When
you’re planning your wedding, so many items are factored into your budget – the
dress, the place, the flowers, and so much more. The meal is often planned to
please a large crowd and defaults to chicken to “play it safe.”
Give
your guests a little more credit and check out some of the hottest trends in
wedding food, including seasonality, retro favorites, and your own family
history. All of these trends will translate into any setting if you have a
little creativity on how to present them.
1.
Seasonality
Wedding
foods are drawing so much inspiration from the seasons – don’t be afraid to
expand beyond the mashed potatoes and give your guests a meal to remember.
Bring the tropics to a Midwest ballroom wedding with beach-inspired Signature
Cocktails for summer. Enjoy comforting root vegetable-laden fall side dishes
(Pumpkin and Sage Risotto for a cool November wedding? Yes, please.) Consider
the bright flavors from a chilled asparagus soup to highlight warming weather
for a spring wedding. A winter wonderland is completed with a hot chocolate bar
with creative toppings like Bailey’s whipped cream and peppermint sticks.
2.
Farm-to-Fork
The
farm-to-fork movement is so prevalent; chefs have the welcomed task of guiding
you toward the freshest local products to emphasize your wedding meal
selections.
3.
Retro Favorites
Retro
favorites are showing their sweet side with eclectic candy buffets where guests
can build their own wedding favor with their favorite candies. Instead of
sticking with color-coordinated candies, bring back the ones everyone loves –
lemon drops, rock candy, jelly beans, and mix in locally made treats from a
nearby chocolatier or popcorn (visitors to the Midwest would love Garrett’s
cheddar caramel corn – a Chicago classic).
Another
retro touch that is gaining in popularity is to serve comforting pastries, like
our Baked Sweet Potato Donuts, as the dessert after the wedding meal. Drizzled
with local honey and dusted with a cinnamon powdered sugar, they are served on
a spindle for guests to enjoy family-style at their tables.
4.
Family History
Give
a nod to family traditions and ethnic backgrounds with an after-dinner pastry
station. Imagine a cascade of mini cannoli’s and tiramisu bites to honor the
bride’s Italian heritage intertwined with traditional Greek custards and
baklava inspired by the groom’s Greek background. Set them atop elegant lace
linens decorated with piles of vintage luggage to set an old-world backdrop.
If
the bride is an award-winning pie maker, have a variety of assorted mini pies
as the last night snack during the wedding reception. Acknowledge the New
Orleans backdrop where the groom proposed with mini cup of gumbo served as a
passed hors d’oeurve during cocktail hour. Give your guests a taste of
the South with peach jam from Georgia where the couple met in college.
All
of these little touches are just that – unexpected strokes that add up in a big
way to keep your guests talking about your creative and tasty wedding edibles
for years to come.
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