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What To Serve At A Wedding Reception

Cheap Wedding Food Ideas

How to Arrange a Serving Line for a Wedding Reception : Great Wedding Ideas

Everyone wants to serve their guests the best of the best, but sometimes steak and lobster just arent in the budget. Just because you cant spend much money on your catering doesn’t mean you have to settle for boring meals. Use these ideas as inspiration and work with your caterer to come up with the perfect menu.

Everything You Need To Know About Wedding Reception Meal Styles And Menu Ideas

The wedding day is one of the most important days for a lot of young couples. Months of planning go into perfecting every detail so as to be satisfactory not just to the wedding bride and groom but also to their guests. Among all the different aspects involved in a wedding, fixing and preparing the style of reception and the menu has got to be one of the most important parts.

Food, which is undoubtedly the most vital element part of your event, should reflect the bride and groom as a couple. Therefore, the style in which the meal is served should go with the planned theme of the overall wedding. Here are 6 different ways to conduct your wedding reception in style:

Appetizers Only Wedding Reception

If you want a night time reception with dancing, but cant fit dinner into your budget, you can have an appetizers only reception. Depending on your budget, youll still want to offer either an open bar or a limited bar, with wine, beer and a signature cocktail. Just remember to schedule your reception to either end before dinner or begin after dinner.

If youre on a super tight budget or want to DIY, stick to cold appetizers that can be prepared ahead and set out in time for your reception:

  • Pita and hummus

  • Sliders

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Pass Sweet And Savory Hors D’oeuvres

Choosing a brunch or lunch timeframe does offer a lot more flexibility in terms of your menu, but that doesn’t mean you’re only allowed to serve salads and quiche. “You do not have to stick to standard lunch or brunch foods unless you love them,” says Jove Meyer, owner and creative director of Jove Meyer Events. “Couples can play with the balance of sweet and savory more during the day than at night.” Try adding a cinnamon roll station to your cocktail hour or passing mini versions of your favorite brunch foods-pancakes, crepes, chicken and waffles-as appetizers.

Iii The Most Common Liquor Used In Signature Wedding Drinks

Leigh Court ~ Wedding evening etiquette  do you need to ...

Its just as important to know whats in the signature cocktail . We asked couples which liquors they included in their custom drinks.

Most chose vodka, while Dallas, TX, and Denver, CO, went with tequila. Couples in San Francisco, CA, and Seattle, WA, cant seem to agree with their fellow neighbors, and were split between tequila/whiskey and vodka/rum/whiskey, respectively.

Read Also: How Much Is Open Bar At Wedding

Maintain A Coherent Theme

Use thematic food and drink menus that rely on fewer, cheaper ingredients to save money. A consistent theme boosts the appeal of an otherwise basic or boring menu.

For instance, fried chicken, fried okra, and macaroni and cheese are a lot more appealing as part of a Southern-themed menu than as an apparent afterthought at the end of a long buffet table.

Popular themes include:

  • California cuisine
  • Southwestern cuisine or Tex-Mex
  • Healthy eats
  • Whole game
  • Barbecue

How Much Wine Should You Buy For Your Wedding

The most important question, How much wine should I buy for my wedding? Whether you have a smaller wedding of fewer than 100 guests or a bigger one with over 100, you dont want to run out of wine. So, to calculate how much wine youll need to cover your wedding guests, use the following formula:

How to calculate wine for a wedding reception

Multiply your number of guests by the assumed number of glasses theyll drink per hour. Multiply that number by the length of your wedding reception , then divide that number by 5 . The result is the number of wine bottles youll need to buy for your wedding.

/ 5 = 120 bottles of wine

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Focus On Nontraditional Cuts Of Meat

Swap pricey cuts of meat such as filet, prime rib, and lamb chop for cheaper or nontraditional cuts. For instance, well-marinated flank steak or sirloin tips are nearly as tasty as your basic filet mignon at a fraction of the cost.

Remember to do your research so you can counter your caterers suggestions with cheaper alternatives. MyRecipes has an article on less expensive beef substitutions, for example.

Winter Marriage Ceremony Reception

How to prepare for the wedding reception

Earlier than I even met Forrest, I knew precisely what I needed to have at my reception.

