Portage Central Graduation Party Candy Buffet

My friend Amy and photographer of the images below planned a graduation party for her son, Joshua this past June and asked me to create a candy buffet for the occasion.  For the table design we stuck to Portage Centrals colors of blue and gold (yellow) for the candy colors and filled apothecary jars with layered M&M's, york peppermint pattie pieces, gumballs, lemon heads, sixlets, banana laffy taffy, lemon hard candy sticks and blue raspberry licorice. To complete the table, Joshua's graduation cake was perfectly centered in the middle of all the candy.

Moroccan Themed Sweet Buffet

This moroccan themed sweet buffet was so much fun to create for the Danielle and Brandon's wedding this past May. Danielle and her planner, Whitney came up with the color combo and let me do the rest. I was able to incorporate red and gold colored glassware, wooden cake stands and a large red bamboo shallow bowl for this unique table.

I also had the pleasure of working with along side Dena from Shabby Chic Cakes and More. Dena made scrumptious red velvet and spice cupcakes as well as wedding bliss, shortbread and chocolate meringue cookies. Yumm! My favorite element of the table was the cupcake tower complete with a cake topper and gold wrapped mint chocolates cascading out from the bottom.  

A special thanks to Stephanie of Stephanie Karen Photography for sharing these gorgeous images below. She captured all the details beautifully. See more photo's of this one-of-a-kind wedding here.

Sweet Buffet Inspiration Board

Part of the design process when I create a candy buffet is to pull all of my idea's into an inspiration board.  I take the color scheme/theme of the event and place different types of candies and/or desserts and decorative elements into the board to reflect the clients vision.  Inspiration boards are a professional way to present a client with my overall design inspiration for their sweet table.  

Here is an inspiration board that I created for a wedding I have coming up at the end of Septmember at Thornapple Creek Golf Club.

A Pie Buffet

Mmm, pie, a delicious, simple, cost-effective option for your wedding and/or event. You have seen candy and dessert buffets and I have even talked about donut buffets, but how about a pie buffet?

Group a variety of different flavored pies large or small, assemble in a tablescape and your guests will be coming back slice after slice.

Images from Top: Jen The Baker, Lyndsy Hamilton Events, Once Wed, United with Love,The Natural Wedding Company, Tailored Engagements

Vintage DIY Valentine's Decorations

Decorating for Valentine's Day with a vintage feel seems so romantic.  Here are some images to inspire you to decorate in a vintage way this Valentine's Day by using items you may have around the house, and if your not the crafty type a few of the items below can be purchased.

Here are some cute cupcake toppers made from doilies, tissue paper, ribbon, beads, and a toothpick.  Best of all if you are not in the mood to create them, you can purchase these exact toppers from The Polka Dot Shop on Etsy.

With an old newspaper in your home cut rectangular pieces, fold over a string with glue and use a heart hole punch to create this easy DIY garland or purchase them a pre-made one from Cori Kindred.

 

Using a handwritten note create this one-of-a-kind flower with heart shaped cuts and a decorative paper center. (Image via Happy Hullaloo)

With those left over doilies your have why not paste them on a white paper bag, weigh down the bottom of the bag with liter, sand, etc and illuminate them with a tea light. A beautiful, cost effective latern for your table or entry way. (Image via Martha Stewart) 

Lastly, milk glass vases are a great way to incorporate a vintage feel to any room. Using pink, red, purple, etc... flowers place them into a milk glass vase.  If you do not have a milk glass vase they can be found at thrift stores and antique shops.  (Image via Wedding Bee)

Stained Glass Garland

You have probably seen a lot of garland being used at weddings, birthday parties, showers, etc... but have you seen stained glass garland or garland made out of pieces of a mirror?  It will probably be costly to buy them to use for a wedding, but to have a strand hung in a window of your home would be gorgeous. Below are handmade stained glass and mirrored garland by Pamela Angus.

A Classy Holiday

Choosing which colors to decorate our home in for the holidays is always a dilemma for me because  I am a person who loves to change it up each season. There are so many color options out there these days it was hard to choose, but I ended up going with metallic gold and silvers. I chose gold and silver because I love how our house glistens, and in the years to come I can always add any color to enhance the look.

 

 Images from top: Wreath-Papyrus, Table scape-Citified, Silver & Gold holiday tabletop- Hostess with the Mostess, Ornaments-Taylor Homes Designed to Fit, Tree-Charlotte Mom Favorites

Hammond's Candies

Whenever at client requests hand-spun lollipops or ribbon candy, Hammond's Candies is top choice in my book. Each piece is hand crafted and almost too beautiful to bite into. Right now they have an great collection of Christmas candy to choose from that would make the ultimate gift for the candy lover on your list.