5 Unique Alternatives to the Candy Buffet

Candy stations and dessert buffets have been very popular over the past few years at our weddings and events. They add an element of color to the space while acting as an interactive element for your guests. They also act as a take home favor for both adults and children at your event. It's almost guaranteed these days that you'll see some sort of candy station or dessert buffet when you go to a wedding reception. It's a great idea, but put a unique spin on it to make yours different!

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S'mores Station

S'mores are a wonderful treat for summertime weddings! You can pre-package the graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallows and display them for your guests with a sign letting them know about the fire pit outside. Or, you can create an indoor s'mores station with candles. Mix up the marshmallow flavors (regular, tropical, strawberry, lime, chocolate, etc...), and offer different varieties of mini-chocolate bars (milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, chocolate with peanuts, chocolate with sea salt, etc...)

intimateweddings.com

southernweddings.com

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Candy Apple Station

Autumn is the perfect time for a candy or caramel apple station! Start with trays of apples on sticks. You can use all one type of apple, mini apples, or have different varieties and colors to choose from. Offer various dips such as chocolate, caramel, and traditional candy apple, and of course make sure to have nuts, sprinkles and candy to top them off! Provide take-home bags in case they don't want to eat it right away.

vtspiceoflife.com

maddycakesmuse.blogspot.com

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Doughnut Station

What better way to treat your guests later in the evening than a doughnut station? Provide several varieties of doughnuts. You can also include dips or toppings like chocolate sauce, strawberry jam, bavarian cream and lemon curd. You can also include sprinkles, nuts, coconut shavings, candy bits, powdered sugar and cinnamon. Coffee or hot chocolate can also be served with the doughnuts!

Party Frosting

True Photography

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Ice Cream Station

 Perfect for a warm summer wedding and reminiscent of childhood! Offer a variety of ice creams and all the works; bananas for banana splits, hot fudge for hot fudge sundaes, whipped cream and cherries for the top, strawberry sauce, butterscotch topping, chocolate chips, crumbled cookies, M&M's or other chopped candies, chopped nuts, brownie chunks, and even root beer or Coke for floats!

enamoreventsblog.com

stressawaybridalshop.com

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Cookies & Milk Station

What a great send off or "goodnight gift" for your guests! You can use all home made cookies, or a combination of home made and store bought. Pair them with jars or mini cartons of regular milk, strawberry milk and chocolate milk, and you have the perfect sweet treat for the end of the night!

wolfgangpuck.com

intimateweddings.com

detailbydetailevents.blogspot.com

 

Loving this "Strawberry Bar"!

*Swooning* over this amazing Strawberry Bar! Not only is everything strawberry flavored, but everything is strawberry themed -- even the pots for the flowers are strawberries! This is taking a candy/dessert station to the next level! Perfect for summertime -- a fruit themed cocktail hour? Bridal brunch? I think you'll see a version of this at my birthday party later this week, too!

Source: Bridal Bar Blog

Congrats Loretta & Jacob!

While the Royal Wedding was going on across the pond, Loretta and Jacob were getting married right here in Cleveland, and we were creating a pink, black and white candy station for their reception at Windows on the River. White fudge covered pretzels, pink M&M's, black licorice, strawberry old fashioned candy sticks, and rock candy sticks. It was perfectly pink and princess-like!

Bride & Groom Photo by Kristen Penner Photography

Interactive Sweet Stations & Edible Treats

Looking back over our 2010 weddings edible sweets and stations were very popular, and the trend is continuing in 2011. Brides and grooms are loving the idea of providing a sweet surprise to their guests during the reception. We've done everything from candy stations, tiers of mini cupcakes, doughnuts and coffee served later in the reception.... and no matter what way they're served, all forms of sweet edibles seem to be a big hit! Here are some creative ways to incorporate interactive sweets for your guests!

Bedazzled Bon Bons on Cones

Photo Source: Pretty Presentations Catering

 

Doughnuts & Milk/Coffee Stations

Photo Source: My Wedding Concierge

Pretzel & Candy Station

Photo Source: The Lavender Lily

S'mores Station

Photo Source: Jolynne Photography

Gourmet Popcorn Station

Photo Source: So Simply Special

DIY :: Candy Cane Cake Pops

I just made a yummy batch of chocolate cupcakes this week, topped with cream cheese peppermint frosting and sprinkled with crushed candy canes......and then today I saw this posting from Hostess With The Mostess. Looks like next week's holiday treats will be these candy cane cake pops!

Click here for step by step DIY instructions to make your own candy cane cake pops!

Congratulations Tina & Justus!

Tina & Justus' Halloween themed wedding turned out absolutely fabulous! It was so exciting to be a part of such a unique and fun event! We participated in our first Buddhist ceremony, and it was inspiring and uplifting....not the words one would usually associate with a wedding ceremony. It left me with a feeling of calm, happiness, motivation to better myself as a person, and to concentrate my energy on good instead of using it to worry about the negative. Very inspiring and motivating, and he left the newlyweds with some wonderful words of wisdom. 

 

HOB is an AMAZING venue for wedding ceremonies. The staff there was top notch, and everything was perfectly executed and on-time; from the slide show playing on all of the television screens, to the red and orange stage lighting, to the staff's assistance with every detail....it's truly one of the best ceremony locations I've ever worked with! Huge thanks to the event staff House of Blues for making this wedding ceremony flawless!

After the ceremony, the wedding party took photos all over HOB, then went off to a local cemetery for photos. Their photography, video and photo booth were provided by Digital 504, and I have to brag on them as well! They were professional, efficient, and on top of that they were a blast to work with. It's rare to find all three qualities in one! I can't praise them enough for their work yesterday, and I hope to work with Jay and his staff again soon!

The reception for almost 300 guests consisted of a massive Halloween candy station, pumpkin centerpieces with red rose petals on each table, and a fun photo booth with Halloween hats and accessories for the guests to play in. The head table had gorgeous silver candelabras with taper candles, and a skeleton greeted the guests at the entryway. 

I can't wait to see the photos and videos from the photographers....we'll share more details as we get them! Check out our Facebook page for more of our own photos and videos from the day.

Congratulations and best wishes to Tina and Justus! I hope you both have a wonderful time on your fabulous honeymoon to the Galapagos Islands! You were such a fun couple to work with, and it was so exciting to help you in planning this amazing Halloween themed wedding.

Gia's Baptism Reception

Over the past months we have had the pleasure of working with a lovely Greek family to design and setup decor for their daughter Gia's baptism reception. We worked with mom Marcy on selecting linens, designing floral centerpieces, and adding some special touches here and there to make the event more personal. I have to say this is one of my favorite event designs so far! We used a color palette of chocolate and various shades of pink, and it was the perfect palette for a party in honor of a special baby girl! Here are a few photos from the event....

 

 

 

 

See more photos on our Facebook page.

Thank you to Marcy and her family for inviting us to attend the event and experience your family's joy on that day. It was very special to be a part of that! I love experiencing the traditions of other cultures, and your reception was truly a unique experience for us to be a part of. I hope to work with you and your family again in the future on other milestone events!