I am getting married - but I need a menu
Ok my man and I have decided to get married - a cocktail party, but with substance.
Any ideas?
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
Start Talking!
Need a question answered? Have advice to share? Start a Talk topic now!
Sign up to get your questions answered and share advice.
20 Comments:
Congratulations!
First a few questions...
How many guests?
Will this be replacing a meal? What time of day?
Will you be preparing or purchasing the food?
What type of venue will host the affair?
chiff0nade at 4:02PM on 05/28/08
Any thoughts as to type of food? Regular fare or a more ethnic type?
I went to a Greek wedding recently and just droooled over the great food. All appetizer types but wonderful and really filling (especially since I tried it all!!)
It is easier to pick a menu if you know the type of foods/tastes you want and go from there.
Regular cocktail hors deurves can be pretty boring (little sausages, crackers and cheese, pates, etc.) but if you are having it catered it can be harder to find a place that makes what you want depending on where you live. Are you making the food yourselves?
sadiepix at 4:03PM on 05/28/08
How much what time of day, budget, things you adore and must have, things you don't want. More info please.
JerzeeTomato at 4:48PM on 05/28/08
lol--you know you're a SE when you're getting married and your first thought isn't about starving yourself to get into a Vera Wang but the best kind of chicken wings to serve to your guests!
I think something that represents 'you' and 'him' as well as traditional favs--I loved the story of the couple that made a Devil Dog cake because that was what the 2 of them loved as a guilty pleasure, or serving 2 ethinic cuisines that the couple is fond of ecetera...
HeartofGlass at 5:24PM on 05/28/08
Good questions all -
50 to 60 people
Wide ranging tastes
medium budget
we will be doing a combination of preparing and purchasing
will be a church hall (I will be directing the caterer)
Maureen at 5:24PM on 05/28/08
Hi - sorry to be spammy-linky, but since I already wrote all this up I'll just post the links. I have catered a couple weddings for friends and put some how-tos and planning guides at The Kitchn:
How To Plan a Wedding Reception Menu
Wedding Dessert Reception Menu
Good Question: Elegant Wedding Finger Foods?
Good Question: Wedding Finger-Foods on a Budget
mekuno at 5:42PM on 05/28/08
For something med budget I would run and grab a copy off amazon of the marth stewart hors d'oeuvres cookbook. Also ask the caterer what their speciality is. What will be in season at that time? Try and remember messy means people will mess their clothes.
JerzeeTomato at 7:18PM on 05/28/08
I've worked that kind of reception before. It's my favorite kind. I think smallish cocktail receptions are more social and more enjoyable.
My favorite food for this kind of event was stations of regionally-themed appetizers and foods. You could have a pan-asian station with noodle dishes, egg rolls, sushi, etc. You could have a mediterranean station with hummus, pasta, oil oils, breads, saltimbocca, etc. You could have any range of stations along this theme. Works pretty well and you are wide open to choose the dishes that you and your guests will like the best. By focusing on appetizers, you concentrate your budget on the dishes that many caterers prepare best. You can very easily provide enough for a substantive meal this way.
So your church hall lets you serve alcohol? Awesome... Remember to hire a bartender for liability reasons. Also, cocktails and beer are way way cheaper than wine. If you get nice beer and offer special cocktails, you can make it interesting and enjoyable for your guests.
Congratulations!
blackolive at 9:27PM on 05/28/08
For our wedding we had a mid-afternoon reception and served egg rolls (though we're hardly Asian...it was from my husband's favorite restaurant), fruit trays, veggie trays, and of course cake. People loved the egg rolls and felt they were enough to make a meal, even though it wasn't intended as a full meal. A local Chinese restaurant makes their egg rolls from scratch and they are worlds better than anything you can get premade or frozen. We ordered the egg rolls from them and then the trays from another restaurant that does catering. It was quite economical because we didn't have the whole thing catered from one place and had a few church ladies keeping the buffet tables full.
emilywalker at 9:35PM on 05/28/08
At first glance, I thought it said...."I am getting married - but I need a man."
Hehe... I swear. :)
I will shut up and go away now. Good luck with your special day!
FastFoodCritic at 7:12AM on 05/29/08
Good suggestions above. As a catering server, make sure you serve things that can be eaten standing up and in single or a few bites. No forks or knives unless you have adequate seating. I've seen many beautiful hors d'oeuvres fall to the carpet because someone couldn't just pop it in their mouth.
Good tip on checking out Martha Stewart's hors d'oeuvres. You could go the international route, but if you would rather be more traditional, things like fruit kabobs, veggies and a sophisticated dip, nice crackers and international cheeses are crowd-pleasers. I would also check out Orangette (a food blogger in Seattle who just got married last year) scroll down to "So We Feasted." The food at her wedding was beautiful and very expressive of her and her husband.
