One of the hottest trends in hen’s day and wedding catering is the addition of a candy buffet, dessert buffet or high tea.

If you’ve never heard of these wedding catering options …

Candy Buffets offer your guests a selection of sweets and they can pick their favourites, creating their own personalised party bag! The candy included is only limited to your imagination.

Dessert Buffets change your wedding dessert from a limited choice to an extravaganza of delicious options. You can also consider a smaller wedding cake (and save some money into the mix) by complement your wedding cake with other desserts.

The candy and dessert buffets add a hugely fun element to your wedding reception. Their presentation can be tailored to fit with your wedding theme and they give your guests the perfect place to mingle and get to know each other!

High Tea is a stylish way to start your hen’s day celebrations and include some of the older folk that might not want to hit the town with you and your friends. High tea is usually made up of gourmet cakes, tarts, biscuits, scones and sandwiches with berry compotes and fresh cream.

We spoke to Pam Thexton from La Tea Da who create themed candy buffets for weddings and gourmet high teas for hen parties. Pam said, “When it comes to the candy buffets we often find it’s the groom with the sweet tooth and they love the chance to pick all their childhood favourites. Although a multi-coloured candy buffet creates a wonderful party atmosphere, we can create a stunning display that matches your wedding theme and colour scheme – from the lollies and sweets right down to the font we use on the tags.”

High tea for hen’s parties is a favourite of Pams and she explains, “Serving high tea creates a lovely atmosphere without filling everyone up with heavy food. Our high tea is homemade and served on beautiful vintage table settings with 3-tiered cake stands for each table. It always looks so pretty and stylish regardless of the location.”

Have you been to wedding with a candy buffet or dessert? What did you think?

La Tea Da can dazzle your guests with a beautiful candy creation at your wedding or special event. La Tea Da creates a stunning display with modern and classic buffet glassware, scoops, tongs, customised bags or boxes and a selection of quality sweets. A La Tea Da ‘Kandy Buffet’ is a wonderful way of saying thank you to your guests for their attendance. Let La Tea Da take the worry away from your event by allowing me to organise your sweet presentation. La Tea Da can also arrange a High Tea for any occasion – a beautiful selection of gourmet cakes, tarts and biscuits, scones served with berry compote and fresh cream, a variety of sandwiches with delicious fillings, all served on beautiful vintage table settings and three tiered cake stands in the comfort of your own home or garden. Contast La Tea Da today!

From The Newcastle Bride Team

On Friday 4th November, Newcastle Bride celebrated our "Ultimate Hens Day Out" competition. Promoted in partnership with NXFM, Newcastle Bride gave away a pampering package for ten people to endota day spa Newcastle, followed by a group photo shoot with Red Door Photography, with lunch at Crowne Plaza Newcastle, and lastly but by no means least a 'playful art' class at Raw Jaffa Newcastle! Not forgetting a special gift for all guests from Flowers By Lorey!

And the lucky winner was..... KAREN! (below left).

- Karen (competition winner) and sister-in-law Margs (our Hen) who is getting married next year (Image by Red Door Photography)

Karen was extremely excited when we told her she had been chosen as the winner of our Hens Day competition, and advised that she had actually entered the competition for her sister-in-law, Margs (engaged to Karen's brother). Karen told us that Margs was not yet aware that she had entered the competition (How exciting!).

During the "Ultimate Hens Day Out", we asked Margs to tell us what happened when she discovered that Karen had won her a prize valued at over $4,600? Margs comments "Karen phoned me and made me repeat to her what a fabulous sister-in-law she is (which she did), before explaining to me that she (we!) had won the prize!"

Margs chose nine friends to join her for the day, with Karen being first on the list. Also attending was Nadine, Alissa, Mary, Mel, Phillipa, Nola, Anne and Jodie, which included both Margs' mother and mother-in-law.

All in all, the "Ultimate Hens Day Out" was a fantastic day, so we thought we'd share some images below...

