Category Archives: Candy Buffets & Event Candy

Candy buffets are a gorgeous and fun way to enhance any event. Match the color of your candy buffet station to the theme of the day. Popular for baby showers, blue and pink candy is a very common color for these ornate displays. Mixed with white to soften the colors and add some fun stripes and color variations, these can range from cute and tasteful to enormous and gaudy. Whichever way you roll, candy buffets work. Wedding receptions are huge. Get creative with seating people at tables according to the color of the candy at each table. Event planners and DIY brides are known to put together some of the most impressive layouts. Ribbons, bows, vases in all different shapes and sizes and every different kind of candy you can imagine. That’s why candy buffets are so great. They are a memorable spectacle, that everyone can enjoy.

The Candy Buffet Company’s Amazing Bulk Candy Art and Advice on Having a Buffet at Your Wedding

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There is something really special about a candy buffet at a wedding. It elevates your special day to have a mystical and magical feel. But if you screw it up, or just don’t do it the right way, it can cause major problems. Claire from The Candy Buffet company recently gave some great advice in a blog about having a bulk candy buffet at your wedding.

Candy Buffet Company

First, let me say that The Candy Buffet Company does amazing work. They are based in Australia, so we have not had the pleasure of working with them yet. But after reading the recent blog from Claire, I went to check out their website. It’s stunning. They are taking candy buffets to a whole new level. Check it out if you’re looking for a candy buffet company down under or if you just want to be inspired by their creations.

Now back to the point. Yes these confectionary displays are great. It’s one of the most remembered features of any wedding. People stand in awe of the buffet table and can’t wait to dig in. But you must stop them, because although the bulk candy buffet is a stunner, it can ruin your wedding reception if it’s not done right.

Some of the advice Claire gives includes having a plan for when the candy runs out, and it will run out quickly. She goes into very specific detail about when you should make the buffet available to your guests and why. Think about how much you are paying for the dinner. Do you want them to be full on candy before they are served? She talks about placement of the buffet and consideration for the layout of the event. But the most genious advice she gives is about creating a reveal for the candy buffet that is both dramatic and strategic in nature. I won’t steal her thunder, check out the blog post for yourself.

Many couples are hiring companies to design and build candy buffets at their wedding. It makes sense, if you can squeeze it into your budget. There are so many candy options out there and infinite design themes and accents. Where do even begin? That’s why having a candy buffet company can be very helpful.

So if you’re in Australia, look these guys up. If not, have your buffet planner take a look at their website at least. They are doing things with bulk candy that are raising the bar everywhere.

Vintage Candy Buffet Design

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We are always trying to show you the best candy buffet designs out there. Some of them are simple and elegant and easy to put together on your own. Others are elaborate and ornate with props and special favors and generally blow the minds of all their guests. This is one of those.

Vintage Candy Buffet

Most candy buffets are rainbow colored bulk candy extravaganzas straight out of Willy Wonkas factory and into your event. What struck us about this dessert and candy buffet table designed by The Social Event Company of Southern California is the polished style and subtle extravagance.

The color choice actually goes completely against what most candy buffets strive to exude. You could call it a brown candy buffet, but that doesn’t begin to do justice to the nuances of the creation you see above. Take note of the complimentary tones of brown among the different candy and props on the table. They work well with each other, but don’t risk blending together in such a way that could make a brown dessert table seem bland.

Texture is a big reason for that. All the decorations from the centerpiece truck to the film box on the right have a classy trim of sophistication that is appealing to the eye. The camera and old school clock give it a period piece feel and combine with the rest of the arrangement to create a more gender neutral candy buffet than one normally comes across. Take heed grooms, not all candy buffets are pink and purple.

It’s not all radical planning though. There are a few basic tenets that are essential for a candy buffet (or any party arrangement) and they are present here as well. The biggest one is symmetry. Though this buffet is not exactly 100% symmetrical, that’s not what a great candy buffet looks to achieve. What you want is a general sense of symmetry combined with a felling of abundance. That abundant feel is created by skewing the symmetry just a bit, to invoke the idea: there’s just not enough room on this table for all this candy!

