Themed Candy Buffet by Glamour Avenue Parties

Themed Candy Buffet by Glamour Avenue Parties, originally uploaded by Courtney Price: Glamour Avenue Parties.

This one is a favorite of mine. I featured her a while back, but the textures, height, shapes, and colors of this one all really work well together! It is super cute and a fun way to present your candy for your event!

This photo is not a representation of my work. It was taken from Glamour Avenue Parties
via Flickr.

Awesome Visual!

candy buffet, originally uploaded by sparkly31.

This person has marshmallows, licorice ropes, chocolate balls, candy sticks and more! This is a set up for a larger event, with lots of textures, flavors, and colors to compliment each other! Nice work!

Disclaimer: This photo or the contents are not my work, taken from sparkly31.

Candy Twist

A tip I found very useful for the candy buffets I design and the candy buffet my mom and I did at my wedding was to add a little "twist" to the candy.  Another words, mix it up a little!  A lot of people tend to like chocolate, but to have just brown chocolate for your candy would be boring visually and would not do much to stimulate your taste buds either!  Likewise, the same amount of people would pick candy that comes out of the candy dispensers in the mall, just because it reminds them of their childhood.  However, these candies all typically have the same textures and the same basic flavors.


So, again I say...put a little twist in it!  If chocolate is your favorite- remember you will pay a huge premium for chocolate- try centering the buffet around two choices that are the loves of your life :)  If you tend to go for runts, nerds, pez, etc...try mixing it up with different textures.

Here's a couple of candy types for candy buffets.  Be sure to include at least 3 varieties in yours!

1. Wrapped candy ( aka blowpops, tootsie rolls, taffy, mints, individual packed chocolates)
    This will let the guests grab some without having to have scoops in each dish.

2.  Hard candy or Soft candy 
     Things like fruit slices and individually wrapped twisty mints are a cool looking compliment
     to each other. 

3. Different flavors
    If you have one type of mints, you most likely will not need another, regardless of if it is a
    hard mint, soft mint, or wrapped mint.  Unless that is the goal of your candy buffet, to have a
    flavor theme running through it, I would not suggest having more than one flavor of
    candy presented.

4.  Shapes
     One of the coolest things in candy buffets is finding candy that fits your personality!  So
     pick different shapes for guests to look at.  You do not want to buy all round candy, which is very
     easy to end up doing!  You could buy round french mints, and then have cylindrical candy sticks.
     You could also buy individual wrapped chocolate squares instead of the regular ball shaped
     chocolate.

5.  Sizes
     The last thing is size!  It is so much fun when you see candy buffets with long candies,
     short candies, skinny or wide candies!  Picking lollipops, rock candy, and flat candies that you
     can display in various ways makes the event fun and unique!

Remember, when you display your candy, not everything has to be in a bowl, dish, apothecary jar, or vase.  Sometimes, if it is wrapped or hard candy, you can lay the candy on the tablecloth to fill up space and add new dimension to the display!

Boy Baby Shower Candy Buffet

This one is very similar to the girl baby shower buffet.  It has two blue "pails" in the front, and a blue version of the wooden rope handle box in the center.  Great addition for a small get-together!

Girl Baby Shower Buffet

This one has glassware and the cutest wooden box with rope handles.  The box with rope handles is a  great for a gift for the mom-to be after the shower!  This buffet also feeds 25-30 people and will be available on Ebay soon as well :)

Bridal Shower/ Sweet 16

This is another really cool one! It can be used for a
"Sweet 16" or a "Bridal shower". This one will be listed
within the next day on Ebay! For those girls who love high-heels,
this is a sweet visual treat!

Favor Bags for guests!

Bridal Shower

This is the one we put on Ebay. It's simple and
fun for those that want to have a little "sweet" in
their event, without all the cost!
Ebay Listing

Update!

