Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Build a Candy Bar at Your Wedding

In honor of Valentine’s I felt a blog about sweets was in order.

Candy Bars are a very popular favor for weddings. There are a lot of sites that have candy that comes in great colors as well as sites that will make custom candy for your event.

www.dylanscandybar.com

www.candywarehouse.com

www.papabubbleny.com

www.candy.com

www.etsy.com

I have seen some really creative candy bars in the past couple of years. Some brides will choose a color-specific candy collection which falls in line with the colors of their reception. Other brides may have a themed candy bar, such as "Under the Sea" or "Vintage Collection." Whatever your choice is make it something that you love. One bride made burlap bags and had a custom stamp created with the date of the event and the name of the Bride and Groom.

Make the display fun, you can purchase glass jars at a very reasonable price from places like Ross and TJ Max (I found a lot of them for $10 to $15) and then find fun scoops and tongs that guests can use to choose their favorites.

Most of the time I build the candy bar on a 6 or 8 foot table, where the guests can come around all sides of the table, so there is less of a line. I usually put up the candy bar as dinner is coming to an end. When guests see the candy bar, it becomes a mad dash for them to get their candy. I think a candy bar brings out the little kid in all of us.

Be cautious when you are selecting your candy. Consider the venue, placement, and timing of the candy bar. For instance, if you are at an outdoor location in the middle of August, chocolate is probably not the best choice. Go for more non-melting choices like Gummy Bears, Jelly Beans, Lollipops and such.

We have also put together some interesting non-candy bars. I loved the Mini-Donut bar, Popcorn Bar and one of my favorites was the Cake Bar.

For this cake bar the bride had ordered 14 different cakes, so there was something for everyone. She did not live in the local area and had borrowed cake stands from friends and family members. It was a lot of fun and a really beautiful display.

Have fun and make it your own creation. Whether it be Candy, Cookies, Cakes, Donuts or other sweet treats, ask your coordinator how best to display and advise them of what you want to accomplish, so they can help you.