Creating a sweets table is one of the things I wished we had done for our wedding! ☹

So I may not have gotten the chance to do a sweets table for my wedding but I got the chance to do it recently (for you guys!). 

When Party City gifted me a €100 voucher, I decided to set myself a challenge to create a wedding sweets table within this budget (and I added a few of the products I sell online at My Wedding Shop). I thoroughly enjoyed pottering around the Party City store as they literally have everything you would need for any party or celebration! And the staff are so helpful, especially Nadine!

Are you thinking of doing a sweets table? Do you like the idea of creating it yourself? If yes, read on for my 10 top tips in creating your wedding sweets table.

Sweets Table Tip #1:

Will You Have A Theme For Your Table?

    • A sweets table gives you lots of scope to further personalise your wedding day! Do you have a theme for your wedding – can you incorporate this into your sweets table? Or do you have a prominent colour you are using (like the colour of the bridesmaid dresses?). For this challenge, I chose to do a gold/rose gold theme as I am always drawn to this combination.

Sweets Table I Created

Sweets Table Tip #2:

What Sweets Will You Have On Your Table?

    • What type of sweets will you go for? Will they be retro? Will they be colourful? Will they all be individually wrapped? If you are getting married over the summer months be cautious of having too many chocolate sweets as they might melt!
    • In my Giveaway I asked my followers what their favourite sweets were to give you some inspiration as to what sweets to include. See below for some of the most popular ones
      • Haribo Hearts
      • Love Hearts
      • Cola Bottles (fizzy!)
      • Haribo Rings
      • Jelly Beans
      • Jelly Snakes
      • Strawberries (fizzy!)
      • Milk Teeth
Sweets Table Sign

These are my favourite (rhubarb and custard)

Sweets Table Tip #3:

What Will Be The Layout Out Of The Sweets Table?

    • What jars/containers will you use? When you are thinking of quantities think of the jars you have or might be getting – how many sweets will it take to fill? Will you use tongs or scoops? Or like my friend Karen had, you could have a tree to hang some sweets from (doesn’t it look fabulous?)

Karen’s “Love Is Sweet” Table

Caitríona’s Sweets Table

Sweets Table Tip #4:

How Many Sweets Do You Need To Buy?

    • Now this is the million dollar question! It does seem to be a bit of a guessing game and then it obviously depends on the number of guest but more than that it is ultimately down to the size of the table you have and the number of jars/containers etc you have.
    • Also, are you thinking of refilling the sweets as they disappear on the day or do you think there is a need to do so?
    • My friend Karen did a trial run of one or two types of sweets to see what each jar could hold and then guesstimated based on size of the sweets in each jar compared to the trial ones. She then bought loads extra for refills and stashed them under the table and one of her bridesmaids was in charge of refilling the jars (good tip!).

It is about as hard as it is trying to figure out the amount of sweets to buy for the table as it is for my kids to decide what sweets they want!

Sweets Table Tip #5:

Where Will You Put The Sweets Table At Your Reception?

    • Where will you put the sweets table? In the reception room? At the bar? Outside? If you have it outside just remember the chocolate will possibly melt faster there! Or if it rains what is your Plan B? Really think about this as it is a great piece of décor to add some atmosphere or decorate a bare space.
    • Also, another tip from a friend is not to hesitate in giving the hotel clear instructions on how you want the table to be decorated or even do up a mock one and take a photo of it!

One of my best friends Mum did this incredible sweets table for her wedding! It was in a booth beside the bar – perfect position! I love the bits of greenery and the biggest bonus of this sweets table was that she refilled it for the 2nd night too!! And Zoe’s Mum included my ALL TIME favourite biscuit cake! It can never be beaten Noelle!

Sweets Table Tip #6:

Do Any Of Your Wedding Guests Have Allergies?

    • Just be conscious of this! I am more into this over the years as both my sons have allergies! There is no need to go the extreme but if you do know of someone who has an allergy in particular a nut allergen I would advise staying clear of all nuts! Also, you might want to have some gluten free ones!

Sweets Table Tip #7:

What Sweets Table Sign Will You Go For?

    • There are a 100 ways to do this so I have popped some suggestions below! For my sweets table I use a chalk board easel I got in Party City – I loved the bit of bling! Here are some of my favourite ones that might give you some inspo

Caitríona’s Sweets Table Sign

Sweets Table Tip #8:

How Will You Decorate Your Sweets Table?

    • How will you decorate the table? Will you pop on some confetti? Fairy lights? Bunting? Napkins? Food Flags? You could place your guest book on it too as this might encourage your guests to sign it as they munch on your sweets! As you know I am all about the detail so another tip would be to get the measurements of the table you are going to put your sweets on so you know the exact size of table cloth to use/get. Also, what sweet bags will you give your guests? Will they be cello bags, paper bags, cone bags or the small popcorn bags? Just make sure the bags aren’t too big or the sweets will disappear too fast!
    • And just to remind you, you can purchase some of these decorations  (e.g. peg board, bunting, confetti, napkins, envelope guest book balloons etc) on my website at www.myweddingshop.ie if you fancy having a look!

Some wedding inspo from Caitríona’s weddings

Karen & Tony’s Sweet Bags

Treat Bag

The Treat bags I used for my sweets table challenge

Caitríona and Kieran’s Personalised Napkins

Sweets Table Tip #9:

Will You Go With A Supplier For Your Sweets Table?

    • If you don’t fancy doing your own sweets table, trust in the experts! There are lots of great companies who provide this service and more! Also, check with the venue as this might be something they might offer complimentary as I have heard of this in the past.
    • One such company providing this service and much more is Carolyn Sweets. Check out some of the photos Ian sent me of their set up!

Sweets Table

Sweets Table Tip #10:

Make Sure You Get Your Wedding Photographer To Take A Photo Of The Sweets Table

  • This is a brilliant photo op – make sure to get your photographer to take a photo of the sweets table before people start digging into it! You wouldn’t believe the number of bride and grooms who never actually see the finished product or have a good photo of their hard work in doing it!

Karen’s DIY Ferrero Tree!

Karen’s gorgeous sweet jars she did herself

And finally, if you are undecided about doing a wedding sweets table a big wedding tip is that everyone LOVES sweets so you will not go wrong if you do one! One of my best friends had one at her wedding and her work colleagues still talk about it when her wedding is brought up!

Best of luck in doing your sweets table! Be sure to share some photos with me!

Thanks for reading

May-Signature-my-wedding-planner