Not long ago the “wedding breakfast”, your first meal together as a married couple would be a traditional sit down three course meal along the lines of a Sunday Lunch; how times have changed….thankfully! Now the choice is endless. Alongside the more traditional but definitely upgraded serving style, there are plenty of different ways you can serve your food to provide both style and substance to your guests. Deciding on how your meal will be served will depend on your personal taste, the style and theme of your day, your venue and of course your budget.
Setting: @whitehouse_crockery
On Trend
Canapes
Though not a new option, canapes have definitely increased in popularity in recent years and are an essential in filling in the gap between ceremony and reception. Guests will have left home a few hours before and will more than likely be enjoying the welcome drinks you’ve generously provided. At a wedding personally, I think the more substantial the canape the better. Give your guests something decent to nibble on whilst they wait. The average gap between ceremony and reception is three hours…….that’s a long time.
Caterer: @strawberryshortcakedining
Family Style Feasting
Where courses are served in the middle of the table for guests to share, whether that’s big bowls of delicious salads or vegetables to go with plated meals or serving the whole roast on a board with a designated carver on each table provided with an apron and carving set. As well as encouraging interaction between guests it also creates some fun and drama. Sharing desserts also mean that guests can have a choice or multiple portions of desserts, think apples pies, cheesecakes, lemon tarts, steamed puddings with jugs of cream or custard. It also looks very generous.
Caterer: @strawberryshortcakedining
Tasting Menus
If you prefer a traditionally served wedding breakfast, thankfully in most cases these are no longer soup/prawn cocktail, meat and overcooked vegetables and a defrosted mass catering dessert.
These days we’re all foodies and we expect more. So don’t be afraid to serve your guests something that looks like it comes from a Michelin star restaurant and more than the standard three courses. If your venue has a set menu which you’re not keen on, ask if you can change the options, most venues these days understand the need to be flexible.
Grazing Tables
The traditional beige buffet has thankfully had its day. Couples much prefer the look of instagramable grazing tables complete with towering cheese cakes, charcuterie, fruit and fresh bread. These are a perfect option for the evening or a casual small wedding.
Dessert Tables
Dessert tables are also increasing in popularity, it gives you the chance of providing lots of options for your guests to nibble on when they fancy something sweet. It’s also a chance to make a feature of your cake table and can be topped up during the day and into the evening.
Street Food
Street food is another popular option especially for evening food; think burgers, pizzas, dirty fries, tacos. Its different, fun and practical, food trucks are a great way to get amazing food without a kitchen. Street food also creates a more relaxed, festival style wedding. Food trucks are also very instagramable!
Lets Talk Alcohol
For many alcohol is a massive part of the wedding day but its definitely time to ditch the Bucks Fizz and Sherry on arrival for guests welcome drinks. There are so many choices these days it will be difficult to decide what to offer, so as always choose what you like with some options. Check if your venue will let you have external drink suppliers for your welcome drinks and/or evening party or if they can provide something similar.
If you’d like a signature cocktail, or a gin bar and bottle beers in a wheel barrow go for it. Like food trucks there are many mobile bars that create a definite statement and that instagramable moment.
Cocktail hour is increasing in popularity, with a designated cocktail station and mixologists; you could create your own wedding day cocktail menu.
Keep the alcohol flowing during the welcome drinks to create a great atmosphere, along with kilner jars of soft drinks or bottles of Fentiman’s lemonades for those that don’t drink. A water station, especially in the summer is also a great idea to keep guests hydrated, think kilner jars with mint & cucumber, lemon & lime or grapefruit & orange; both pretty and refreshing and another chance for creating a feature.
Your welcome drink station should give your guests a clue as to what to expect from the rest of the day and also provide that wow factor.
At the wedding breakfast, rather than placing wine on the tables, have your caterers serve it to your guests. As well as increasing the level of service, doing it this way also reduces wastage and allows guest to have their preferred wine. Agree a set number of bottles of wine with your caterer and then ask them to keep serving a range of white, red or white until the agreed number has run out.
Allow a minimum of half a bottle of wine per guest.
For the toast, only allow and serve half a glass per person as so much goes to waste. Unless your budget allows champagne serve guests prosecco but if you’d like a bottle of champagne on the top table no one would know.
