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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Hi Everyone! This is Patty from http://SimplyCandyBuffets.com in Illinois and we do Candy Buffets for all types of Life’s Celebrations! I just thought I would add a helpful hint to all of those thinking about doing a Candy Buffet. Candy Buffets are about that “WOW” factor! At http://SimplyCandyBuffets.com we allow 3/4 to 1 pound of Candy per person. Be creative! You can mix in Gourmet popcorn, Chocolate Tuxedo Strawberries, Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Rods, Cupcake Towers, Lolipop Towers, Giant Cookies. You want to have a Candy Buffet that people will be talking about long after the event is over! Make it whimsical. Customize it to you and your Groom’s favorite candies or sweets. The last event “Simply Candy Buffets” did we ordered over 300 pounds of Candy for 70 people. It was amazing!!!! People were coming in the banquet room from other weddings just to see the Candy Buffet. If I can help any Brides, please feel free to contact me!
Best, Patty
Hi there Mary Ann!
Thanks for the information. I would love to see the sheet as well, my email is sstone2 at cbs.com. I am having half the amount of guests, so half the amount of candy will probably work out fine right?
Also, what did you provide guests to hold the candy in? Boxes? Bags?
Mary Ann,
I would LOVE to see your Excel spreadtsheet! You can email it to Sunset2354 at yahoo.com. I am going to have around 220 people I believe. Did you have alot of candy left over with your 237 guests? or just enough? I still ma having trouble figuring out if Im ordering too much or not enough candy. I would definately rather have more then less, we can always eat the candy at the after party!
Thanks so much!
My daughter wanted a candy buffet for her wedding — which was May 31, 2008, and would the favor for the guests. It was a huge success - and it as great for getting people to interact with each other. We live in Indiana, and this is something unique to our area. I will post some photos of as soon as I can. Her colors were cornflower blue and black, so we did try to stick with her colors in the candy selection. We had 237 guests., and a cylinder plastic candy container that would hold up to 6 oz. depending on the candy. We raised some jars, used celebration lights that you twist on from Walmart and scattered them on blue & black material covering the items raising the jars. Helpful hints. I have an Excel spreadsheet with all of our candy calculations that I would be happy to forward to anyone - and on the spreadsheet I show where we bought the candy. Personalized mini Hershey Bars are on sale for $27.95 for 100 at Foreverwed.com, about $20 off. Check online at couponcabin.com to find out if there are any online codes you can use when purchasing candy. I would be happy to answer any other questions anybody might have — it might save somebody time if they are planning on this for their wedding!
Hi
I am getting married August 21 08
I have no idea where to find candy scoops… any ideas?
Also, how BIG do my containers need to be?…
I am having between 150-200 guests ( all from out of town!! ahhh!! ) … and how much candy?
Thanks for any suggestions anyone may have : )
Shannon
Hey guys, this is a generic question but since I haven’t started to plan yet… how much is it to have a candy buffet for about 100 people. Is it worth it to DIY or hire someone that charges like $8 a person.
Someone please help….
Does anyone remember the name of the company in Illinois that had the Candy Buffet business that had all the great ideas yesterday in the blogs that were lost the last 24 hours? I’m racking my brain trying to find them for my daughter’s wedding!!!!!!!!!! Any help would be appreciated. Thanks. Maria
I am getting married November 1, 2008 and I am very interested in seeing pictures of the containers and any pricing information.
We could all share and ship these to cut costs. Let me know.
Thanks, Claudia
OH NO IT DID NOT!!!!!
(Oh yes, it did.) 8-|
Sorry, ladies, but we had a major problem tonight, and had to roll back the site a full 24 hours, meaning the last day’s comments are KAPUT. Argh!!
We’ll be manually entering the text ones, but if you posted a comment with an image, the image is lost. I am SO SORRY! So if you made an image post, please take a moment to repost if you can, because everything on this page was interesting and useful, yes, this means YOUR comment!
(Sorry Brittany, I know you just posted all those great pics! Terrible timing!
And Tammy, your pic is the ONE from the last 24 hours we still have, so I can repost that!)
Thanks everyone for your patience!
Hi Brittany, I am planning to do a candy & popcorn buffet at my wedding. It is in October ‘08. I would love to see any pictures you have to see if they will work for what I’m doing. Hopefully, you will have them up soon. Thanks, Jennifer
Tammy, thank you for your input! I will definitely check the reception site to see what they might be able to offer!
Thanks for all the ideas!
Michelene, The glasses were shipped to my mothers house and she will be bringing them over hopefully this week so i will be sure to take pictures and have them up by the end of the week! Thank you for your interest
Brittany, I would love to see your novelty glasses. My daughter is wanting a candy buffet as well in her may 09 wedding.
I am having my wedding on June 21 and having a candy buffet with novelty glasses to hold my candy, I had to buy them in bulk so i have like 40 novelty glasses that i now have to get rid of. If anyone is interested in these glasses please let me know I would love to work out a deal with someone. I will try and put some pictures up of them this week some time.
Dana,
Im not sure where you are having your reception at, but you might want to check with your reception hall! I was looking at buying or making my own also, but then the lady at my reception hall said that they had them and were going to set the table up with different levels for me. So depending on where your reception is held, it wouldnt hurt to ask!
Hi there,
I have thoroughly enjoyed reading everyone’s ideas on here…you guys are all so creative! I have chosen to have a candy buffet for my August 9th wedding. Just curious as to if anyone had any ideas about where I could find some clear Plexiglas boxes/cubes to give the table a “lift” or levels. I like something similar to white candy buffet pic at the top of this page.
Thanks!
Seekie, try the Luau section of Candywarehouse.com, they have some cute stuff. Also, try Orientaltrading.com. I found round tags from Wilton Craft at Joann Fabrics (probably any craft store might have them) that you can go to their website and use their software and templates to print your own tags (don’t have to download anything, it’s all on their site). Wilton.com I’m going to use ribbons to tie them on the handles of my boxes I think. The pack comes with some practice sheets too so you can see how it looks before you use the real ones.
Hey ladies,
I am an event planner in New York City specializing is candy buffets. I am happy to answer any questions you may have.
Best,
Amy Atlas
Thanks Melanie!
Elizabeth,
I really dont have a template for the labels. I did it all on photoshop and just made a 2×2 circle I believe it was, and took it from there, adding the flower, and dotted line. I bought avery sticker label sheets that were 8.5 x 11 and printed them at Kinkos then I had a circle cutter from Michaels that I used to cut them out. I also bought the boxes from papermart.com. Hope that helps!
Tammy