Candy Buffet Wisdom

I'm getting a lot of questions these days regarding candy buffets (my new favorite obsession...ask away).  Here is some information I shared with one of my clients recently in response to her e-mail for any tips I might have:

Oh - I meant to say that for the last candy buffet, I pre-filled the jars then wrapped them very tightly with plastic wrap so the candy stayed fresh and in-place.  The week before I actually washed all the jars, and made and affixed the candy labels on the ribbon (and double-sided taped the ribbon to the jars).  Those things take up SO much time that doing them in steps saved us a huge headache during setup.  Also, I recommend having extra candy to replenish the candy buffet and to make sure it's in easy to open/close Ziploc bags or reusable containers for discrete refills.  Finally, choosing the smallest possible scoops helps keep guests from taking all of the candy at once.

We actually had an attendant (from my staff) keep the candy buffet closed until after the introductions and first dance so all of the guests had time to admire it, and the photographer had plenty of time to shoot it.  Otherwise guests would have torn it to pieces before the bride ever had a chance to see it, and they would have been paying more attention to getting candy than they were to the dances and welcome remarks.  The suspense was healthy and people took the time to admire the setup.  The delay wasn't too long and except for some teasing remarks, most people didn't mind waiting.

Hope that helps!