Things
to Think About When Planning the Meal For Your Wedding
- Are
you planning to have a sit down meal or a buffet
for your wedding?
-
Will there be any other food served other than the dinner or
lunch? For example, will there be a buffet served later at night
during the wedding dance.
- How
formal is your wedding going to be? Will you
be planning a full five course meal, cocktail
party or something in between for your wedding reception
meal?
-
Will you be hiring a caterer for a rental site,
using a social group, doing the food yourself or is there an
in-house caterer at the place of the wedding
reception you have chosen?
The
food you serve at your wedding is important no
matter what you are serving. How it is served is just as important
and should suit and reflect your wedding style.
If your wedding is very formal you will want
to have a sit down meal that is served. If your wedding
is more casual, a buffet style meal is very appropriate. Even
cocktail parties can come off as very elegant if they are put
together and executed right. Some people have very strong preferences
about how the meal is served at their wedding.
Obviously, the cost will go up with the level of formality and
what type of food is served as well as who prepares and serves
the food.
Choosing
Your Caterer
When
choosing your caterer try experiencing them first-hand
at someone else's special event, or get a reference from someone
you trust. You want to be able to evaluate them for yourself or
at least have the judgment of someone you trust, if possible.
You will be able to evaluate how professional the serving staff
is and how their food taste. If this isn't an option for you,
be sure to ask a lot of questions and observe how professional
and personable the caterer is when interviewing
them.
Special Diet Wedding Guests
If you can accommodate for wedding guests with
special diet requirements, such as diabetics or vegetarians, they
will be very thankful that you thought of them and made things
easier for them. Often, events like these can be quite a challenge
for them.
Food
Safety
Food safety is especially important if you are providing your
own food. Caterers should be well trained in food safety. Food
should never sit out very long unless it is on ice. Meats should
always be cooked through to the required temperatures. Food serving
and preparation areas should always be clean and fruit and vegetables
should be washed. If your having an outdoor wedding, food safety
is extreme important. Food should never sit out in the hot sun.
It should be kept in a shaded area for only a brief time and should
also be covered to keep out debris and insects.
Serving
Napkins
Always have extra napkins available for your wedding
guests. Take the time to fold the napkins with a little flare.
This really adds to the look of the tables. For dinner napkins,
order 1 1/2 times the number of wedding guests
you are expecting to your wedding reception.
As for cocktail napkins, you will need approximately 3 times the
amount of wedding guests.
Heritage Dish
A nice idea is to serve a favourite dish from your heritage at
your wedding reception dinner.
Try to have something that goes with your other dishes or choose
a separate dessert to go with your main meal. You can even have
the recipe and the family history written out on cards for your
wedding guests to take home and enjoy.
Chocolate
Fountains
Chocolate
fountains are becoming more and more popular. They can
be bought or rented. They are available in different sizes to
accommodate all your guests. You may wish to have a couple of
smaller fountains with different types of chocolate running in
them. Usually dark, white and milk chocolate are available to
choose from. Chocolate wafers make for very smooth chocolate that
flows nicely. You will probably need between 8 to 30 pounds of
chocolate depending on the number of guests and how long it will
be running. You can serve them with fruit, pretzels, cookies,
Rice Krispy squares, and even marshmallows. Yummy! The smell that
comes from a chocolate fountain is simply delicious and will surely
make your wedding guests smile. You may want to have the fountain
running at your nighttime buffet, at the time of your receiving
line, or at your dessert table or bar. You can decorate around
them to make them go with your decor but I would suggest putting
down napkins around the fountain so that chocolate spills can
be quickly cleaned up.
Count
Yourselves In
Don't forget to count yourselves and any professionals that will
be eating at your wedding reception when totaling
your wedding guests list. Ask your photographer, videographer,
officiant, disc jockey and band members if they will be eating
with you.
Water
Bottles
You may want to have bottled water on the tables especially if
your wedding is taking place in hot weather and your location
is not air conditioned. You don't want anyone fainting from the
heat. Consider having both sparkling and still water available
for your wedding guests. You can even dress up
the bottles by tying a ribbon in your wedding colours around the
neck of each bottle or having a special label put on each of the
water bottles.
Dressing
Your Tables
If you can afford to use an overlay of linens on your tables it
will add an amazing amount of decorative detail to the room. Using
two coloured tableclothes or lace-like tableclothes over a solid
coloured cloth adds detail and a romantic feel to the room. Another
great way to add sparkle to the room and the tables is to use
small indoor lights under sheer fabric. It will give a beautiful
glow to the room. Make sure that the lights are of a very low
wattage so that they don't burn the fabric.
Buffet
and Wedding Guests Table Set-up
For buffets, you may wish to mirror the food
on both sides of the tables to help the line move faster. Have
people line up on both sides and move in one direction. The napkins
can be stacked between the plates or wrapped around the utensils
for easy and quick distribution. The glasses should be placed
with the beverages for easy access for your guests. You may also
wish to have your Master of Ceremony announce how you would like
the guests to start at the buffet so there is a steady stream
of people going up, not everyone at once. If your guests' tables
are numbered, you can either have the even numbered tables go
first or have the tables go up in groups of five tables. (Tables
1-5 then 6-10 and so on.)
Cocktail
Reception
If you are having a cocktail wedding reception
you may want to have a few food stations like roast beef, seafood,
appetizers, and dessert to mix things up a bit. You can even have
a candy bar so people can pick their own candy for their favour.
Creative
Drinks
It can be fun to invent a new drink for your occasion celebration
only. Give it a fun name and serve it as a punch or at the bar.
Make sure people are informed if it is an alcoholic beverage.
If it's a drink you really like to can serve it at any of the
parties you host in the future.
Little
Things to Add to the Look of Your Wedding Meal
- Different
bread varieties
- Multicoloured
sugar crystals for tea and coffee
-
Lemon slices served in the ice water
-
Cappuccino/espresso bar
-
Sprigs of fresh herbs as garnish
-
Butter molded in special shapes like hearts or bells
-
Wait staff offering freshly grated cheese or pepper at the guests’
tables
The
Table Setting
The table setting can really add sophistication to the whole overall
look of the tables. Take the time to make sure the tables are
done up right, paying attention to all the details. Each place
setting should be 24 to 30 inches wide to avoid overcrowding.
Settings should be 1 inch from the edge of the table. Lay cutlery
in the order they will be used. When dessert and tea and coffee
are served the cup and saucer should be placed to the right of
the dessert plate with a teaspoon placed on the saucer. You can
save table space by placing the dessert fork and spoon at the
top of the setting as shown below. Napkins can be placed to the
left of the forks or placed on the dinner plate or in the water
glass.
