Tips on selecting your wedding reception menu

Tips on selecting your wedding reception menu

We've put together some tips to help you decide on your wedding menu to delight both you and your guests.

1. Choose the serving style

   There are five main ways you can choose to serve your food: plated meals, buffet, family style, serving stations, or heavy appetizers served by wait staff. When selecting a style, think about how it will work within the space available as well as the formality of your event. Work with your wedding reception venue to determine which of the styles will work best for the room layout and their wait staff. Decide which of these will also fit into your budget.

   Your reception venue can help you figure out what works best with their room layout and wait staff. And of course, don’t forget to pick something that fits your budget too. Here are the five most popular styles to serve food at your wedding:

   • Plated meals—your guests are served a meal by waitstaff as they are seated. This is a formal and traditional style and usually consists of three or four courses.
   • Buffet—your guests line up and serve themselves from options available often in one area of the room. This is more casual than the plated meals.
   • Family style—various dishes are served on large platters and passed around a table by your guests to serve themselves.
   • Serving stations are usually set up around the room and each guest visits the stations to select their food. Sometimes these stations have waitstaff who serve the guest.
   • Heavy appetizers can be set up at stations, buffet style or served by wait staff.

2. Menu options

   Work with your caterer to see what their signature dishes are, what foods are trending at weddings, and what meals have received the best reviews. Consider the time of year for your wedding.

   Selecting wedding food options that are local and in season will be fresh and less costly because it will not need to travel a far distance. When you think about the season, you can choose options that feel right for that time of year.

   • Spring—choose seasonal flavorful and fresh options such as strawberries, asparagus, carrots, spinach, collard greens, broccoli, lamb chops, salmon, sangria and white wine.
   • Summer—serve lighter, refreshing items such as iced tea, lemonade, crisp salads, chicken and fish.
   • Fall—think hearty and home-style such as creamy pumpkin soup, roasted turkey or duck, cranberry sauce, butternut squash, wild rice, warm apple pie, apple crisp, pumpkin pie, apple cider donuts, mulled apple cider, hot cocoa, and pumpkin spice coffee.
   • Winter—heavier selections work well such as steak, creamy soups, whipped potatoes, stuffed mushrooms, death-by-chocolate cake, mini rum cakes, warm cobbler, hot chocolate, coffee, cappuccino, hot buttered rum, spiced wine and eggnog.

3. Incorporate your favorites

   It's your wedding, so you want to eat what you like and share it with your guests. Is there a special food item that means something to you and your partner? Maybe your first date was at an Italian restaurant, so serving chicken parmesan is appropriate.

   When creating your wedding menu, give thought to what your guests might like as well. Is the wedding in an area that is known for a certain kind of food that out-of-town guests can't get elsewhere? Serving this local, popular food would be a great way to make your guests feel welcome in a new town.

   More couples are thinking outside the box and incorporating creative ideas, such as:

   • Sushi bar
   • Edible showpieces
   • Food trucks
   • DIY taco bar
   • Grazing tables with charcuterie boards
   • Late night snacks such as sliders or pizza

4. Consider food allergies and dietary needs

   It is common to give your guests a choice of two dinner options for plated meals. If you are having a buffet or serving family style, it is important to create a menu with a variety of different food items to accommodate your guests.

If you know a guest has a food sensitivity or allergy, you can request that the caterer offer some options. Include a note in the invitation to contact you for special dietary requests.

5. Aesthetically pleasing presentation

   Of course you want your meals to be delectable, but you also want the food to look appetizing. Ask your caterer how the items will be presented and if they can be creative and work with your theme. The perfect presentation adds an extra special touch.

We hope these tips help you choose a delicious wedding menu that receives rave reviews. As you prepare for your wedding day, another idea to consider is buying wedding insurance. .

Markel offers wedding cancellation insurance, which reimburses you for lost deposits and non-refundable amounts if you need to cancel or postpone your wedding due to unforeseen circumstances such as extreme weather, venue bankruptcy, or vendor no-shows. Coverage can be purchased anytime at least 14 days before your event, and policies start as low as $130.

Markel also offers wedding liability insurance, protecting you from incidents such as property damage to the venue or if someone gets injured at your event. Up to $2 million in wedding liability insurance can be purchased from Markel any time up to the day before your event. Policies start as low as $75.