Red hot bride - sweetypie09

As promised I’ve come back with more definitive decisions about my upcoming wedding candy buffet. Here are some ideas I’d like to share, and if you have had experience organizing a candy buffet for your wedding or your child’s birthday, please do leave a suggestion or two for me.

1. Candy containers

I’m in the midst of collecting jars and containers of different sizes for the buffet. After going through some tips and hints from various wedding sites and discussing it with the girls, it is agreed that we are to look for LOTS of containers be they tall and short, oddly shaped or of the conventional cookie jar sort. Most importantly, they have to be clear if not, how else can we tell what’s the in jar? Ha ha… Ooh and we’ve also devised a plan to source some old fashioned candy dispensers for that retro look. If you are familiar with how a water dispenser works, we are also looking for similar containers so that with a turn of the flip or lever, miniscule sized candies will pour out of them and into a guest’s cup or hands! Isn’t that nifty? See the pics below for some examples of apothecary jars which will make ideal containers for the candies!

2. Cups or plates for the guests?

I’m deciding between little paper plates or cups for the guests to put their candies into but Laura said it will be a good idea if we prepared different containers for them. If the candies are small in size (think plain chocolate M&Ms) then we could prepare small box-like paper containers with accompanying spoons for the guest. And if we were to have a surplus of candies left over, we could make little cellophane or paper bags available for guests to take some sweets home complete with little stickers to hold them shut. Oh and don’t forget the scoops for the candy jars… we won’t want the guests to stick their hands into the containers!

3. Candies I want

There are too many types of candies I want, just thinking about them makes me want to buy some sweets pronto! An interesting candy to have would be the champagne bubbles candy. Sweet and fizzy, they taste just like the real thing! Here are some sites I checked out which would be useful when bulk-buying candies:

candywarehouse.com

economycandy.com

metrocandy.com

4. Special favors

We’ve also decided to pack some candy hearts into little Chinese take out boxes which we will further customize with wedding stickers. Nothing fancy but these will definitely make cute wedding favors when guests are seated at the table or are about to leave after the reception.

I’ve got a sweet tooth, and it is not a coincidence that I chose the name “sweetypie” for the ID in this blog. Yesterday, I helped myself to some pre-Halloween candies at Laura’s place (much to the girls’ horror!) and finished the entire pack of some delish dark chocolate balls all by myself. So there I was staring at the empty plastic wrapping, chewing on the last chocolate morsel and wishing there were more to munch on when I had an epiphany! Why not organize a candy buffet at our wedding reception?

The idea was so astoundingly simple and attractive that I had trouble swallowing the last bit of my candy. Mia had to clap me hard on my back before I could completely swallow and told the girls about my idea. Everyone agreed enthusiastically that it was an appealing idea. Laura said it could fit into our wedding theme of keeping things simple but full of joy (after all don’t the simplest things in life make us happiest?); Jamie was happy I found an alternative to an expensive wedding banquet and Mia said it could be a rather unusual and yet attractive affair although she was not too happy that I will be guzzling more sweets!

After the initial discussion was over, I went home and wasted no time in sharing my idea with Mike. He too found my idea interesting and told me to go ahead with the preparations. I went online and found lots of ideas and tips about having a wedding candy buffet. Here are some pointers that I’d like to pass them on in case you are considering having one too!

1. Buy LOTS of candies, and I mean lots!

It pays to have more than what you need at your wedding candy buffet. I read that this is important to create “presence” and excitement because a table laden with insufficient candy just isn’t engaging enough. I think this is very true because besides being visually appealing you have to first attract people to the table. And what’s better than a lot of candies, is an ABUNDANCE of candies and sweets and chocolates!

2. Plan according to how the setting will look like, not according to the guest list

Whether you have 50 or 500 guests at your wedding, it is wise go candy shopping to buy whatever catches your fancy and then doing a trial run at home to see how the entire setup will look like. Buying a pound of candy per guest isn’t just enough and visually that may look very little. Again, the catchword here is “presence”. Don’t scrimp when it comes to shopping for candies because you can still keep them for later (candies don’t perish easily!).

3. What’s your theme?

Consider the theme of your wedding candy buffet. What colors do you want? I’m thinking of a pink and white theme so perhaps I’ll go shop for candies in these colors, or are wrapped using the general pink and white hues.

4. Customize!

You can go get labels or stickers from a label maker and wrap your candies or chocolates with them for a truly personalized affair.

I’m so excited! More on this later as I will share the yummy goodies with you guys!

I’m dreading this part of the whole wedding planning thing. When it comes to hairdos, I’m as clueless as can be. Growing up, I’ve always had short hair until my sixteenth birthday when I allowed it to grow past my shoulder. Now, I can’t remember the time when I cut it REALLY short but I’ve always worn my hair simple and neat. Nothing frivolous or flamboyant… which brings me to the question: Should I wear it differently on my wedding day? After all, this is my one chance to look a little different than what I usually do and changing my hair style would be a good idea. Stick to the safe side or go wild with the ‘do? Argh, so many choices and so little time!

