Your wedding reception may be the main culinary event of the season, but by no means is it the only event to gear up for. Starting with your Engagement Party, and wrapping up with your Day-After Brunch, we’ve got the hottest catering trends for all your wedding events and celebrations.
The Engagement Party
It’s often the first opportunity for family members and close friends to spend time together. So why not create a fun, friendly event that encourages guests to get to know one another.
Fondues and Fountains: Get a small gathering going with a dish that creates a sense of community. Think bubbling pots of Swiss fondue or a Chinese firepot, surrounded by bowls and baskets of tempting morsels to dip. And instead of serving a traditional dessert, choose a chocolate fountain, overflowing with white, dark or milk chocolate, accompanied by a selection of luscious fruits and other tempting bites. Click here for a sample menu from Wolfgang Puck.
Family Favorites: Create a menu that revolves around a family favorite, like Grandma’s fried chicken, Mom’s paella, or Dad’s barbeque ribs. Or celebrate your heritage with a meal centered around an ancestral fare. Whether it’s bowls filled with Vietnamese pho or platters of Creole jambalaya, let your menu serve as a delicious introduction to who you are and where you come from. Click here for ideas from Wolfgang Puck.
Bridesmaids Luncheon
They’ve really been there for you. Now’s your chance to say thank you with a beautiful luncheon—just for the girls.
Spa Meal: With your wedding just around the corner, why not serve your bridesmaids a meal that will leave them feeling as beautiful as they are. Create a delicious spa menu full of plates of crisp salads, platters of grilled fish and roasted vegetables, bowls of fresh berries, steaming cups of green tea, tall glasses of cucumber-citrus infused water, and freshly squeezed juices. Click here for a spa menu from Wolfgang Puck.
Gourmet Tastes: For a small group, make your luncheon unforgettable by serving an indulgent array of small courses. Start with a delicate amuse bouche, and move through a series of similarly-styled courses—a small portion of salad, a small serving of soup—
remembering to keep each dish to three or four mouthfuls. The idea is to spoil your bridesmaids without ever spoiling their appetites. At the end of a seven or eight mini-course meal, your bridesmaids will feel perfectly satisfied, not profoundly stuffed. Click here for Wolfgang Puck’s sample menu.
The Rehearsal Dinner
Whether it’s an intimate gathering or a large affair, your rehearsal dinner can take any size, shape, or tone, as long as it complements—and doesn’t compete with—your wedding reception
Introduce a Local Celebrity: Welcome your guests to a dining experience that celebrates local ingredients and cuisine. From Pacific Northwest salmon, New England lobster, New York cheesecake, Southern Californian margaritas, or Southern sweet tea, your guests will love sampling world-famous fare and locally-inspired dishes. Click here for a regional menu from Wolfgang Puck.
DIY Dish: With guests representing all the generations of your family, create a fun-for-all-ages food station piled high with the makings of a favorite dish: We love Baja Taco Bars, brimming with platters of charbroiled chicken, shrimp, fish and steak. And who doesn’t like pizza? Create a gourmet grilled pizza station filled with imaginative offerings like artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes and gourmet sausages, as well as old standbys like sliced pepperoni and sweet basil. Click here for Wolfgang Pucks favorite grilled pizza menus.
A Day-After Brunch
With the big day behind you, the morning after your wedding is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy a relaxed few hours with friends and family before bidding them a fond farewell.
Open House. Between recovering from a late night and preparing for the journey home, an open-house-style brunch, where a buffet of foods is served over the course of a few hours, is a welcome departure, especially for traveling guests. Choose foods that can withstand a few hours at room temperature, like breads and cheeses, fruit salads, and items that can be kept warm over a chafing dish. Make it clear on your invitation that the meal will be served throughout the morning, and that your guests should feel free to pack up, check out, stop by for a bite and hit the road on their own schedules. Click here for Wolfgang Puck’s favorite open-house fare.
Feel Good Foods: After a night or two of overindulgence and unusually rich foods, a day-after brunch of simple, wholesome foods may be just what the doctor ordered. Stock your tables with fresh fruits, whole grain breads, wholesome cereals, crisp salads, simple pastas, and plenty of antioxidant rich juices, refreshing waters, and coffees and teas. Remember, many of your guests will be going straight from your brunch to the airport or the highway, so serving a meal that sits well—even a few hundred miles down the road—is extremely thoughtful. Click here for healthy brunch ideas from Wolfgang Puck.
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