And that’s another really important aspect of a great candy buffet table. It doesn’t matter how big or small the actual table is, but you gotta fill it up as much as you can. Empty space takes away from the abundance and leaves guests wondering if the hosts could not afford another bag of bulk M&Ms.

Great job by all involved on this one. You can see more pics of this at the Sweet Designs website by Amy Atlas.

Joshua Ryan Photography.

Atlantic City Candy Buffet Candyland Makes New Jersey Proud

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Citizens of New Jersey can be proud to say they have seen one of the most elaborate candy buffets of the year in the latest Bat Mitzvah celebration held in Atlantic City recently.

An all-out affair with a red carpet entrance, paparazzi and even professional impersonators of Lady Gaga and Katy Perry (!) was held in the honor of a very lucky young lady named Kyra. But the star of the show, besides Kyra of course, was the elaborate candy buffet table.

candy buffet new jersey candyland

Candy buffets are getting big, folks. And not just hugely, popular I-absolute-HAVE-to-have-one-for-my-wedding/party/every-day big, I mean 20-foot
long tables packed tight and stacked high with bulk candy of all colors shapes and designs that puts the Candyland fantasy to shame.

Put together by the regional candy buffet experts at CW distinctive Designs, this sucker had it all! Using the Katy Perry music video “California Gurls” as inspiration, they put together all the best themes of the Candyland concept and brought them together brilliantly in this incredible candy display.

Here are some of the candies used.

Skittles
Red Hots
Pink M&Ms
Whirly Pop & Unicorn Pop panorama
Candy Necklaces
Rock Candy Swizzle Sticks
Jelly Beans
Twizzlers of every color
Candy Buttons
Giant Gummy Bears on Sticks!
…they also incorporated other desserts and pastries.

If it sounds excessive, that’s because it’s awesome. One of the things that makes candy buffets so popular is the great range they have to create amazing displays of all different styles. This one is fantastical and multi-colorful, while others are more elegant and reserved. You can go big, and it works. You can go small, and it works. No matter what you’re looking for, candy buffets can be built to suit your preferences and blend in to your event or be its epic centerpiece. You decide.

In this case, the people of New Jersey can hold their heads high that one of their own young women as well as their candy buffet designers have shown excellent taste.

Candy buffet design by CW distinctive Designs: http://candybuffetsnj.com/

Photos by Danny Weiss Photo: http://dannyweissphoto.com/

M&M = Marriage & Magic

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For a magical wedding buffet in a whimsical yet classy ambiance, candy banquets have become the piece de la resistance of the modern wedding. M&M candy individual colored bulk bags offer an economical and creative way to create that magical setting. Whether set in big bowls by color, incorporated into centerpieces or lovingly wrapped in bonbonieres, M&Ms are a versatile solution to wedding table themes of any color or character. There are some great ideas for using M&Ms which are tried and true and a few others that are very unique, these are some of the best examples.

A simple yet really effective colored work of M&M edible candy art is simple. Using as many differently shaped glass or clear plastic bowls or jars as you can find, arranged on a banquet table or in the centre of guest tables. Choose several M&M colors (4-6 colors is effective without overkill) which tie in nicely with the color them of the wedding and fill the variously shaped containers to the brim – with one color in each container. This looks appetizing and also stunning as a centerpiece or dedicated candy table arrangement. As an extra special feature which will serve as the most original thank you gift, set a small candy scoop by each guest plate wrapped in a bow or some lace, whatever you fancy. Guests can use the scoop to eat the M&M candy and then take the scoop home as a memento. If you really want to go all out have each scoop engraved with the date and the names of the newlyweds.

Another super special idea for M&M candy within a funtastical wedding theme is the use of apothecary jars instead of big centre displays. Fill small apothecary jars with a single color M&Ms and tie a matching colored ribbon around the top. Place one jar by each place setting and again you can choose to engrave the jars as mementos of the big day! Choose as many M&M colors as you wish but use only one color in each small jar for a classy colored candy effect.

