“How much do we actually need?” is the question that comes up every time, and it's a fair one — a sweet table that runs out by 8pm looks worse than no sweet table at all.
The Rule of Thumb
Caterers generally work to around 100g of sweets per guest for a table people graze from across an evening, rather than a one-off handful. It's not an exact science — a sweet table that's doubling as the dessert behaves differently to one that's a late-night extra — but it's a sensible starting point.
Working the Maths
For 80 guests at 100g each, that's 8kg. In practice:
- Three 3kg bulk bags (9kg) covers it with a bit of headroom — and three different sweets look better in jars than one bag split three ways.
- If you buy three bags of the same sweet, most of our bulk lines now price that at the 3-Pack rate — 7.5% off automatically, no code needed. Three different sweets at single price still isn't expensive against catering costs generally — it comes down to whether variety or unit cost matters more to you.
- Scale the 100g figure to your own headcount: 50 guests ≈ 5kg, 120 guests ≈ 12kg. Round up to whole bags rather than under-order.
Shapes That Actually Suit a Wedding
A few lines genuinely lean into it rather than just being generic pick 'n' mix:
- Haribo Heart Throbs 3kg — soft foam-backed jelly hearts, a Haribo mainstay rather than a novelty line.
- Kingsway 3D Sugared Hearts 3kg — layered heart-shaped chews with a sugar coating.
- Kingsway Valentine Hearts 1kg — milk chocolate hearts with a caramel crème centre, closer to a favour than a pick 'n' mix sweet.
- Vidal Jelly Filled Strawberry Hearts 1kg — a softer, fruitier take on the same shape.
Worth saying plainly: these are shaped for the occasion, not exclusively for it — they show up in our Valentine's searches too, and there's nothing wrong with skipping the theme altogether and building a table from whatever pick 'n' mix favourites you'd actually choose to eat.
Presentation
Bulk bags need something to go into. Sweet jars and tubs both work — jars photograph better, tubs travel and reseal better if there are leftovers to take home.
For Genuinely Large Events
If you're planning for 200+ guests, multiple tables, or want a fixed delivery date to work around, it's worth talking to us directly rather than guessing from bag counts — see Trade & Bulk Orders.