Food for thought

What to serve when

When it comes to wedding cuisine, most guests will remember the quality of the food--both good and bad. Wedding receptions don’t necessarily demand a formal sit-down dinner. Let your wedding style, the season of the year, and the time of day truly dictate what to serve and how.


Before you make the big party decisions, consider the time of your reception. No one wants to eat a heavy meal early in the day or late in the evening, so don’t feel obligated to serve a full, plated meal during early, afternoon, or late receptions. But be sure to clue guests into the food they can expect. A simple line like “dessert reception immediately follows” on the invitation will preclude any food-related mysteries.

Daytime Options

Breakfast, brunch, and lunch are all great options for a wedding reception earlier in the day.

Though not extremely common, a sunrise ceremony would be perfectly followed by breakfast, whether a casual continental buffet or a lavish plated affair, featuring dishes like Eggs Benedict or Italian Fritattas. A mid-late morning wedding is appropriately followed by a lunch or brunch, and again, casual to elegant applies. A jazz brunch is a fun option that combines a love of great music and a large variety of culinary choices from both the breakfast and lunch food groups. A church hall reception might be as simple as lemonade, iced tea, assorted finger sandwiches, and wedding cake.
An afternoon ceremony can feature a reception immediately following, like a mid-afternoon tea or early evening cocktail party, or feature an hour or two wait until dinner.

When Dinner Follows

Dinner means different things to different people, but for a wedding celebration, an abundance of food and drink is usually the norm, whatever form it takes. There are as many options as there are newlyweds, with some options including a cocktail reception with heavy hors d’ouevres and sweets, a dinner buffet, stations, and of-course, the plated dinner. Do not assume the smaller the food served, the lower the cost. In fact, the opposite may be true due to the high-labor cost in the preparation of some foods.

Night-Owl Newlyweds

Evening weddings are becoming more and more popular. An appropriate celebration that might follow could include a dessert reception, a Spanish Tapas fest, or even a classic Midnight Buffet with a combination of sweet and savory foods.

A Word About Buffets

Buffet meals can be simple or just as elegant as a plated meal. They may often include stations that offer meats hand-carved tableside, made to order specialties like omelets and pasta dishes, hand-rolled custom sushi, or display a wide variety of seafood. Guests can eat their fill and choose from a variety of foods, much more so than with a plated dinner. That said, understand that full buffets can cost as much or more than a plated dinner.


Tasty Alternatives

•Several reception alternatives give you the opportunity to control costs and throw a stylish party for your guests.
•Brunch/Breakfast—Whether served sit-down or buffet style, these meals are easily more affordable than dinner due to the lower cost of the foods with which they are prepared.
•Lunch—Like breakfast, lunch always costs less than dinner. The smaller portion sizes also let you select more sumptuous foods.
•Tea—Your guests will love the variety of finger foods, bite-sized sandwiches, and sweets offered during this classic late afternoon choice.
•Dessert Only—Add some cheese, fruit, petit fours, crème brulees, and other dessert choices to your wedding cake table for a sweet, simple party.
•Champagne—Typically includes a slice of wedding cake, a glass or two of bubbly, lots of beautiful plump red strawberries, and something very decadently chocolate.

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