Assuming I received married throughout the colder a part of the yr, I assumed that soups, bread, and a scorching chocolate bar would make for the proper objects for our company to have.

Once we had been about to get engaged, we initially thought wed wait till Might to get married.

I didnt actually suppose soups would go nicely then, so we began considering of different concepts.

Nonetheless, when one factor led to a different, and we determined to get married in December as a substitute , I used to be excited that I might do my soup/scorching chocolate concepts.

I do know it may appear foolish, however I used to be actually excited! We added a couple of extra enjoyable issues to the menu, and it was all good for the chilly night time.

We didnt have one particular individual or place cater we searched round for the perfect costs on particular person objects.

This ended up being a sensible transfer, as we received a whole lot of selection and the perfect costs. We even used a couple of family and friends members who had been keen to make some issues for us.

Though it took a little bit little bit of effort, I believe we ended up spending fairly a bit lower than wed have, had we gone with a standard caterer. Plus, all of the meals was tremendous tasty and hearty.

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Tips For Catering For Wedding Receptions

These four tips will come in very handy to have the best dishes for a wedding reception.

1. Find out if the reception venue allows you to bring your meals.

This is perhaps the most important tip to remember. You dont want to make elaborate catering plans only to find out that you have to take them all back on the day of the reception. Some venues are particular about having to be responsible for catering. Others may have a third party they outsource it to and who they insist their clients should make use of. So, be sure to find out the position with the venue before you commence your catering plans.

2. Let your catering and food choices reflect your uniqueness as a couple and tell your love story.

Want to avoid bland and uninteresting? Consider letting your catering choices tell your love story.

Maybe its that favorite dessert from that restaurant that you both love. Or perhaps the meals you both ordered on your first date or the exotic meal you had while on holiday. Going with this type of theme has a way of bringing an extra personal touch to the reception and having your guest connect with and be a part of your love story.

Get your guests to get a feel of the personal touch by having notes beside each meal detailing the story behind the meal. This will leave them with stories to tell even long after the reception is done.

3. Unless you have a lot of money to splurge on the reception, options that entail fewer logistics and fewer food items are more budget-friendly.

Research Ingredient Costs Ahead Of Time

You dont need an encyclopedic knowledge of ingredient pricing or availability. But it can help to have a general sense of the cost of various types of vegetables, meats and fish, and common sides.

The more you know about the costs of ingredients and finished dishes, the better you can negotiate menu pricing or swap costly components for cheaper ones. Thats crucial if youre building your own menu rather than choosing from a preset menu.

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Eggs Benedict With Smoked Salmon And Dill Hollandaise

Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon and dill hollandaise is ideal for serving as an entrée at outdoor weddings or receptions during the day. Perfectly poached eggs with lemony hollandaise, creamy cream cheese, spicy red onions, salty capers, and peppery arugula are a wedding reception staple. Your guests would love to savor this insanely delicious dish.

What Is Served At A Cocktail Reception

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As the name implies, it is a style of reception in which there will be no formal dinner provided, but instead attendees will be treated to an assortment of finger foods. In any case, the hors doeuvres are frequently the most anticipated part of the evening for attendees.

Also Check: What To Put In Wedding Gift Bags

Diy: Wedding Reception Menu Ideas

These simple wedding reception menus can be done as a seated service or buffet-style and can also be served as a dinner menu. See Party Food for more information on styles of service

Spring Menu

This fresh menu will serve at least 50. Double the proportions to serve 100. Serve with white wines, craft beers and Sunny Holiday Punch.

Coarse salt or seasoned salt Freshly ground black pepperBreak or cut off tough stems. Arrange whole spears in steamer pans or in a small amount of water in shallow pans. Do not overcrowd. Cook until asparagus are tender-crisp, about 8-12 minutes. Place on platters and pour warm butter over hot asparagus. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.

