This is the fourth post of a recurring series by Abby Grace Photo. Abby did a TON of DIY projects for her stunning wedding this past winter and will be sharing them with you over the next few weeks!
Welcome back, Romancers! Today’s post is the final installment in my DIY series from my own personal wedding. It’s been a ton of fun blogging for Capitol Romance, and I’m hoping it won’t be my last time (nudge nudge, Bree)! As always feel free to email me with any questions, especially if I’ve forgotten to give the name of a vendor I used. The photos we’re using today were taken at my wedding by the amazing lovely and incredible Terra of Terra Dawn Photography (she’s AMAZING).
After stalking wedding blogs and attending several weddings last summer, I REALLY wanted to do some sort of “sweet bar” feature. One of my college roommates had a candy bar at her July wedding and it was executed perfectly, but I didn’t want to copy hers, and the idea of a candy bar seemed really summery to me. I finally came up with the idea of doing a hot chocolate bar, which was completely appropriate for our [frigid] January wedding.
We talked with our caterer and she was really excited to execute the idea. We came up with a list of toppings and ingredients for our guests to pick from while fixing their drinks.
The bar ended up consisting of:
- a large carafe of hot chocolate
- several different flavor shots (caramel, white chocolate and hazelnut)
- whipped cream
- chocolate shavings
- marshmallows
- candy canes
I bought three or four cute, clear glass jars from Michael’s to be used as toppings containers. I created the labels for all of the toppings using textured paper from Paper Source (of course) and silver letters and ribbon from Michaels. Because “marshmallow” wouldn’t fit on the business card-sized paper, I ended up coming up with creative names for each topping; “mini clouds” for marshmallows, “swizzle sticks” for candy canes, and so on.
I bought plain white travel coffee cups and lids from the WEBstaurant, an online resource for ordering restaurant supplies (we also bought a bunch of inexpensive flatware there for our guests to use with their cake, since the church reception hall didn’t have enough forks for everyone). Check out that site- it may be cheaper to buy your own supplies rather than trying to rent them, depending on your need.
The caterer broke out the hot chocolate bar a few minutes before we were scheduled to leave, so guests had the chance to fix their drinks before standing outside in the freezing cold to see us off. Everyone loved the hot chocolate bar! Friends and family were still remarking about it when we got home from the honeymoon. Personally, I thought it was an incredibly sweet way to end the perfect wedding. :)
^I couldn’t agree more Abby! Thanks SO much for sharing your DIY Projects with us here on Capitol Romance!!!
5 comments
What a great idea! The caterer for my daughters May wedding last year did a Candy Bar pre-ceremony. It was fun, all the guests were eating candy from little cello bags while they were waiting for the Bride and Groom.
Thanks Deb – I so LOVE the Candy Bars too! I wanted to do that for my own wedding but just ran outta time. Need to find an inspiration board of Candy Bars – feel free to send me a picture of your daughters!!
I really love this idea Abby… it adds so much warmth and personality to a winter wedding. It’s something special AND practical that your guests will remember!
My son is getting married in January and I am considering doing this for the reception. Did you serve other foods also? Thanks for the great idea!