I have been spending this week getting ready for our product launch, which I will give you an update on today! It's been a crazy couple of weeks, and we almost have our new business CandyShopBuffets set to go.  In fact, several local businesses have started calling us "the candy guys", so it's pretty funny and neat to be able to do this!  The actual website launch will be in mid-February @ Candyshopbuffets.com.  Right now we do have several products and are ready to sell, so we put one listing up on Ebay last night!
Bridal Shower Candy Buffet

It is super cute, and really unique to a lot of Candy Buffets out there today! Each of our designed candy buffets will be uniquely made, so not one is the same.  We are so excited to begin offering this product, first on Ebay and then on our website.  The candy buffet's auction price is 85 dollars, with the "buy it now" of 100 dollars.  It feeds 25-30 people, and $100 dollars it ends up being only $4 a person.  A lot of wedding planners charge around $6-7 a person for a small party.  So, we thought this was a reasonable price and are proud to have this as part of our new product line!

Through our website we are going to sell several varieties of these "small" candy buffets.  Listing later this week on Ebay are going to be our girls and boys baby buffet, and our other bridal shower buffet!

Here are some pictures to show you all what we've been up too!
Enjoy :)

Candy Tip 1: Stock Up!

The biggest expense of a candy buffet happens to be the candy itself.  Most of you already knew that!  However, unless you are constantly out looking for candy in large quantities it’s hard to estimate just how expensive your candy buffet is going to be.   So the best tip I can give you is to stock up ahead of time!  Following holiday is the best time to get candy.  Places like Walgreens, Walmart, or your local convenience store are likely to have candy at 50% off, if not more! 

If your wedding or event is in early spring, go to the after- Valentine sale for heart shaped candies.  If your wedding is later in spring, shop at the after –Easter event for pastel colors and flowery shapes.   Online candy stores will typically not sell discounted candies, so hurrying to the clearance event of the season locally could be worth the trip!  This tip could be useful for do-it-yourself decorators as well.  You can purchase discounted merchandise for your event, along with the candy at local shops.

Unlike decorations, candy does have an expiration date.  Be sure to plan out how far in advance you are able to buy the candy for your event.  Chocolate is a candy with a fast expiration date, whereas gummy bears and mints have a longer shelf life.  Check it out before buying large quantities of candy that will taste bland or have gone bad in the months prior to your event!

Fun Reception Ideas

There are plenty ideas floating around on how to make your wedding reception memorable for you and unforgettable to your guests.  Some of these are an added cost and some are just ways to spice up what you already may be planning on for your reception.  Either way, these are all neat ideas and ones that are sure to make your wedding celebration stand out from the rest!

1.  One idea is to hire a photo booth at the reception.  I previously blogged about how great they are for guest books!  They still are, however they can also add to your event by bringing a little nostalgia to the moment.  It is a fun, entertaining way to allow your guests to be engaged in the event, and since they get a copy of the photo’s to keep it can be a memorable way for them to look back on your wedding day!

2.  This idea is for those weddings that allow kids at the reception.  Set up a crafts table for the kiddo’s to keep them entertained and busy!   I hadn’t even thought of this idea until one of my friends was talking about their reception.  She labeled it an “arts and crafts” table, and displayed sheets of paper, coloring books, and crayons that held special meaning to her and her husband.  The coloring books were filled with characters they loved as kids, and the sheets of paper, watercolor paints, and crayons all mirrored their wedding colors!  They made it into a coloring contest of sorts, where the couple judged them just before the dancing and gave the winner a treat!  Such a neat way to involve the kids!  The only thing I would caution with this is since these kids are dressed in their “Sunday best” you may want to consider providing smocks, etc...to prevent massive causalities!

3.  If you or your fiancé is an art lover you could also hire a caricature sketcher to come in and paint your guests!  I always pass by these artists at six flags, state fair, or other popular events, and wish that I was willing to spend the money to get my portrait sketched.  I was recently looking at these artists online and I found that most of them do offer wedding services.  Most ask that you pay for their time, not numbers of portraits sketched.  So this could be a fun way to let those of us who walk past the caricature stand with a longing look to have our dreams fulfilled!