- endota day Spa Newcastle offer a great selection of Hens Day Packages (Image by Red Door Photography)

- The stunning bride-to-be! (Image by Red Door Photography)

 - Margs being pampered at endota day spa Newcastle (Image by Red Door Photography)

- Enjoying the group treatments at endota spa Newcastle - a great hens day activity! (Image by Red Door Photography)

- Margs looking vibrant and beautiful outside endota Spa Newcastle (Image by Red Door Photography)

- The girls were extremely spoilt by endota day spa Newcastle with yummy nibblies for all (Image by Red Door Photography)

- Margs with her mum, Mary (Image by Red Door Photography)

- The girls enjoying a glass of champagne (Image by Red Door Photography)

- Lauren from Red Door Photography certainly knows how to organise a great shot! (Image by Red Door Photography)

- More pics with friends... (Image by Red Door Photography)

- And the group all together... (Image by Red Door Photography)

- Our winner Karen with Margs (the hen) and Margs' soon to be mother-in-law (Image by Red Door Photography)

- The group of ten are ready for their dining experience at Crowne Plaza, Newcastle (Image by Red Door Photography)

- Gorgeous bouquets were presented to each guest, designed by Flowers By Lorey (Image by Red Door Photography)

- Sitting down to a delicious lunch at Crowne Plaza, Newcastle (Image by Red Door Photography)

- We highly recommend Flowers By Lorey for your bridal bouquet and wedding flowers! (Image by Red Door Photography)

- Margs, pretty as a picture (Image by Red Door Photography)

- Margs at Raw Jaffa, Newcastle (Image by Red Door Photography)

- The hens group posing with their 'model' at Raw Jaffa, Newcastle (Image by Red Door Photography)

- We think Margs and her ladies would agree... (Image by Red Door Photography)

- Are you blushing Margs? ;)  (Image by Red Door Photography)

- Raw Jaffa's "playful art" is a great hens day activity for young and old! (Image by Red Door Photography)

- There were smiles everywhere, a great way to finish off a fantastic day! (Image by Red Door Photography)

Margs ties the knot next month at Swansea Heads, and we wish her all the very best for her big day. And for those wondering - YES - Karen is a bridesmaid!

A special thanks to all the Newcastle Bride business associates who were involved in making Marg's Hens Day memorable, and an extra mention to Lauren from Red Door Photography for capturing the entire day!

We'd love to know what you think of our "Ultimate Hen's Day Out" - comment below to tell us if you'd enjoy these hens day activities, or to share your hens day experiences in general.

- From The Newcastle Bride Team.

One of the really fun parts of wedding day preparation is the hen’s party. Now the hen’s party used to be one kind of party involving lots of booze, lots of mates and a stripper. Now it’s okay to do that but if that’s not your bag, or you’d like your mum to come along, then you might consider a different kind of hen’s party.

Time at a day spa lets you get together with the girls for a more relaxing hen’s party and a lot of day spas are catering for exactly this kind of group. Imagine spending the day getting facials, massages, manicures and pedicures while you sip champagne with your besties! There are no lads trying to hit on your single friends and there is no jostling for space at the nightclub bar. PLUS your skin and body will be getting the perfect pre-wedding treatment so your skin will look as wonderful as you feel.

Endota Day Spa Newcastle just love being part of wedding celebrations and they have some pretty amazing bridal day spa packages that are just perfect for a classy hen’s day out.

You can get a group treatment room so you’re all in together or your group can use the whole day spa and there is a range of spa packages that will suit everyone’s budget. While you’re doing the tough work of being pampered, you can keep your energy up with tasty antipasto platters. Oh and you can bring your own alcohol. What more could you ask for?

It’s the perfect day out if you’re looking for a classy hen’s party that won’t leave you feeling wrecked. In fact you’ll feel quite the opposite!

Get the girls together and book your pre-wedding bliss at a day spa. If you’re best friend is organising the hen’s night – send her this link! Check out Endota Hen's Day packages or book online.

Happy Pampering!

 From The Newcastle Bride Team

P.S. We’d love to know – where would your ideal hen’s day be?