How Sweet It Is: Building the Candy Buffet of Your Dreams
You're not alone. More and more brides want to see a tower of sweets at their reception.
Motives differ: some like how buffets allow guests to hunt and pick according to their personal sweet tooth.
Others like the fairytale flavor. Candyland, Babes in Toyland, Willy Wonka: some of our earliest dreams of abbondanza involve forests where gumdrops hang from trees, chocolate runs in rivers and pillars are peppermint sticks.
And if that makes you nervous, rest assured you have company. Because a candy buffet isn't free. Like any other "wow" aspect of a wedding, it's part of your overall investment. And while the waitstaff might pass the hors d'oeuvres and the venue lay out the linens, you could be on your own when it's time to design the candy buffet.
But not to worry: here are some tips from the pros for translating that bountiful delight in your head into a mouth-watering reality at your wedding.
The Secret to Sweetness
Scan all those photos of candy buffets throughout the web, and you'll quickly spot two things.
One, buffets are monstrously popular. And two, while some are a feast for the eyes, others seem to fall short of the heights their planners must have hoped for.
So what's the secret?
Here's number one: buying enough candy. Sounds simplistic, but it's key.
"The first thing I tell brides — you really can't do candy as a hard commodity. It's more a decoration," says Jon Prince, president of online candy giant CandyFavorites.com.
"I talk to hundreds of brides. They'll say, 'I'm having 200 guests, and I want to give each guest 3 ounces, so I guess I need about 37 pounds of candy.' Sounds reasonable, and 3 ounces might be enough to actually satisfy your guests, but visually? It won't be enough to make a presence."
Prince suggests that instead of seeing candy by the numbers, brides take an aesthetic approach. "You choose the flowers because they're beautiful," he says. "The candy buffet should be too."
And unlike flowers, Prince adds, candy serves double duty as an edible item. "Still, you have to budget the candy buffet into your wedding expenses. It doesn't work well as an afterthought."
But what about the wedding planners who suggest buying a pound of candy per person?
Prince says buffets work best when you plan by the eye, not the numbers.
"To make it look gorgeous, I'd start with the table, not the guest count. I'd take five to 10 types of candy, and buy 15 to 20 pounds each, whether you actually need that much or not."
He adds, "When it comes to candy, the more the merrier. If you have a large table overflowing with candy, you have presence. The biggest disappointment I hear is that the candy buffet didn't look substantial."
Like a Kid in a Candy Store? Here's What to Buy
Okay, so now you have a handle on those numbers. But between the heaping bins at upscale food markets and the galaxies of candy choices online, which temptations do you choose?There aren't any hard-and-fast rules, says Prince.
Not really, he says. Instead, it's the season's colors and themes that are driving brides' choices.
To illustrate, Prince describes an all-white Miami wedding where the couple set up 20 to 30 pounds each of white candies, placing the unwrapped varieties in jars, martini glasses and other interesting containers, and piling custom-wrapped mint rolls in front. "It looked fantastic," he says.
Mark Kingsdorf of The Queen of Hearts Wedding Consultants concurs: it's the themes that shape candy buffets. "And like everything else in weddings, candy buffets are getting more and more personalized, with more and more variations.
"Of course, 'Everything old is new again,'" he adds. "So you see things like retro candy buffets. At one wedding we did the candy bracelets and necklaces on the elastic cords; the little waxed bottles filled by sugar water.
"There are very few themes you can't do with candy. Beach weddings are fun, with all those boardwalk choices: saltwater taffy, caramel apples, fudge, peanut brittle."
"I like to focus," explains Prince, "but the focus can be anything. Candies you personally like, or a theme, or a texture. If you're having an all-white wedding, you'll want an all-white candy buffet. If you're having a destination wedding in an exotic location, you could choose dramatic, Caribbean types: Island Punch Jelly Belly beans.
"In the end, you want 'presence.' Mies van de Rohe once said 'Less is more,' but he definitely wasn't talking about candy buffets."
Fashion a Feast for the Eye
You're set. You've narrowed down your choices... and you've got the goods. Now how do you add those visual touches that turn your buffet from "aww" to "jaw-dropping"?
"Basically — and this is a good idea — the couple matched their candy containers to their floral vases."
Don't have quite that much fine crystal waiting in the wings? Here's a budget-friendly alternative from Kingsdorf. "Find some interesting containers: different shapes, different heights. Personally, I've used a dozen different containers from Ikea, and the most expensive one was about $10."
He adds that clear containers are best, to show off the contents, and that container mouths should be wide enough for the scoops.
"A nice bunching fabric gives you spill and texture. Put some of your containers on top of that."
The final touch? A floral arrangement. Or more cheaply, some complementary pillar candles in your wedding colors.
Kingsdorf adds that your most personal touch could be the candy bags. "At one of the weddings I did recently, the couple went to a dollar store and got a bunch of takeout containers in red, one of their colors.
"They personalized each container with a little sticker, which was inexpensive and very cute. Anyone could do the same thing: use a tag or little rubber stamp, or stickers.
"Just find a way to add that custom touch."
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (for Candy)
So why are candy buffets so sizzling hot these days, anyway?
Simple: they're a huge hit with guests. "Favors can be a tough choice," points out Kingsdorf. "Depending on your guests, you might find yourself picking up a ton of personalized CDs or bottle stoppers at the end of the night. But when it's edible, people eat it ... or take it home. I think a lot of brides are cueing into that."
Prince adds, "It's just a trend people are enjoying right now.
"But when you really dig down," he muses, "it's not about the product at all. It's about nostalgia.
"In a lot of weddings, two people are taking a major step toward adulthood. The candy buffet lets them connect back to any fond memories they have of childhood.