4.  Another cool idea, and this is becoming more popular within certain ethnic groups, is to have cultural music play at your wedding.   If you are part Irish, have a couple fiddles playing before or after the ceremony.  If you are part Scottish, maybe hire a couple bagpipers to play in the distance.  (I wanted this at my wedding but I don’t have a drop of Scottish blood in me.)   A mariachi band, polka music, the list could go on and on!

5.  Another idea, which happens to be my personal favorite, is fireworks!  Fireworks are somewhat expensive, however if you cut corners in other areas, it could be well within your budget.  Some people may think this is over the top, but it is becoming more and more popular, and is a really sweet ending to your big night!  I had fireworks at my wedding and while I was watching them with my new husband, it brought me back to the first 4th of July fireworks we saw together!  Fireworks aren’t for everyone, but if you choose to do it, it will be a moment you’ll never forget.  We did them right before we left the party for the night, and it was a perfect ending to the most important day of our lives!

6.  The last idea is for outdoor weddings and receptions.  If you are having your wedding in the afternoon you could set up lawn games for your guests to play while you are taking pictures.  A charming game of croquet could be the perfect way to cost-effectively entertain your guests during this time period.  You could also add some cute signs and ribbons that make it a little more inviting!  Other good games are horseshoes and bocce ball.  The only thing I would say is, do not have games with high intensity!  If you know your family is competitive by nature I would avoid games that could leave them sweaty and dirty just in time for the reception!

Wedding favor

Wedding themes, candy buffet
Originally uploaded by Wedding Favours Warwickshire

This is an example of a candy buffet that has really great jars, but does not have a way to get the candy out of these jars. It also does not have any favor bags to allow the guest to take some candy home. The two tall "martini" glass vases are awesome and visually appealing though and overall a good concept!

Candy Buffets as a guest favor?

The best reason to have a candy buffet at your event is simply because of the versatility of this unique display.  A candy buffet serves as a talking point for guests, creates visual drama, and functions as a highly appreciated guest favor at your event!  The guest favor part is what we're focused on today.  

You want your guests to know how much you appreciate them by making the guest favor distinctive and fun!  The most important part in this, if you want your candy buffet to function as a guest favor, is to have it set up to look like more than just a display.  Here are a couple of tips that will help guests feel comfortable in grabbing a few treats to take home.

1.  Make the jars accessible.  If you desire visual drama as well as a guest treat in planning your candy buffet, you need to consider the functionality of the vases and glassware you buy.  You do not want the candy too low, so kids can lick one and put it back---gross!  You also do not want the candy in tall skinny vases that no one is able to reach.  Choose 1-2 tall “creative” vases for height difference, and surround them with medium sized containers to make this display guest friendly!

2.  Provide scoops to allow the guests to reach into a bowl and take a few smaller treats without worrying whether it’s sanitary or proper etiquette to take a few by hand.

3.  Place enough treat bags on the table so that there is at least one for every guest, maybe a few extra for the unexpected visitor.  You can place these in a cute basket, on a serving platter or just lay them decoratively on the table.

4.  The last thing you can do to make this cute and fun for your guests is to personalize the favor bags.  Create a little saying to stick on or in the bags telling the guests how much you appreciate them being there!   Your guests will appreciate your telling them how much you were thankful for their support at your event! 

Wedding Guest Book

Wedding Guest Book
Originally uploaded by deviantmonk

This is really cool! You could print something like this up on a canvas or there is a site that sells them.
You can use stamped leaves like this lady did, or I have seen thumb-prints for baby showers, etc. Really fun idea!


This photo was taken from:
http://flic.kr/p/7NjEYs

wedding photo guest book

wedding photo guest book
Originally uploaded by peatadownunder1

This is a really cool looking guest book. 

Apparently she used the same paper that she 

made her invitations out of to make it more 

personal. "Inside the cover are Polaroids of 

guests and their signed well-wishes"

This photo was taken from :
http://flic.kr/p/4ESJof