perfect way to start a Saturday or Sunday brunch with us, and the perfect partner for our fried chicken with spicy mojo collards. The Hellbender Red, Crane Creek's coolest kid in the class, is great with just about everything, with alluring fruit flavors and spice that follows its perfume of dark fruit, zesty spice and toasty vanilla. And the easy to drink Mountain Harvest Red is a beautiful, aromatic red, ideal with our sweet tea brined pork chop or with our decadent chocolate bomb.

As if our brand new wine menu isn't alluring enough to get you in our door, we've joined forces again with our old friends at Scoutmob to launch a new wine and dinner deal that will blow you away.  It's an amazing opportunity that you won't want to miss. Go here now! You can also email us to find out more information about SIMB's Wineclub (Supperclub's new sibling) to get a steal of a deal on our favorite wines. Check back here with us here to learn more about our weekly wine specials, and stay tuned for SIMB's future love child-- our full-service bar-- coming soon! 

Love is Sweet-- Christina + Mitch

If we had to choose one word to describe Christina + Mitch's phenomenal wedding it would be sweet. They are an incredible couple, so full of love for each other that it spread through the fields of Vinewood and crept into all of our hearts. Christina's vision and attention to detail made every piece of this wedding come together in the most amazing way. We loved so many elements of this beautifully rustic wedding- the vintage mantel that served as an alter for their intimate ceremony, the natural linens and burlap runners on the farmhouse tables, the hanging floral and candle installation, her shoes-- we could go on and on, but why don't you just see for yourself.

Guests enjoyed cocktails and hors d'oeuvres before and after the ceremony, nibbling on crab cakes with ancho chile aioli, and mini corn muffins with barbeque pulled pork and purple coleslaw. Afterwards, they were invited into the stables for an intimate sit down dinner, featuring our hermes salad with roasted pears and bleu cheese, a dual protein plate with bourbon pecan chicken and zinfandel + rosemary beef tenderloin and some good 'ole southern grits. When the floor opened up for toasts, the room was flooded with laughter and tears, and the sweetness was overwhelming. Finally, the second half of the stables was opened for desserts, including cakes Mitch's grandmother made, and the cutest cupcakes we've seen in a while, made by Blooming Flour Bakery.Seriously... can it get much better than this... Everything about Christina + Mitch's wedding celebration was so smooth and natural and the vendors we got to work with were a complete pleasure. Jamie from Vinewood Events coordinated the whole day flawlessly, and with the help of the lovely Maria, the stables were transformed into an elegant dining room, dessert and lounge area. Jennifer at Virtu Floral + Event Design made the most beautiful arrangements and bouquets that were the perfect touch, and Anna + Philip of Three Pennies blew us away with the stunning images that took us right back to Christina + Mitch's memorable day. We just can't say enough about this breathtaking venue and amazing vendors and look forward to many more weddings with this crew in the future. 

Such inspiring love, Christina + Mitch we wish you the very best and a life full of sweetness.

Cheers,

SIMB

Michelle + Shahar

As one of the most inspirational weddings we've had the pleasure to have a hand in, Michelle + Shahar's wedding was truly amazing. With bright hues, a rustic whimsy, yet a refined elegance, this wedding set at Serenbe just makes us weak in the knees. Beautifully designed and decorated by the talented team at Amy Osaba Events, Michelle + Shahar's wedding oozed with character and love. Smilebooth was a big hit for guests throughout the evening, and Heidi's stunning photos captured each moment with perfection; Our Labor of Love does it again! But enough with the words, these pictures tell a pretty good story too.

During cocktail hour, a blackberry + ginger specialty cocktail cooled guests off while they enjoyed moroccan lamb meatballs, sweet potato croquettes and fried green tomatoes with a horseradish sauce. For dinner, guests were treated to a kosher menu which included a southern food station and  a middle eastern station and a "whole foods" station with grilled corn couscous and smoked eggplant with a tahini dipping sauce. For dessert, we served mini doughnuts-- what a treat!

 

We are still in awe of this beautiful wedding and terrific couple and wish them a lifetime of happiness.

Cheers,

SIMB

Creating • Art • Meaning • Purpose = CAMP

The wedding and event industry has a special place in our hearts; we love being a part of such a significant day in a couples' life, we're proud to provide a meal for you and your closest friends at a cocktail party, and we are always thrilled to be the backdrop for a romantic dinner or brunch with a crew at the cafe. While our clients are amazing, there are a few other people that make our jobs that much better: amazing vendors that we get to work with, and even call our friends. Fostering and nurturing these relationships is vital to us, and we really enjoy bouncing ideas off one another to get our creative juices flowing. Then we thought, Hey, wouldn't it be out-of-this-world to form a group with this goal in mind?? Um, yes. It would.  So we started brainstorming with the creative souls and minds at Amy Osaba Events, Erica Loesing and Ginny Branch, and CAMP was born. CAMP, creating art, meaning and purpose, is a community of professionals aimed at building great relationships, inspiring original and artistic ideas, and learning from each other in so many ways. Here are some pictures, shot by the brilliant Amber of Our Labor of Love from our first cocktail party at our neighborhood cafe.

Inspired by tepees, forest foliage and campfires, we ran with the camp theme, embracing all things nature. Our menu featured deviled eggs, chicken sausage and green apple skewers, lamb sliders, chorizo and cheddar hand-pies and a strawberry Koolaid cocktail, that was as sweet as bug juice. Our happy campers, including the lovely ladies of Simply Charming Socials, Four Inch Fold and Gertie Mae's Floral, to name a few, left with homemade granola, girl scout cookies and a full belly.

We are, as always, so thankful for Amy, Erica, Maria and Ginny for letting us pick their brains and helping us develop creative concepts and products that we are proud to stand behind, and we know CAMP would be nothing but an idea without you geniuses. We can't wait for our next CAMP session.

Cheers,

SIMB

Andi + Roland

Every now and then, a wedding reception comes along and makes us see weddings in a whole new light. Andi and Roland's celebration was exactly that-- truly unique, low key, and tons of fun. Le Maison Rouge, Paris on Ponce's one of a kind event space, served as the perfect setting for a spectacular party. A little off the beaten path, Le Maison Rouge's vibe is like no other venue in Atlanta; funky yet romantic, the dark space is filled with rare antique finds, beautiful light fixtures and burlesque props, not your average wedding decor, but right up Andi and Roland's alley. It is always a treat when we meet a bride and groom who don't want the cookie cutter wedding or the typical menu, and Andi and Roland's completely vegetarian and gluten sensitive menu kept us on our toes. Guests enjoyed butter bean cakes with our famous pimento cheese, stone ground grit cakes with hook cheddar, and rutabaga and boursin tarts during cocktail hour. The buffet dinner satisfied even the carnivorous guests, filling them up on pad thai, wild mushroom ravioli, champagne braised brussel sprouts and artichoke mash with fresh parmesan.

The happy couple danced to their great live band, All Over Twist, out of Asheville, and goofed off in the Smilebooth with some amazing props. Heidi from Our Labor of Love was there to capture the tender and tasty moments.

About a week after Andi and Roland's wedding celebration we were excited to hear from Andi's soon to be sister-in-law, and even more thrilled to be catering their wedding this December. Check out the kind words Andi and her mother, Terri, wrote about Sun in my Belly.

It just gives us the warm and fuzzy feeling to be a part of these terrific peoples past and future. 

Cheers,

SIMB