A brilliant variation on the memento theme is the use of loot bag seat covers – now this is really original and clever! Create covers for seat backs with drawstring cords. Write the name of the bride and groom and the date on the bag, either with permanent color or embroidery (lots of great options here too). At the end of the evening guests pull the seat covers off and they become loot bags in which guests can scoop colored M&Ms and also take home their wedding programs, placeholders, etc…

It will come as a surprise to most that individually colored M&M bulk packages are available in red, maroon, dark pink, pink, orange, gold, yellow, green, aqua, teal, dark green, light blue, blue, dark blue, light purple, purple, white, cream, brown and silver M&Ms. We are pretty sure that means there is an M&M color candy for every wedding theme color! Did we mention black and white M&Ms?

Themed Candy Wedding Buffet Designs

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One of the most spectacular candy wedding buffets I have seen lately is a winter wonderland themed candy buffet. The wedding couple chose a variety of light blue and white rock candies which included white and blue rock candy swizzle sticks, pretzel sticks dipped in white candy and sprinkled with light blue candy sprinkles, blue and white candy cane sticks and of course white candy mints.  Each candy type was displayed in a different glass container with the smaller jars (and candy) placed in front of the larger containers. A light blue table runner with silver trim completed the look and the effect was stunning.

This candy buffet was for a small intimate wedding and the selection and size of the candy buffet reflected this.  A larger function would want to include a greater variety of candy and possibly some additional splashes of color. Some suggestions for other excellent wedding candy choices might be silver candy, black candy or variegated shades of blue candy. Of course if the wedding is color themed the candy buffet can made to suit. Alternatively a creative bride and groom could add subtle color by using blown glass and white candy or by using a table runner that will tie together the colors of the candy.

Wedding color trends for 2011 have the top 6 wedding colors to be turquoise, coral, black & white, yellow, fuchsia and deep red. Even though some of these colors are quite bold there is no reason that the wedding candy buffet cannot be accommodated to suit the color theme. Some suggestions for wedding buffets using this years hottest bridal colors are:

Turquoise:  berry blue jelly belly’s, aqua M&Ms, gummy butterflies, and turquoise rock candy sticks. Use blue tinged display glass and a turquoise runner to bring together the varying shades.

Coral:  a spectacular coral candy buffet will include orange sixlets candy, peaches and cream gumballs, orange M&Ms, cotton candy jelly belly’s and chocolate apricots. Complement the coral colored candy with a classy beige or brown table runner.

Black & White: this was probably the most popular color theme of 2010 which shows no sign of decreasing popularity. The options for black and white candy buffets are numerous and can be created to be elegant, frivolous or both. Some candy choices for this buffet include, white wedding mints, black tie Jordan almonds and gummi penguins. Use clear curved glass for originality and a black table runner for style.

Yellow: yellow is fun and the candy buffet should reflect this couples sense of playfulness. Choose banana heads, yellow M&Ms, smile pops and yellow sixlets candy to create shape and color for your candy buffet. Go with a black or white table runner so not to overwhelm the yellow.

Fuchsia: dark pink M&Ms, hot pink sixlets candy and multi-color chocolate lips will create a fuchsia candy spectacle that will have your guests talking. If you have a larger buffet, add fuchsia milk chocolate long stemmed roses and pink foil peach hard candies. Make the statement even bolder with a red table runner.

Deep Red: red is the color of love so this candy buffet must have cinnamon imperial hearts as well as red foil cherry hard candy, red chocolate cherries candy and red milk chocolate hearts. Red is a great combination color and any table runner shade will enhance the appeal of a red candy buffet.

Anyone who has been to a wedding with a candy buffet dessert table will tell you it was a highlight of the wedding reception. Add to that, it is a simple dessert to organize, it is less expensive than most other dessert tables and it can be themed to match the wedding colors. A candy buffet can be presented in a style that reflects the wedding couples personality. These make it the perfect dessert, and centrepiece, for every wedding.

