Wedding Coffee Bar

Does one of your love languages comes in a hot, brown liquid form?

Why not offer a coffee bar at your wedding reception? It will be the “hottest thing” besides the dance floor.

Photo Credit: Birdsong Photography

Not only can you offer a coffee bar, but the creative party favor idea that could complement the coffee bar perfectly is a “Create your own blend” coffee table.

Use large canisters of instant decaf and/or regular coffee.
Let the guests choose their bag, fill it with black coffee and then pick their choice of powdered flavorings. Every guest can leave with their own perfect blend of coffee to enjoy later.

Or – if you have money to splurge, hire an espresso bar. Depending on whom you hire, you’ll get baristas that will make coffees to order, with regular or decaf coffee, regular or low fat milk as well as herbal teas and hot chocolate. Guests can make cappuccinos, lattes, espressos, Americanos, etc. They can also make flavored coffees with Hazelnut, Amaretto, Caramel & Irish Cream and so on.

So, what is this going to cost you? Well, somewhere around $400 and $500 for a 4 hour service. However, for late night receptions, coffee bars are traditionally only hired for the last two hours or so. You would be hiring them for the entire duration of your reception solely because of the fact that you are having a brunch one and expect people to drink more coffee throughout.

If you are a coffee lover and need help finding a vendor in your area, check your local ones through PartyPop.com by entering the term “Coffee” in the search engine.
Of course, this is just another expense and not something that is needed. $500 is $500 and could be well spent somewhere else. But if you can find the extra money in your budget, it would be a nice touch and something that coffee lovers would actually reflect on.

Maybe you have considered hosting a tea party for some of your girlfriends. But what if tea just isn’t “your cup of tea”?

Chocolate and Coffee Party

Try a coffee and chocolate party instead!

Start by setting the date then send out chocolate- and/or coffee-connected invites. One enticing invitation idea would be to create invitations on your computer that are the same size as a candy bar wrapper, enfold a bar of chocolate for each guest and hand them out. If email invites are more your style, “click here” for a cute “Coffee Anyone?” caffeinated free evite that fills the bill.

Your next task will be creating a “menu”. Create a “coffee bar” (a card table or breakfast bar and make the chocolate treats easily accessible.

For your coffee bar, your main concern is of course the coffee. You may want to borrow thermal carafes and set out a few pots of both regular and decaf. Another option would be to invest in (or borrow) a one cup coffee maker and buy a few different types of the “pods” that it uses so that each guest can make their own fresh, steaming cuppa joe. Alongside your coffee, set out containers of flavored creamers in bowls of ice. You may wish to have a variety of flavored liqueurs available to guests as well.

Your chocolate offering should include a combination of ultra-rich desserts as well as some not-as-sweet treats. Bite size finger foods piled high on trays will not only add a fun appearance to your coffee and chocolate party, but they’ll be easier for your guests to sample and share as well. Cookies, brownies and chocolate candies are obvious choices, but don’t stop there! “Click here” for some decadent chocolate dessert recipes; pick up chocolate croissants and cream puffs from your favorite bakery; dip pretzels and potato chips in melted chocolate.

Scour thrift and dollar stores for fun, unusual coffee mugs, dessert plates and trays. Pile each tray with a selection of chocolate goodies, and scatter chocolate-covered coffee beans around your piles of treats for edible decorations. Place the trays of sweet, chocolaty treats at each table (or sections of one table) so that they can be sampled and passed around.

Cute Side Bar…

Not sure how much milk to put in your tea or coffee? The designers over at Suck UK have gotten it down to a science with these color scale mugs. Color swatches ranging from light beige (very milky) to dark brown (black coffee) line the rim, and when the color of your beverage matches the desired shade, you know to stop pouring. These would also make great favors.

MyCuppa Tea/Coffee, $13; Suck.UK.com