Three Options For The Wedding Menu
Everyone involved should enjoy the wedding menu – both in terms of taste and finances. Pay attention to
The wedding menu is one of the tasks in the organization of a wedding, where not only your own wishes, but also the possibilities of the financial budget, the restaurant, the season and the guests must be taken into account. There are three basic options.
The wedding menu as the highlight of the celebration
The wedding menu is a central part of the evening at your wedding. There are many ways to design it – depending on your budget and wedding party!
Before you talk to the chefs about the wedding menu, you should have thought about what is important to you.
Nothing is more embarrassing than a wedding menu that guests will tell for years afterwards how bad it tasted or how cheap it looked or how inappropriate it was for the celebration. You should think about the following points beforehand:
What do my guests eat?
Nowadays it is difficult to find a meal that all diners will be happy with. Vegetarians complain about meat, vegans about animal ingredients, allergy sufferers about lactose or gluten in their food.
Before you order your wedding menu, you should read through the guest list guest by guest and note down any intolerances, allergies and diets of the people.
What is my budget
Before the wedding, a financial plan should be in place so that the wedding drives you into happiness rather than into debt. What is the budget that you have budgeted for the wedding menu? Then your food has to orientate itself: better three courses instead of five or better sparkling wine instead of champagne.
Does the cake buffet really have to be from the pastry chef or can the guests also contribute something? Does the wine come directly from the winemaker or from the restaurant’s expensive wine cellar? Is there enough money for additional waiters and service staff or just for a buffet?
Wedding menu or buffet?
Basically, a buffet is cheaper than a menu that is served, but that shouldn’t be the only decision criterion. The advantage of a buffet is that everyone can choose what they want according to their individual ideas, nutritional philosophies or allergies.
The disadvantage, however, is that a buffet looks less solemn and always causes a certain amount of unrest. Even if the “battle at the buffet” does not take place, there is always movement in the hall and not everyone can eat at the same time.
A mixture is also conceivable, for example having the starter served and moving on to the buffet from the main course.
Creative or traditional wedding menu?
The food should fit the setting of the wedding. If it is elegant, then the “roast pork” would be rather unsuitable. But this is exactly the right thing for the “country wedding”!
Does the groom come from Italy? Then Italian cuisine is a good idea – or any other from the country of origin of one of the families.
Perhaps also quite exotic, for example because you love to vacation in Southeast Asia? In any case, the food should somehow suit you or the wedding itself.
If you can’t think of anything, just orient yourself to the season! There are three ways to design the wedding menu:
Finger food buffet
This is the cheapest option, because no additional service staff are needed to ensure that drinks are refilled, the menu is served and the dishes are cleared all evening.
For finger food, the maximum number of plates required is small – and guests can “dispose of” them themselves on a serving trolley.
It is even easier if there are only paper napkins instead of plates. These are disposed of quickly and you only need drinks. If they are only available straight from the bottle, the wedding menu quickly stands for a rustic and inexpensive wedding celebration – maybe even outdoors?
Classic buffet
The classic buffet offers self-service meals. If you want something more elegant, a cook can, for example, cut the roast or fry fresh fish directly at the buffet.
If you’d rather have the food served directly at the table, you could still offer a buffet – for dessert, for example, which is available until late at night.
Served wedding menu
The noble variant for a wedding menu and the right setting for classic and high-priced wedding celebrations.
By choosing the restaurant, you determine the framework for the celebration. The decision in favor of a multi-course menu served at the seat then consistently continues this more elegant line. A variation is to have the food served on platters by table.
