Tired of the generic wedding food? Us, too! If you’ve ever attended a wedding, you’ve likely experienced a menu that included either humdrum chicken or lackluster salmon. While there’s nothing wrong with chicken or salmon, you shouldn’t feel compelled to go with the typical wedding reception menu. Your wedding is the most extravagant event you’ll ever throw, and your food and drinks can be a fabulous way to showcase your great taste!
Whether you’re working with the in-house catering team at a hotel or venue or a private caterer, it’s important to spend time working on both the food and bar items that will be featured on your wedding menu. As a wedding planner, I have so many ideas for planning your meals over the course of your wedding weekend! With our tried and true suggestions, you’ll be sure to pick the perfect mouthwatering plates that will be as fantastic as the rest of your special day!
Start Planning Your Menu Early
An incredible wedding menu begins with choosing the right caterer! We advise picking a caterer when you scout your venue, which is typically about one year from your big day.
If you choose a venue that offers in-house catering, be sure to ask to see their wedding menus and find out if the Chef has any flexibility to make any modifications. If the wedding venue you select requires you to hire a private caterer, be sure to find out if you’re required to choose a professional from their preferred list or if you can go with one of your own. Regardless, be sure to request a wedding reception menu and, if possible, conduct a tasting before you choose to book with them.
Take Guest Count into Consideration
Knowing your guest count will help you determine how much of your wedding budget needs to be delegated to your wedding menu. This cost will encompass both food and beverages. Serving a 3-4 course meal for 250 guests will take a larger budget than serving the same meal to a more intimate 50 or 60 guests.
If you’re having a larger affair, you might consider serving an amuse bouche to guests as they take their seats, followed by a salad or starter course and an entree. Leave the dessert or cake for tray passing while guests are on the dance floor.
Be Mindful of Food Allergies and Dietary Restrictions
Be sure to check with your guests about allergies or other dietary restrictions. It’s important to make sure there are wedding menu alternatives for gluten-free or dairy-free guests, as well as those who have peanut allergies or need to avoid other foods. It’s also important to find out if you have any guests who don’t eat meat.
Although you’ll want to ask about your guests’ dietary needs on your wedding RSVP cards, it’s important to talk to the catering team in advance to see what menu adjustments can be made for these guests. Most venues will offer a gluten-free, dairy-free, or vegetarian option for guests with dietary restrictions.
Think About the Style of Service
It’s ideal to consider what the style of service will be like for each of the events for your wedding planning weekend. Most often, our wedding planning clients opt to have a sit-down dinner style with multiple courses for their wedding reception. Sit-down-style dinners are more budget-friendly and less wasteful, which is ideal for couples looking to have a more sustainable wedding.
For a rehearsal dinner or something a little more casual, consider trading a plated dinner for a family-style service where food is shared on the table. Or consider taking it up a notch with a French-style service, in which food is presented on a shared platter but passed by the catering team to guests individually so they can self-serve their portions. For a welcome party or farewell brunch, a buffet or stations can work well.
Consider a Themed Wedding Menu
Have you thought about incorporating a theme into any of the meals for your wedding weekend? Whether you do a themed welcome meal, rehearsal dinner, wedding reception, or farewell brunch, consider choosing a caterer who can help.
For example, if you’re opting for a Western-style reception, consider hiring a caterer who specializes in BBQ to cook up an unforgettable wedding menu! If you’re having a taco or fiesta-themed party, hire a Mexican caterer. Or get extra creative with a fun food truck!
Go Local and Seasonal
Most high-end wedding venues offer seasonal menus to ensure you’re getting produce that are in season. I personally love the addition of stone fruit and berries in salads during the summer and the addition of toasty butternut squash or hearty dark green kale during the winter. After all, a sun-ripened tomato salad just doesn’t work as well in December as it does in July.
As a wedding planner, I recommend considering local foods that can make a great addition to your wedding reception menu. For example, if you love seafood, consider including those items on your menu if you’re getting married in California or Cape Cod.
But while you should have fun with your wedding menu, don’t go too rogue with the food items you include on it. Be sure to consider where your guests are from, their average age range, and levels of food sophistication. A Midwest crowd might be less apt to try the unagi sushi you love than a California crowd, for example. And, while some guests might love Mexican cuisine, it’s important to provide alternative options for people who might not be able to tolerate spices.
Add Personal Touches
Use your wedding reception menu to tell your love story! You can serve foods and beverages that remind you of the wonderful times you’ve shared together.
Consider serving wine if your first date was at a vineyard, churros for dessert that remind you of your first trip together to Mexico, or pasta because you couldn’t get enough of it in Italy where he proposed! Alternatively, consider naming your signature cocktail after the place you met, the first street you lived on together, or the song that was playing during your first kiss!
Remember That Presentation Matters
A good caterer will understand that presentation matters just as much as taste! Make sure to review the serving platters for all of your courses, including the trays passed for hor d’oeuvres, during your tasting.
Be sure to get creative about food presentation! Instead of serving soup in a bowl, consider using a hollowed-out acorn squash instead. You can also add small touches on your own like custom cocktail napkins to accompany your signature cocktails branded with your wedding stationery or colors. Talk to your wedding planner about branding to create cohesion throughout your wedding weekend and coordinate with your theme.
Bottom line, it’s not easy to cater to everyone’s tastes when it comes to an event as big as a wedding. However, a fantastic meal is often the icing on the wedding cake of a truly memorable wedding day! With the right planning, you’ll come up with a wedding menu that people will talk about for years to come. If you want help planning the meals and every other little detail that goes into creating an unforgettable wedding weekend, be sure to reach out to us at HauteFêtes!