Consider having a cocktail station for the first few hours in the evening reception. It will create a fun, party atmosphere and also make your evening guests feel like they’ve not been forgotten.
Things to take into consideration
Seasonality
Not only seasonal food but also what will the weather be like. A winter wedding will need heartier food, whilst a summer wedding will lend itself to lighter, fresher foods. A good caterer will steer you in the right direction; your guests and your catering team will not thank you for choosing a heavy meal and a dessert with custard on a hot summers day.
Children
Children should be served the same meal as the adults just smaller portions slightly adapted if necessary. However, it’s always worth checking with the parents of any smaller guests under 11 if they are picky eaters.
Dietary Requirements & Allergies
Don’t get too hung up on Great Aunt Betty who won’t like the food you’ve chosen, so you change to whole menu to keep her happy. If you really think it will be an issue ask your caterer if it’s possible to create a different meal for her or slightly adapt the menu to suit her tastes.
Other dietary requirements and allergies can usually be easily dealt with. When you send out your invitations ask for any allergies and dietary requirements then and inform your caterer who will adapt the menu for each guest accordingly.
Budget
Caterer: @strawberryshortcakedining
Canapes, a five course wedding breakfast, dessert table, evening food and lots of alcohol all sound amazing, however if it pushes your budget too far you’ll need to reduce the cost somewhere. There are a few options:
If being generous to your guests is important consider reducing the number of guests in the day. This is the most costly element to the catering and it will also reduce your crockery, linens and styling costs.
Eliminate either the canapes or the starters, personally I’d suggest the starters and fil your guests up with canapes.
Choose not to serve wine at the table, guests will buy their own at the bar, you could also decide not to serve champagne or prosecco for a toast, so much gets wasted; ask guests to raise a glass instead.
If you want to keep to your original number of guests and still be generous food and drink wise; why not consider a later ceremony and invite all your guests, followed by either a selection of food trucks for a casual festival feel or a hot stand up buffet serving bowl foods.
Covid-19
For the next six months at least, wedding receptions will remain under some form of restriction on numbers. (I'm sorry I know its not what you want to hear). At the moment receptions are not allowed, when we come out of lockdown and into the lower tiers wedding receptions will be limited to 15 indoors and 30 outdoors (Wales & England). Hopefully this number will increase to 50 & 100 by peak wedding season. Therefore, for this year at least, what you're able to do will depend on the tier you are in at the time of your wedding.
How Choose your Caterer
Caterer: @cleverchefs
If you have chosen a venue that doesn’t have an in-house caterer you’ll need to hire one. Many venues will have a preferred list which will narrow your choice down, occasionally you’ll have a free hand, so ask for recommendations from your venue, ask who’s catered with them before and also ask friends and family for recommendations.
Before you start contacting caterers, have a few decisions already made, otherwise asking for a quote will be a worthless exercise for both of you. Refer back to “Your “Must Have List” , it would be useful to know your:
Date of wedding
Time of wedding
Venue
Number of guests
An idea of what style and type of food you’d like
Let your caterers know your “must haves” when you contact them and ask for meeting at their offices.
Then it’s all about how they respond to you, are they quick to reply, friendly & welcoming, eager to setup a meeting. Once you’ve set up a meeting consider the following:
Are they happy to discuss your ideas
Do they have menu options that suit you
Have they worked at the venue before
Can you have a tasting and is there a cost
Can they accommodate any dietary requirements and food allergies
What are the charges for staff and how many would they suggest (usually it’s a minimum of 1 to 8 guests) Are the staff experienced.
Who will be in charge on the day, such as Head Chef and Front of House
Do they supply crockery, glasses, linens? Are there options or are you able to arrange your own.
Ask to see a sample of what they can supply.
Are there any kitchen costs involved if the caterer needs to hire one in at the venue
What is the payment schedule, how much deposit is required.
Finally, ask for a quote including all costs but remember this will be an estimate and
subject to change based on your estimated numbers. Most caterers will issue the final bill around 2 weeks before your wedding date based on your final numbers.
Then it's just a case of making a decision and paying a deposit and your caterer is booked!
If you need assistance in booking your caterer or help in planning your wedding please don't hesitate to get in touch. We have a variety of different options from supplier search to full wedding planning. Get in touch via hello@magnoliaandmeconsultancy.co.uk or check out our website www.magnoliaandmeconsultancy.co.uk