I could have the stylist create an updo for me since my long hair is perfect for piling on top complete with veil and all. OR I could just style a cute little bun with the usual adornments but that again depends on my wedding dress, which I’ve not chosen yet! I gotta get rid of that procrastination bug!

There’s also a hairstyle called the half up/half down hairstyle which oddly enough, looks simple yet understated. It is done by segregating the hair into two major parts whereby the top half is tied or twisted however you wish. The lower part will be curled and the tendrils left flowing down. Most brides opt for this sort of style because it looks elegant and yet simple enough to style.

Mia told me to make an appointment with my wedding hair stylist two months in advance so that I could have plenty of time to decide what sort of hairdo I want. She gave me a useful tip: Be sure to bring my veil, earrings, tiara and whatever accessory I want to be included as part of my hairdo. Oh and a picture of the dress won’t hurt too so that the hairstylist knows exactly what goes with what.

Also, I’ve been advised that should I decide to cut, curl or dye my hair, I should do it weeks or even months before my big day. That way if anything drastic happened I would have time to rectify it and by the time my wedding day rolls by I would not be walking around with a disaster happening right on top of my head!

Will go do more research about bridal hairstyles and talk to my stylist. Let’s hope I end up with something nice and not too elaborate?

I was watching CSI: Miami the other night with Mike. It was all very riveting until the part where a bride got accidentally killed at her own wedding, BEFORE saying “I do”! Imagine the horror! However, I shuddered even more when I learned that the bride who got killed wore a wedding veil which cost her $1.2 million! I almost fainted at the thought. Mike was secretly glad I didn’t ask for one too, hehe.

When it comes to the subject of wedding veils, I still do not know what I sort of veil want. I told my wedding planners just that, and Jamie, the budget savvy planner extraordinaire suggested I create a DIY wedding veil! It can be really cheap but the end result will look like it’s worth a million bucks!

I frowned. Could it be done? Then she showed me the main ingredient in making a DIY wedding veil…

Wow, this is a shocker! I can suddenly see it now; my very own self-created wedding veil could be conceived from a single clear plastic hair comb! We could begin by wrapping it with satin and no one will be the wiser.

I got very excited and the girls agreed that it could be a fun project if we did this together. Here’s a list of what items are needed in general. Feel free to modify or experiment!

1. Fabric
There’re so many types of fabric that you can experiment with. Go wild with the choices but only after you visit the fabric store. Choose from tulle, organza, silk or chiffon. Make sure it looks good with the material your wedding dress is made of

2. Thread
Similarly the thread color should match your veil. Consider silver thread for a nice metallic effect!

3. Trims
Again, there are lots of stuff that can be used for your veil’s trimmings. Crystals, sequins or pearls, take your pick!

I just got back from the wedding cake store! Omigosh I’ve had so many mouthfuls of cake that I lost count how many I swallowed and how many I begged the girls to taste for me. Tasting and choosing the right wedding cake can be a pretty daunting task (more on that later!) but on the upside, I discovered something new!

Just now, I spotted a little section at the cake store where they have little charm necklaces on display. I picked up a lovely sterling clover-shaped charm and commented how lovely it’d look as a necklace. A nice shop assistant turned around and smiled, telling me that these are wedding cake charm pulls!

I was intrigued. Never have I heard about this tradition. Apparently this is an old Victorian tradition whereby the bride would get the baker to embed little silver charm necklaces into the wedding cake layers before preparing it for the wedding reception. The charms would be attached with satin ribbons which will be pulled by the bridesmaids or other single female friends of the bride’s. Each charm bears a different meaning. Here, I jotted down what the shop assistant told me:

If you pulled the Anchor charm you have a stable life ahead of you
If you pulled the Cross it means you will be content with life in the future
If you pulled the Heart your true love will find its way to you soon
If you pulled the Wedding Ring you are next in line to marry
If you pulled the Flower your love life will bloom and flourish easily
If you pulled the Clover luck will always be at your side in life

There is also the dreaded Thimble charm but since it signifies that whoever pulls the charm will be a spinster… *gulp* Um let’s not go there…

Anyways I was so sold into the idea that I dragged Laura, Mia and Jamie to the counter and got them to choose some charms. Seeing that they are all single, AND will be my bridesmaids, they will each get the chance to pull out a charm! How exciting! I wonder what they’ll get.

Well, I’ve the charms in my possession safe and sound now. Can’t say the same about the wedding cake; I’ve not chosen any yet! So many choices, and only one wedding. Sigh. Blame my sweet tooth for my indecisiveness!