For the guests at least, food is often one of the most exciting and anticipated parts of the wedding. Getting to share a meal with all of your loved ones and friends, while also rejoicing a beautiful union, is a call for celebration, which means there’s a lot of emphasis on the menu.
Planning a menu that caters to a large variety of tastes can be very stressful and intimidating. There are, however, some fresh and exciting wedding menu ideas that you’ll want to consider when planning your wedding menu.
1. Mini Food Options
When thinking up wedding menu ideas, you should seriously consider including mini food options. Not only are they fun for guests, they provide an easy opportunity to inject more variety into the menu without committing to a full dish.
People might want to try cool and quirky mini options, but they also have other choices should the mini foods on the menu not appeal to them. Variety is always a great route for wedding food. The larger the variety, the more of your guests you’ll be able to satisfy. Mini food options work especially well with exotic foods, because they give guests a chance to try something they might not otherwise have tried.
2. DIY Food Stations
A great idea for your wedding menu is to have DIY food stations set up around the event space. It allows your guests to be more interactive in their own meals and in the wedding itself.
Guests will really enjoy the chance to do something out of the ordinary. It also gets people up and walking around, giving them the chance to do more socializing. Great DIY foods are simple, fun, and delicious. Anything that’s too hard to make or that takes too long should be left to the professionals.
Some creative ideas include biscuit stations, where guests can choose the accompaniments, or pretzel bars, where guests can choose the toppings; the quirkier the better.
3. Fresh & Local
Green foods are indemand. We’re not talking foods that are literally green; we’re talking about foods that are more environmentally conscious (and good for you too).
In 2017, fresh and local dishes are a great option for your wedding menu. It’s a fresh idea that’s also, literally, fresh. Offering dishes that are local ensures that the food you serve is fresh, but it also reduces the cost associated with the meal, and since food is the most expensive part of a wedding, this is a major bonus.
4. Comfort Foods
When we think of comfort food, we tend to associate it with the sort of fare you wouldn’t find at a fancy party. However, comfort hood has become a huge hit at weddings. We’re not talking low-quality comfort food, we’re talking modern twists on comfort foods that you love—wonderfully made and completely delicious.
Weddings are about having fun; eating fancy mac and cheese or artisanal mini-cheeseburgers at a beautiful event can remind everyone to relax and have a good time.
5. Quirky Desserts
The wedding cake may be a staple, but in 2017 it will have to make room for some of the quirkier dessert trends that are set to dominate. Fun and unique options have become hugely popular, from cupcakes and donuts to macaroons and smores. This doesn’t mean you have to abandon the wedding cake, but don’t be afraid to include more non-traditional desserts as well.
Nostalgic desserts are especially popular—they remind guests of the excitement they felt about dessert when they were younger.