LiveToEat at 9:55AM on 05/29/08
It seems like tapas, as clichéd as they are, would go well here.
Spend a good part of your budget on beverages & booze, it depends on your friends' tastes.
Then do simple things like like olives and skewers of proteins.
Olives wrapped in bacon in a red pepper sauce are a sure crowd pleaser, but killers for the heart?
For the skewers we like curried chicken with Thai peanut sauce dip.
It's probably a good idea to throw in some crustini--bread like things that will soak up the liquids, so nobody dies on the way home.
Best wishes and good luck!
If you can get ripe heirloom tomatoes and virtually any fresh herb you will be able to get a great! crustini.
Your wedding cake should take up most of your guests cravings.
If not, why not offer them a chocolate truffle or two, on a table, as they walk out the door?
beano at 10:53AM on 05/29/08
@LiveToEat that's exactly what I was thinking, re Orangette. Her wedding photos, the catering, it was all exactly how I want my wedding to be!
megannesta at 5:06PM on 05/29/08
oh also -- i was just browsing epicurious and this section was on the home site --
http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/holidays/weddings/weddings
megannesta at 6:12PM on 05/29/08
The more I think about this the more I have to say, what a great idea not to have a big meal--at every wedding I've been to, most of the guests fill up on appetizers anyway and the main course is served late, often poorly, and even if it is delish (like the last wedding I went to) it's served to guests who are so tired and stressed out their tastebuds are shot.
For cheap appetizers, fruit and cut up veggies with dips are always welcome, especially for people who are picky, dieting, want a salad before consuming more substantial fare.
Fancy breads, cheeses, dips like hummus, olives, and cured peppers and pickles are nice for a spread, hold well in the heat--and are vegetarian.
Make sure to have a variety for special diets, like vegetarians, nut-free, and so forth. Some kid-friendly stuff if there are children.
I'm not a big fan of Italian stuff with red sauce in formal wear!
I hate to disagree and suggest something more expensive but--please serve wine as well as spirits. Not only do some people only drink wine but it's also less of an alcoholic risk--some people can get a bit out-of-control with very strong cocktails.
HeartofGlass at 6:49PM on 05/29/08
Congratulations!
I thought the very thing as FastFoodCritic! Sorry. You are getting fabulous direction. I can't think of a thing to add, but wanted to wish you well
izatryt at 7:00PM on 05/29/08
Congrats! I love these type of weddings, more casual & fun. I used to be a catering manager at a hotel and did a couple weddings that were cocktail hour type weddings. They were 3 hours long. The 1st 2 hours were hors d'oeuvres and the last hour was the cake cutting. If you're not serving dinner, I would definitely do it between lunch and dinner, like from 3 - 6. Also, you probably want to go a little heavy on apps since people are expecting to eat so maybe 10 pieces per person per hour. Wine & Beer is also a great way to go. For food, a fruit, cheese & veggie tray is always popular. You also might want to try a pasta station, pasta is pretty inexpensive, but make sure to get bite size pasta (no spaghetti or fettucine) so there is not any mess. I'd reccommend passing hors d'oevures so people won't pile them on to plates (they'll go much slower this way). The last wedding I went to (which was super fancy), they were passing mini burgers, which were the big hit! People LOVE mini-versions of things. I would pick around 5 different types of apps to pass, and make sure to include a veggie option, chicken, beef and a seafood.
natalie2040 at 12:20PM on 05/30/08
@FastFoodCritic: I read it the same way too...even after a realized it, everyone time I glance over it, I am still doing a doubletake!
Cary at 12:49PM on 05/30/08
I had a fantastic wedding party about a year ago -- mostly wine and champagne with a signature cocktail (vodka and strawberry lemonade) and a sort of light, buffet-style meal. There were about five passed apps, and then some simple buffet foods -- unusual cheeses, breads and dips, lamb meatballs with yogurt sauce, cous-cous salad both with and without chicken, poached salmon with several different sauces, new potato and green bean salad, lots of beautiful fresh veg, and fresh fruit, with a multi-flavor cupcake tower for dessert. Everyone loved it, had lots to eat, and it came in WAY under the expense of a usual wedding meal.
Julie at 1:57PM on 05/30/08
I had a similar wedding reception last fall - a casual party with a combination of passed "small plates" and appetizers, along with a few food stations scattered about. It was really fun, and everyone commented on how nice it was to be able to mingle and relax. The passed food included mini crab cakes, skewers, small cups of chowder, lamb meatballs, etc. We also had stations with pasta, fruit and cheese plates, etc. For the late night crowd, they brought out big plates of fries and chips and salsa. The best part of this type of reception is that you don't have to worry about seating arrangements.
mainegirl at 3:03PM on 05/30/08