How to Start Planning a Wedding Dinner Menu
There are so many options when it comes to wedding food ideas, but one way to organize your thoughts is to start by considering what a typical menu features.
For example, if you’re holding a traditional, late afternoon or evening wedding with a reception, that usually includes a cocktail hour with hors d’oeuvres (often passed), followed by a formal dinner and dessert, including the traditional wedding cake.
If you are planning a morning wedding, you may want to plan a full brunch or elegant tea time snacks.
Some couples want more of a late-night party atmosphere and may also offer after-hours bites beyond the full meal. This can be something snack-ish and very casual, such as hot dogs, burgers, french fries, soft pretzels, fried chicken, or nachos.
Once you have the timing of your wedding locked down, you can follow this easy four-step plan to create the perfect wedding food menu.
What You Will Learn
Step 1: Consult Your Wedding Planner & Venue Early On
Putting together your wedding dinner is a crucial part of wedding planning so it’s important to check with your planner, the wedding venue, and any in-house caterers early on in the process. They can give you a handful of menu options for your wedding day and let you know of any restrictions (such as not allowing outside food).
If you have more flexibility, you can get creative with your wedding dinner menu ideas and put together a dining experience that your wedding guests will be talking about for years to come. But keep in mind it’s not just the food, but also the preferred format you’ll need to consider first.
Step 2: Choose Your Ideal Wedding Menu Format
Before thinking about specific food for a wedding, it can be helpful to decide on an overall format for the main meal. You’ll typically have a few options for dinner, including:
In addition to thinking about what might make the best dining experience for you and your guests, also think about how a certain format may fit within your broader wedding design elements. For example, a plated meal is generally considered the most elegant and upscale, whereas a self-serve buffet is often considered the most causal option.
Step 3: Gather Guests’ Dietary Restrictions
As you begin thinking about your wedding dinner ideas, be careful not to overlook dietary preferences. This typically will come up when you send your wedding invitations and ask guests to choose their preferred choice of meal and ask them to list any allergies. When coming up with wedding food ideas, be sure that you’re offering the following:
- Vegan and vegetarian options
- Gluten-free foods
- Entree options that avoid major allergens, such as peanuts or dairy
Even if you know that none of your friends or family members have any allergies and there are no vegan guests on your guest list, keep in mind that someone may bring a plus-one who needs special considerations.
Step 4: Plan Your Actual Wedding Food Menu
Now that you have some of the major wedding reception dinner menu considerations in mind, let’s look at some example wedding menu ideas.
Traditional Plated Meal
If you decide to go with a traditional plated meal, chances are your caterer will have options they have been using all wedding season along with specific items they can recommend. However, it’s still good to think ahead of what you’d like to see on your perfect menu.
A traditional plated meal usually offers the following:
- Salad and soup as the first course
- An entrée with a side dish or two
- Dessert
For the soup and salad course, you can go as simple and elegant as you like, but most trend traditional. Think a Greek salad, caprese salad, mixed greens with cherry tomatoes, or a Caesar salad topped with parmesan cheese and homemade croutons. A soup could be something classic, like tomato soup topped with olive oil and fresh basil, or something more on the nose, like Italian wedding soup served with garlic bread.
For the main course, it’s typical to offer a steak, chicken, and fish dish, as well as a vegan option, so that everyone is accommodated based on preferences and allergies. Traditional fare might be a strip steak, roast chicken, or pan-seared salmon in lemon butter sauce, served alongside simple sides like green beans and jasmine rice or rice pilaf.
For dessert, cheesecake or similar crowd favorite desserts are standard.
Food Stations or Buffets
When it comes to food stations and buffets, couples can be a lot more creative, offering a plethora of favorite foods without sticking to a strict, formal menu. Guests also have more flexibility as they can peruse all options and compile a yummy meal based on what’s available.
Ideas for food stations might include:
- Mashed potatoes station with sour cream, chives, bacon, cheese, and other toppings
- Breakfast station with mini-pancakes, bacon, and made-to-order omelets
- Taco station with all the fixin’s
- Raw bar with all a wide array of seafood
- Barbecue bar with pulled pork, pulled chicken, smoked sausage, and brisket
- Dessert bar with baked goods ranging from cookies to brownies to donuts
- Pasta station where guests can mix-and-match pasta shapes, sauces, and proteins
- Pizza station with made-to-order, wood-fired pizzas
You can also get creative and provide themed stations around your wedding colors, a holiday, or even the meal you enjoyed together during your first date.
Wedding Food Ideas FAQs
What Is the Most Cost Effective Way to Feed People at a Wedding?
If you’re looking at the menu price for your wedding and need to figure out ways to save money, here are some tips: Serve lighter fare and food that can be made affordably in large quantities, such as salads and pasta. Additionally, cut out any unnecessary expensive flourishes, such as edible flowers on the cake or truffle oil on the potatoes.
What Is the Right Amount of Food to Feed People at a Wedding?
You need to strike a balance between not having excess and ensuring people can enjoy more than just one bite of your carefully-crafted menu. In general, estimate that you’ll need at least six ounces of each entrée per person, about four ounces of each side dish per person, and six appetizers per person, as well as up to two pieces of bread per guest and one dessert per guest.
How Much Does It Cost to Cater a Wedding with 100 Guests?
It’ll depend on a range of factors, including where you’re located and your venue, but you can plan to spend around several thousand dollars on all of the dining necessities.
Is It Okay to Have a Buffet at a Wedding?
Yes! Buffets are perfectly normal at weddings and allow you to offer a wide array of foods at a smaller cost. Plus, it allows guests to create a customized meal they’ll enjoy, too.
How Can You Reduce Wedding Food Costs?
To cut down costs, reduce the overall number of guests you’re feeding, choose affordable ingredients, serve food on a buffet, cut out appetizers, and opt for a cash or limited bar.
One Cost You Won’t Want to Overlook? Wedding Insurance
As you’re planning out your wedding menu and considering what will be best for your big day, don’t overlook one very necessary component: wedding insurance. Likely one of the most affordable parts of your wedding budget, wedding insurance can protect you in the event of cancellation, venue or vendor troubles, and more. So, if your caterer cancels at the last minute, you’re covered!
Get your quick, free wedding insurance quote from BriteCo now!
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