Cacao Genome Sequencing or, More Great Chocolate!

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Back in the beginning of 2010 an international team of 18 universities led by CIRAD in France, who had been working together to sequence the cacao tree DNA in an effort to understand the crop susceptibility to disease as well as the essence of cacao, announced they had cracked the plant DNA. Then in September the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that they had successfully sequenced the genome of the cacao tree.

The cacao crop is one in which demand consistently exceeds supply and so for the farmers who harvest cacao and for chocolate lovers alike, the developments mentioned are an amazing breakthrough which open the door to increased productivity in some of the most impoverished areas of the world. 70% of cacao production occurs in West Africa and it is the financial lifeblood of cacao farming communities.

Thanks to this research farmers will be able to modify crops to be better breeders and more resistant to the diseases, droughts and pests that plague this plant in particular. That could translate into as much as $700 million dollars worth of saved crops annually. Now that the genome has been successfully sequenced the benefits should enable breeders to begin producing superior new lines of trees using traditional techniques almost immediately.

Cocoa trees also have the added benefit of helping the environment. Not just because they are a natural, renewable resource but also because they grow best under a forest canopy and as such they provide a degree of protection from forestation. For farmers and folks in the chocolate industry the benefits are obvious but what does this mean for the consumer?

One answer may be healthier chocolate. Although chocolate already possesses inherent health benefits this research will enable some modification of percentages of cocoa butter, flavonoids and antioxidants present in the cocoa produced from cacao crops. So not only can chocolate be made to be even healthier than it is, it will also probably taste even better (if that’s possible) smell more delicious and have a smoother, creamier texture in the future.

Eye Candy: Candy by Color Ideal for Weddings and Events

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Wedding Candy by Color

Whatever your passion, black, red, yellow, brown…. sweet, sour or just a tad spicy; colored candy is eye candy that will make your mouth water. The idea of colored candy is so simple and yet so sexy and why didn’t someone think of it sooner? White wedding candy, red valentine’s candy, black and white formal or yellow friendship candy are all the trendy rage of any shindig or sentiment worth its salt, or should I say sugar!

We took a look around the world to see what other people think of colored candy and we found some really great stuff! In New Zealand a lolly scramble is a tradition at any event with kids. This is an event where thousands of lollies (colored candy) are thrown from a moving vehicle where masses of children are waiting to scramble for as many as they can carry in their hands and pockets. Believe it or not, large bags of colored candy are sometimes actually thrown out of an airplane onto fields of rampaging children. What would be more amazing than a lolly scramble in a child’s party theme colors?

Of course the piñata is an old Mexican tradition in which children hit at a hanging paper-maché object until it breaks and candy falls. A great colored candy spin on this tradition is where colored candy is used that coincides with the colors of the donkey, or whatever other creature the kids have just bashed to bits – talk about a surprise!

Over on the other side of the world (an English political function) one grown-up event that was absolutely unforgettable was a high profile fundraiser. It had seat covers which became loot bags for raiding the spectacular colored candy tables at the end of the night. The entire candy buffet was laid out in the colors of the organization holding the event and the cloth bags matched to create a keepsake, parting gift and thank you – all in a single colorful gesture. The opportunities for colored candy themes are limited only by the imagination.

The colored candy theme idea has become so popular around the world that there are now color schemers who can, and will, put together a custom theme. Some examples of custom themes are emotive, like a love candy color scheme, or celebratory as with a christening candy color scheme. Some of the hottest schemes today are apparently; 20s, 70s, Brown, Vibrant and Zot. If you can’t afford your own personal colored candy schemer you may be relieved to know that you can buy color scheme software instead. While this might be a little over the top for some, the idea of color coordinating everybody’s favorite food with an event or feeling is popular.

On a more intimate note the colored candy theme is being used in more personal ways; to cheer up someone with a get well bouquet of rainbow colors or to say I am thinking of you in the recipient’s favorite hue. If the eye candy you have in mind isn’t edible, what will win her (his) heart more sweetly than bouquet of red colored candy? Multi colored candy really is the new black!