It’s no secret that planning for weddings can be one of the most stressful processes to complete as a bride. From booking a venue, to finding the dress, making the seating chart, and even creating the table center pieces. There’s so much to be done! Even when you have the perfect vision planned out, things don’t always turn out the way you expect for them to. More than likely there will be some smaller problems that pop up here and there during the planning process, so the best defense is to be as prepared as possible.

One of the most popular bridal ideas we see becoming a part of wedding receptions is having a gourmet popcorn bar. Not only are these fun treats something different to have available for guests, but with the different flavors and colors they make an aesthetically beautiful addition to your reception at a lower cost than most other custom desserts. If you plan on utilizing a popcorn bar at your wedding reception, we’ve listed 10 tips for setting up this fun and original treat for your guests: 

1. Use an inflatable serving bar to hold the popcorn in. This can be found at any sort of home goods store (ie. Lowes, Bed Bath and Beyond, Walmart, Home Depot, etc.) usually between $5-$15 dollars. Then take your choice of linen to cover the blow up serving bar with. This will create the well shape to place your popcorn inside of for guests to serve themselves from.
2. Another option for displaying gourmet popcorn at the wedding reception is to use cardboard boxes. Cardboard boxes are very inexpensive to use and easy to come across for free with reusing a found box. Take one of these boxes and simply cut them down to the appropriate height necessary for serving. Just like with the inflatable serving bar, line the top of the cardboard box with linen of your choice. No one will be the wiser with the elegant linen cloth covering the cardboard box!
3. Having a rustic or country atmosphere for your wedding? Beautiful wooden crates or bushel baskets lined with linen for serving make excellent options for displaying as well. Great for a “classic popcorn” look.
4. Use a brick or small container such as a shoe box to tilt your serving containers forward for easier access. Conceal the object underneath the linen of the serving container to hide it from guests. Tilting the popcorn forward also makes the look of the popcorn bar a bit more elegant for a reception piece.
5. Avoid containers and displays made of glass. Although they may be beautiful pieces to serve from, they are often expensive, heavy, and can shatter easily. If a glass container breaks or cracks while holding the popcorn, the popcorn cannot be served to guests.
6. Be sure that the displayed container is large enough for the number of guests you will be hosting during the reception. This may result in you having to use several of the same containers which can also be useful for offering different types of popcorn without crossover into another flavor batch at the bar. Small vases or jars may look very chic to serve from, but during the reception, they may turn out to be much less functional and practical than serving from larger containers.
7. At Grand Rapids Popcorn, we offer many different tools to help serve your guests. From serving bags and boxes to popcorn scoops or food boats, we can help make your gourmet popcorn bar a success. These tools range in different sizes and designs as well.
8. Limit your flavor options to no more than 5 different flavors of popcorn for your wedding reception popcorn bar. With too many flavor options there is a greater chance of wasted food (which equals wasted money for you). With an overload of options, guests tend to want to try a multitude of flavors, but will leave the flavors that they don’t really care for uneaten on the table.
9. If you’re having your reception outdoors, be mindful of the weather that day. Humidity is the absolute nemesis of popcorn and causes it to become sticky, if candy coated or soggy and stale if butter or savory coated in the heat. Try to avoid placing the popcorn bar in direct sunlight, and try to store in a cool and shaded place as best as possible. One way of preparing for this is to place the bar underneath a canopy or tent over the display.
10. To avoid empty containers of your guests favorite flavors of gourmet popcorn, consider having a popcorn attendant on hand to help with the bar. Having an assistant to refill the bar and keep it tidy during the reception is helpful to both guests and the wedding party.

If you are interested in having a gourmet popcorn bar at your upcoming wedding (or any event with a larger gathering) Grand Rapids Popcorn Company has been selling oil, seed and salt since 1944. And, creating fresh gourmet popcorn since 1990. We have supplied multitudes of weddings over the years and would love to help with yours. We specialize in making customers happy with all things popcorn related for their event planning. For more help than just the tips above, contact Grand Rapids Popcorn to help you walk through your gourmet popcorn options.