Poached Salmon on Dressed Salad GreensServes 20-25A simple yet elegant way to present this popular fish to a large crowd. As a main course, plan on one filet per person depending on size of the filets. Use an assortment of salad greens either fresh or packaged. Top with Dijon Vinaigrette or your favorite bottled dressing

Poaching Liquid

40-50 salmon filets, about 4-5-ounces each, thawed if frozen5-6 pounds torn lettuce leaves, packaged or fresh1 ½ quarts vinaigrette or other purchased vinaigrette or light salad dressing

Dijon Mustard Vinaigrette

2½ cups red wine vinegar3/4 oz chopped chives

The Ultimate Guide To Choosing Wine For Your Wedding

Buying and choosing wines for your wedding reception can be an overwhelming experience. This wedding wine guide was created to make the process of selecting wines for your wedding day simple.

By The Wine Community on March 05, 2019

Buying and choosing wines for your wedding can be an overwhelming experience. There are many things to consider when it comes to choosing the best wine to serve at your wedding ceremony or reception.

To alleviate some of that stress and make your wine selecting experience simple, weve created this wedding wine guide to help you select the perfect wines for your big day. This guide will help you figure out which wines to serve, what to consider when picking wines for your wedding, how to pair your wines and how much you need for your wedding.

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Bouquet And Garter Toss

Time: 10 minutes After the parent dances have wrapped up, next up in the wedding reception timeline are the bouquet and garter tosses. However, its becoming increasingly common to skip these traditions, so if the bouquet and garter tosses arent quite your style, dont feel compelled to include them in your reception schedule.

What Food Is Served At A Cocktail Hour

Planning a Wedding : How to Decide Which Meal to Serve at Your Wedding

2 shared meat dishes, one or two fish selections, and a few cheese hors doeuvres are all acceptable possibilities and dont forget about vegetarian options. Each visitor will consume 5-6 pieces of food every hour, on average. In order to serve about 500 pieces of appetizer for 80 people for an hour, you should plan on serving approximately 500 pieces of appetizer for an hour.

Read Also: Google Sheet Wedding Budget

Use All Or Mostly Sheet Cakes

Its common for couples to commission a special wedding cake to cut in front of guests. But why spring for a fancy and costly three-tiered cake when most of your guests would be happy with sheet cake anyway? Ditch the pomp and go with sheet cakes for all.

If you dont want to forgo a special cake for yourself and your wedding party, purchase a small, off-the-shelf layer cake . Add a reasonably priced cake topper if youd like.

It’s Fine To Serve Chicken At Weddings As Long As The Dish Has Personality Like Chicken Francaise

Head chef Jon Beattie of The Renaissance, a top wedding venue in Richmond, Virginia, swears by Chicken Francaise, a breaded and fried chicken breast topped with lemon and butter sauce. ” is one of my favorite entrees for a wedding. a beautiful chicken breast that is herb-breaded and then pan-sauteed with a lemon-caper sauce. But one of the reasons why I love it the most is that it has a longer holding pattern than a grilled, non-breaded, or skinless option.

“When you cook this chicken with its already super-tasty crust, again remembering your holding box temperatures, you can drizzle a little of the partnering sauce and you have a perfect entree for your guests,” Beattie told INSIDER.

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List Of 9 Finger Foods For Wedding Reception

Serving finger foods at your wedding reception would save you costs and be logistically more manageable. Spice up your wedding reception menu with these decadent finger foods for a wedding reception

23. Vegetable and spring rolls.

24. Spicy buffalo wings.

26. Meatballs and savory sauces

27. Dessert.

Desserts like doughnuts, fruit tarts, petit fours, ice cream, cookies will spice up any wedding reception.

28. Cupcakes and all things cake.

Weve put the cake in a separate category because cake stands in a class of its own when it comes to dessert and sweet things. Cake flavors like death by chocolate, red velvet, carrot, and vanilla are all-time favorites at weddings.

29. Meat, cheese, crackers, and tortilla trays with dipping sauces.

30. Meat kebabs and dipping sauce.

31. Mini chicken and beef wraps.

How Many Guests Will Be Attending Your Wedding

Is It OK to Not Serve Dinner at a Wedding Reception?

Whats your headcount? How many guests at your wedding will be drinking wine? Do you have some serious wine lovers on your guest list? Or do you have some people who would prefer beer? Its important to consider wines and alcoholic beverages that will be at the bar. Include your table wines and expand beyond that by adding beer and spirits.

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