Candy Buffet?

Question

Hello all,
getting married Oct of 08 and i am thinking about having a candy buffet, its a toss up though because i am not sure our budget can handle it, is $300 enough? If not i was thinking of donating. Any ideas about how much a candy buffet will run for about 200 people?

Thanks everyone for you advice. I appreciate the help.

Answer 1

at the risk of sounding like an idiot, what's a candy buffet?

Answer 2

Candy is chock full of sugar and perservatives....it takes forever to go bad. Like a year or more. If you do store it DO NOT put chocolate candy in the refridgerator. That's how you get the funky taste and that wierd white film over the whole thing. Candy should be stored in a dark, dry place that is kept at room temperature like your pantry. If you keep it on a window sill the sun may melt it....just use common sense. Candy Buffets are almost always a hit.....just make sure you have enough candy! Nothing is worse than having a bride with a gigantic candy table but only puts out three or four measly bags of Halloween treats. Whenever possible try to borrow containers from people or you will invest a good chunk of change on vases and bowls making it more expensive than indivdual favors. Also, white lunch sacks decorated up with a hobby stamp is just as pretty as the specific "wedding" bags at four times the price.

Answer 3

200 people....300 bucks. You are estimating basically a dollar a person (since the extra cents would be used for baggies).

I don't think that is quite enough. That is only about a grocery store sized bag each and people will fill their bags fuller than that, plus you have to factor in the cost of containers. However, you may be able to pull it off as long as you shop big sales like right after Easter and Halloween and limit the chocolate. Perhaps even make your own candies? Candy buffets can be a great idea except when couples don't fill it up enough and either people get left out, or it just looks really sparse even though they spent alot.

I think if you are wanting to spend that little you need to do individually packaged goodie bags instead of a buffet style.

We are having a milk and cookie thing instead of candy. Each MVP in the wedding will choose their favorite cookies (like mine is Lofthouse, my dad like peanut butter, HTB loves oreos....etc.) Guests will get little bags to fill with cookies and a pint of milk they can take back as a snack in their hotel rooms. It's costing alot less than the candy would have.

Answer 4

A candy buffet using brand name treats will run about $2-$4 per person.
You can whittle down that amount by using store brand or generic candies instead and then just a few key items can be name brand (like jelly belly beans and rocher chocolate truffles for example).
This is a very popular favor idea and you could probably make it work around your budget. Also, not every guest will get candy, but some will take more than their share.
Hope this helps.
:D

Answer 5

If you try to get candy from a place like Costco, you could probably do it. Since it's a candy buffet, you could easily combine "name brand" candies with cheaper, bulk candies. That might help you stay within budget. It's too bad that your wedding isn't closer to Halloween -- when it all goes on sale!

Aja J - A candy buffet is a display of a variety of candies where your guests can go during the reception to fill their own bag with candy. It serves as a wedding favor and is a way to let the guest choose their own favor.

Answer 6

Girl, Candy Buffets are the biggest craze in the wedding world. You can do a theme with your candy buffet section, or all one color or 2 color themes. Candy Buffets you can go any which way you want to go with it. It can be a beautiful show case. Have fun with it, and run wild. I've seen beatiful ones, but here's a link of sites of different types, stlyes, and sizes of Candy Buffets, for you to get ideas from.

Answer 7

I think $300 would be enough. Check out all your options tho. You can mix branded candies with generic brands. Find out if there is a candy warehouse around. We have a lolly warehouse about an hour from us and it is heaps cheaper. The candy is just so cheap there. I am buying some sweetheart candies there for our wedding (the little hearts with love messages on them) A warehouse has candy in really big sacks at hugely reduced prices....brand named ones too!
Another option is a wholesaler, I have purchased sweets from these places for school fundraisers....they are super cheap and you can only buy in bulk. I think that you can only buy from these places if you are a registered business (if might be different where you are) but if you know someone with a business number who will lend it to you or buy them for you, you can save an absolute bundle. Another option for money saving if you are adding chocolate to your candy bar is buy some cute moulds, You can get hearts and cupids etc. Buy a big sack of good quality choc buds and melt them, set in the moulds and you are good to go!!!
Another thing to consider is, some people wont take the candy, some wont or cant eat it so you will probably have more than enough. Good luck and have fun with it.

Answer 8

You could easily do it for $300. I think that candy bars look so elegant when they are filled with all white candy or candy in the wedding colors. Buy candy from bulk candy websites and buy the vases and jars at places like Michaels and Walmart when they are on sale. You have a lot of time to prepare and wait around for things to go on sale.

Answer 9

Are you talking like a real candy, as in sugary chocolaty, etc. candy? In dishes, etc...? And is this the only thing you are serving?

I think it would be super super cute as a little buffet on the side, dishes of random candy everyone loves, like lemon drops, licorice squares, etc....on top of real food!

I'm sorry, I don't know what you mean by donating? As in "the bride and groom have donated $X in your honor as guests to their favorite charity ____"??? I say, use the money on the wedding somehow.

Answer 10

I don't like the idea of a candy buffet. It sounds very goodie bag, 5 yr old birthday party to me. If you have $300 for favors buy favors or do a donation. Favors can be a decorated cookie, wine, chocolates, a picture frame, etc.

Answer 11

My advice would be to pick the containers, figure out how many you want to use in your display, buy a five pound bag of candy and use it to estimate how much candy you will need and the price involved. I have been looking into one for my wedding next year and all the advise I keep reading says to take note of the container size, for instance you may think you only need a pound of m&m's but once u put that pound in the glass container it looks tiny. They also say you can't estimate how many oz your guest will want i.e. 3oz per person. So they suggest you consider how you want the display to look and estimate how much you need from that.