Weddingbee Blog

I can thank a co-worker for our hometown reception favors. I work with a number of individuals from Quebec. I’m not one for sweets, but growing up in New Hampshire I have a soft spot in my heart for Maple Sugar Candy. If you’ve never had maple sugar candy, I’m not sure how to describe it. It is made by taking sap from the maple tree and boiling off the excess water. When done well, it is like butter in your mouth. When it is done not-so-well it is gritty and hard. A couple months ago my co-worker took a trip home to Montreal and she returned with the most delectable maple sugar candy. As I savored the candies, my mind was filled with images of New England growing up, and I had an epiphany: maple leaf shaped maple sugar candy would be the perfect gift for our hometown reception. It honors where I grew up and also fits well with our fall tree and leaf-themed party.

Source

Let me warn you, not all maple sugar candy is created equal. The first company I ordered samples from sent me hard, gritty, old maple sugar candy—yuck. I felt a little guilty leaving the offending candy on my desk for my co-workers (the non Quebecois ones—the Quebecois ones knew better) but they ate them up quickly, nonetheless. Boo…but I hit jackpot on my second order. Vermont Maple on Etsy sent me an amazing sample. It was completely fresh with a buttery texture. Plus, Amy at Vermont Maple told me they would make my batch the week before our party to ensure maximum freshness. WOOT WOOT! I ordered up 12 lbs or approximately 440 pieces. We were estimating 200 guests at our Hometown reception.

I’m almost as excited about the packaging as I am about the favors. We’re making the packaging 100% from scratch. My favorite things about my Silhouette Machine are the 3D projects that I can make, including these adorable boxes. I sized them to fit 2 maple sugar candy pieces. I had a lot of kraft paper left over from projects for our wedding and I was able to use it to make our boxes. We’re going to use the boxes as seating cards and display them in the entryway with this sign.

The box top will display the guest’s name and table assignment, as well as a paper leaf.

Variety of leaf shapes and colors

Open the box and it is lined with parchment paper. We’ll put in an insert that identifies the candy as Maple Sugar Candy and Amy’s favorite candy growing up in NH.

These candies are from the first batch I ordered—you can see the granulation of the sugar.

Our RSVPs came in much lower than we expected, which means lots of extra maple sugar candy for Mr P and me! And one of the great things about the boxes are that they can be shipped flat and assembled in Indiana when we arrive in a couple weeks.

I got an email this weekend from Amy, and they are making our candies next week. I am beyond excited!

Are you having favors with a shelf life? How are you keeping them fresh?