Unique Custom Bars

When getting together my daughter's wedding, the venue said they could not do appetizers - we were their very first wedding ever, and it was too much for them..  So what to do while the bridal party was getting their pictures taken and the guests were waiting?  I became obsessed with the popcorn bar (pictured below).  I thought it was super cute and doable.  My daughter wasn't as fixated with it, but I told her it was my thing, and just to let me try to do it.  Super fun to put together - even made custom little brown bags with the bride & grooms names and a heart wreath stamped on each bag.  About 6 weeks before the wedding, my daughter had a dream - and instead of having a popcorn bar, she dreamt about a POP BAR.  What a great idea!!! So we added the bride's favorite soda - root beer & the groom's - cream soda, of course in glass bottles, added a vintage wash tub filled with ice, and then we ordered pop rocks and then the wedding week, my daughters and I made lemon cake pops dipped in white chocolate with little red hearts.  They were adorable -  we ate all the ones that fell apart and literally swore that we would never eat another lemon cake pop again.  To me the Pop Bar (next two pictures below) was the best part of the wedding planning.  I'm a former Home Ec. teacher - so it just combined my love of food with my love of weddings.
Recently, Lilac & Lace Co. was asked to do a hot cocoa bar and provide the rentals for a large cookie swap party.  I offered chocolate peppermint stirrers that melted in the cocoa, and made mason jar dispensers for salted caramel and raspberry syrups.  What I could not find were gourmet marshmallows from the local candy stores.  Starbucks carried a pre-packaged star marshmallow, but it just wasn't gourmet enough.  So I decided to make them - and they were delicious! I made a vanilla and then a mocha one and cut them in big chunks to float in the cocoa.  And again it was so much fun to come up with ideas and the decor and make the food. (and completely forgot to snap a picture - BUT the Coke Bar & Apple Cider Bar are ones that I designed below)
I really think these little special thoughtful homemade touches really add a special touch to weddings.  These sweet bars tells the friends and family something about the bride and groom - a coffee bar with a drink named after the bride and groom, a cereal bar that comes out after the dinner for those who have stayed until the end to party with the happy couple, a salsa bar with tortilla chips and the best salsa ever (I have that recipe), or a cookie bar with your grandma's famous cookie recipe..  The possibilities are endless!