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Cosmetics InformationSave on Wedding Price and Have That Chocolate Fountain
by:
Blake Kritzberg
Chocolate fountains, once a rarity at weddings, are becoming much common -- but no less beloved. Still, they pose a budget crunch for galore brides, coming in at only slightly under the cost of the wedding cake -- and that's for a one-day rental!
If you're like us, there's thing
that simply burns our little Yankee hearts simply about disbursement over $400 to rent a machine that granted, cost a little over ten times that, but gets rented out galore times. And yet if you're like us, you actually want a way to fit that chocolate fountain in.
We're several in luck, because higher-end chocolate fountains are coming to the house market and becoming much available ... even as to skinflints!
What We Didn't Buy -- And Why
You've seen the early entrants, possibly on eBay -- cheap chocolate fountains ready-made by lesser-known brands merchandising for simply about eighty bucks. You've probably thought of trying one out, simply because the cost difference between that and a rental machine was so astronomical.
We did too, but as we see simply about the small, cheap versions, we ran into a lot of complaints. One of the most worrisome was that the cheap fountains ready-made such a loud grinding noise, you couldn't have a speech standing next to one -- which was not the ambiance we wanted for our party.
Further, we weren't sure if we wanted to support the fountain over the long term. We wanted to buy thing
with nice merchandising value so we could recapture our money if needed.
Fortunately, as our point approached, Sephra -- the standard in high-end rental fountains -- began offering pre-orders on their 1st house market fountains. We snapped one up for simply about $250, an attractive fountain that holds five pounds of chocolate. The fountains were so new, we had to switch our order from the lovely cherry red we'd wanted to a unstained steel in order to get it in time. But we got it.
Showtime ... And Several Helpful Hints
Once acquired, it was time to test it out in live conditions! The 1st party we disclosed it at was on the small side, with simply about 25 people. Set-up was simple. The experience did, however, teach us several tips:
Try out and get comfortable with your chocolate fountain before a actually big affair. You won't actually understand the logic behind the manual book until you try it. For example:
1) The chocolate fountain actually makes need to be balanced to activity properly. Sephra models offer adjustable feet to accomplish this. Once
we 1st set up our fountain, we were so busy we didn't level it, and it didn't flow well until an left brained type in shining armor fixed it for us. Then things worked 100% better.
2) Once
melting large quantities of chocolate, don't even as bother with a double burner. You need a glass bowl and a large microwave, which your venue hopefully provides. Heat gently, as advised -- no higher than 50% power.
3) Also, Sephra provides you with a little tool for telling whether your chocolate's dissolved enough to flow well. Err on the side of "too melted" rather than "not enough." Especially given the minute or so it takes to transport it, the chocolate can easily get too thick for easy flowing.
With 25 really interested people, we nearly (but not quite) ran through our 1st five pounds of chocolate. So you can guesstimate needing a pound of chocolate per five invitees. Simply be sure to have extra on hand.
We disquieted whether it would-be be difficult to refill the fountain -- for example, whether we would-be have to lug the whole thing back into the kitchen, disassemble, refill -- but it turned out to be dead simple. You simply pour dissolved chocolate into the lowermost bowl.
Our Chocolatey Conclusions
Sephra is delivery larger versions of their fountain to the house market. For a large wedding or a party of several hundred, we would-be probably go with a larger version.
Yet you can besides do really well with the five pound model. After all, it's hard to melt, carry and otherwise handle much than five pounds of chocolate at once (you wouldn't believe how galore "chocolate chips" that is). All you need is person willing to watch and refill periodically, which isn't hard. Pick person who can get slightly mussy without a problem -- not a maid of honour in shiny taffeta.
If we'd had much time and a larger party, we'd probably get the largest fountain we could buy, care for it well, and sell
it once
the ballyhoo died down. That would-be save a immense chunk of change over the $400-500 one day rental, and bring the chocolate fountain inside
reach of a lot much brides (and happy guests).
And if you happen to fall in love with it and the day for merchandising it ne'er
comes?
Well, it happens. Simply ask us.
Simply simply about the author:
Painter Kritzberg is editor at "FavorIdeas.com" Finish by for a immense selection of wedding favors, Bridezilla's weekly adventures, and free resources for brides: save-the-date eCards, screensaver, wallpaper and web site templates.
http://www.favorideas.com
For much on the house market chocolate fountains, see:
http://www.favorideas.com/chocolate.htm
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