Choosing what food to serve at your wedding is a huge decision. Almost half of your wedding budget goes toward your reception (47%) and a large chunk of that is for food. There are many factors that go into deciding what type of food you will have and how it will be served. Some of those factors are:
- Venue
- Budget
- Theme/Style
- Ethnicity
Venue
If you are holding your reception in a ballroom or country club, chances are you have to use their caterer/chef and choose your food from their “packages”. If you are holding your reception on a ranch or in a barn, a barbecue dinner of chicken and ribs would be a perfect fit. But if you want to get a fully customized menu to match your event, you may consider an off site catering service.
Budget
Catered meals are priced per plate and easily ranges from $10-$75+ per person. As you can see from that span, you must choose your food and your number of guests wisely to stay in budget.
Theme/Style
Your menu needs to compliment your style. If you are hosting a formal black tie wedding, you shouldn’t serve hamburgers and hot dogs and if your reception is on the beach, an Italian feast doesn’t make nearly as much sense as a clambake would.
Ethnicity
Some ethnic groups have strong food related traditions. Even if you don’t want to have a menu that is 100% ethnic, adding touches of ethnic food is a great way to honor your heritage at your wedding.
Basic Types of Wedding Food Service
Cake and Punch Reception
Depending on your budget and the time of day of your wedding, you may opt for just a cake and punch reception. This works well for small weddings and home or church receptions. I have also seen variations on this where there is a small, two-tiered wedding cake that the bride and groom cut and then there is a buffet of desserts baked by family and friends for the special occasion.
Hors d’oeuvres Rception
An hors d’oeuvres reception is a great way to cut costs and still have a full reception. The key is to let guests know it is an hors d’oeuvres reception and schedule your wedding not near a traditional meal time ie. early afternoon or later evening so that guests will have eaten their meal before arriving at your wedding.
Buffet Reception
A buffet reception can take on several forms from catered to homemade. A buffet is usually middle-of-the-road as far as costs go. A buffet allows for a variety of food options to suit each guest’s preferences.
Plated Sit Down Meal
This is the most expensive of all receptions because not only are you paying for food but for the wait staff too. In the old days your choices were chicken, beef or fish but nowadays, wedding catering services are offering a much wider variety of food choices so that couples can personalize their wedding menu.
Final Tips for Choosing Your Wedding Food
- While personalizing the menu to the bride and groom’s favorite foods is a great idea-think of your guests first. Chances are you will eat very little at your reception. Make sure your food choices will please most guests.
- If you are having a lot of unusual ethnic food but have several guests who may not be familiar with these choices make sure there are signs or a menu that list the main ingredients and try to offer something that will be familiar.
- If your guest list includes several older, less mobile guests a buffet can pose a problem. Guests with canes and walkers can’t also balance their food. Make arrangements in advance for someone to help these guests.
What kind of food did you have at your wedding? Was is a buffet or sit down? My wedding was an hors d’oeuvres buffet.
Thank you for sharing these smart suggestions. It has definitely become a trend to completely feed your guests at weddings. Thank you for sharing!