"Candy is powerfully reminiscent," he concludes.
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cathy-
You can find large martini glasses at michaels for $9.99!
Jennifer…I got some of my scoops there at scoops-scoops but check out ebay. A lot of sellers on there are selling the same thing for less and have free shipping.
Just a thought.
We are getting married 5/16/09, and I looking for ideas on cheap candy buffet serving pieces. Cheapest I could find large martini glasses was for $19.99 a piece. Any suggestions?
Hi, regarding scoops. I’m thinking of purchasing my scoops from this site.
http://www.scoops-scoops.com/
Has anyone purchased from here?
in my opinion you should have the candies be as close to her colors as possible so that its not too different.
I am having a candy bar (buffet) for my daughter’s sweet sixteen. I have read the posts and everyone has such great ideas. A co-worker had a candy bar at her wedding and I liked the idea so I wanted to make it a part of my daughter’s party. Her theme is heaven on earth and the colors are white, gold with splashes of blue (for me). My question is do the candy have to be in the color theme of the party. I wanted to have assorted candy dating back to my childhood. These children don’t know good candy. Does anyone have any suggestions for candy containers/favor. I was looking at the chinese food boxes. All help and suggestions are needed.
Thanks
Thanks Megan!!
Hi
I new to this site im trying to find yellow,white and brown gumballa. I found one site that yall mention (gumball.com)but dont need 850 gumball of each color and they dont mix that you .im getting married may next year but doing alot of pre planning so i wont be stresses
Paris…check out http://www.papermart.com for takeout boxes.
Hi Ladies!!
I’m getting married and have plans on doing an all white candy buffet. Where would be the best place to find the small take out boxes, or do any of you suggest something else. I’ve seen clear plastic bags with cute ribbon. My date is March 21, 2009!!
Also, for decorations, are many of you planning to rely on family and friends or are you hiring someone?
Paris
Hi Jennifer!
Rule of thumb? There are no hard or fast rules on candy buffets!I love the popcorn idea with ribbon tied scoops. We use white chocolate dipped pretzel rods alot with color themed sprinkles. Large cookies on tiered pie plates, and once again to all of the Brides on here. I cannot stress enough………..it is so not about the number of people, it is ALL about that wow factor when your guests walk in the room. We allow at least 1 pound per person minimum of candy and at least 5-7 different varieties depending on what you are using as fillers. Chocolate dipped strawberries, pretzels, popcorn, gourmet taffy apples, especially in October (perfect time of year for them) try chocolate licorice for a dish cascading over. With your color theme Jennifer, the options are endless. Great colors to work with. People love nostalgic candy also. It’s always fun to have people in awe remarking how they haven’t seen a certain candy in years that you have displayed. Here at http://SimplyCandyBuffets.com we try to use lolipop towers to give varying heights. Display clear rock candy sticks spraying out of the tops of your containers. Make it fun!!!!!!!!!! Make it your own. Order a sheet of monogrammed labels and tie them to your scoops. Customize it as much as you can. Hope that helps. Congratulations and Enjoy your day.
Hi, I’m getting married Oct. ‘08. I’m getting ready to purchase my candy. I’ve been on this website for a long time and have responded some. Do any of you know what a good number is for the different types/kinds of candy would be? My colors are chocolate and champagne. I have, I think, 18 glass containers. 5 of them are smaller and I’m going to use 3 of the large ones for 3 different types of Popcorn. Any suggestions???
Patty, I know you have made several suggestions on this site. What rule of thumb do you use in your business for the number of types of candy?
Thanks
Jennifer
My niece is haveing about 150 people to an outdoor wedding in August. Please give me some indication of how many pounds of candy we are going to need. We live in Manitoba, Canada and I have never heard of a candy buffet here. We want to be the first ones to do this and we would like it to be a huge hit.
Thanks for your help
Susan
Andrea,
I got my scoops at Michaels found in the wedding section. They came in a pack of 2 and were about $5-6 I think. They are silver and plastic. They have cute little hearts at the end of the handle. They aren’t very large, but I figure this is also a good thing so that people don’t go “hog-wild” on any one candy!
Another site I found and almost bought from is below:
http://store.primaryshopping.net/30002413.html
Hope it helps!
Dana
ok ladies, I know I saw it on this blog….where did you all get your scoops, I had clicked over to another site previously and really liked the scoops; I was stupid and didn’t bookmark it and now I can’t find the site. Let me know where you got scoops.
Thanks,
Andrea
I’m getting married October 11, 2008, and my colors are brown, ivory and orange. Any candy tips? I’m thinking Indian corn and/or candy corn, malted milk balls, yogurt malted milk balls (for the ivory) and maybe some M&Ms. Any other ideas from all you ladies? Or does any one have any pictures of their candy bars in these colors? Thanks!
Hi, my son graduates from high school in June 2009. His high school colors are navy blue and white. I am pre-planning the party and getting my ideas together. I want to do a candy buffet on a table along with the cake (s). Can someone give me some ideas on blue and white candy? I am going to ordern some rock candy crystal sticks (unwrapped) in cotton candy flavor. Thanks
I really researched a lot….I even went to BJ’s…however I couldn’t find what I needed. I guess it just depends on what kind of candy you need.
Maria / Megan,
I recommend bulkfoods.com too. That is the cheapest I found on the web. However, I did do some price comparisons and noticed that Costco has some the same candy cheaper. If you don’t have time to do the price comparisons, (not a big difference) I would definitely suggest bulkfoods.com.
Maria
Order candy from bulkfoods.com. They are cheap and quick! They dont’ have everything under the sun but they have a lot. Go to Marshall’s or TJ maxx…look for containers there…they’ve got a lot of neat ones! Good luck.