What You Should Really Really Know Before You Plan Your Wedding Menu!
BY The WMG Bride | 07 Sep, 2023 | 2907 views | 6 min read
Planning your wedding menu is no easy feat. Managing the budget, guestlist, kind of food, and style of seating – everything can get overwhelming pretty fast. So, what we did was break down the most important details that you need to know before you plan your wedding menu. Gone are the days of predictable wedding spreads where you had every cuisine under the sun piled up at your venue. It's time to get imaginative and tantalize everyone's taste buds with something extraordinary! Think food trucks revving up their engines, a delightful sundae station for those with a sweet tooth, and even a DIY waffle counter where you and your guests can become breakfast chefs for a day! But before we dive headfirst into this culinary carnival, let's make sure you're armed with the right tips!
Image via Ruchika and Arun
Decide The Style Of Food Depending On Your Event
If you want a fancy, pre-set, sit-down dinner with toasts happening all around, you need to choose a venue that will accommodate that. Pick your meal style depending on the event. Also, for events like sangeets and reception, go for a buffet style, so that people can eat whenever they want instead of waiting as both these events have floating crowds. For mehendis, opt for bite-sized food items that are easy to eat!
Try The "Best Food First" Strategy
Always keep the tasty, most awesome food at either end. That means, your appetizers must be impeccable and your desserts. It's okay if your main course is basic or simple - but make sure the starters and desserts are the best things ever. Guests will always remember that. Plus, go creative with your food - package old foods into new ideas.
Image via Divya and Darshan
People To Buffet Counter Ratio
Assume one buffet counter for every 150 people. This means that if you have 300 guests, you need to ensure 2 buffet counters so that people can eat in peace without having to stand in line for ages. Keep this rule for every 150 so that your guests don't have a cramped experience
Must Have Comfort Foods
While you may want to go out of the way and do something super creative with your menu, do remember a large part of your guests will be older. They will still be most comfortable with the holy trio of Indian wedding food- a killer Dal Makhani, a great Gulab Jamun with Ice cream and Paneer Tikka. You may think it's passe but it works every time.
Go Hyper Regional
If you are someone who loves something unique – go hyper-regional. Simply put, you pick one region and have a menu that encompasses all of that region’s specialities. You can opt for hyper-regional Indian cuisines like Kashmiri and Malvani, or global ones like Korean, Peruvian and Nordic—all with an emphasis on seasonality, health and high quality.
Half The Battle Is Won By Catering To The Weather
If it's a freezing Delhi wedding, go all out on soups, kullads of chai, warm chocolate brownies and heavier meats and gravies. If your wedding is Goa summer time, experiment with cold salads, chilled virgin Mojitos and fresh, light meats like fish!
Minimum Guarantees
Give a minimum Guarantee of about 70-80% of your guest list. Caterers tend to cook 10% over and above the given minimum guarantee so if you are inviting 500 people, an MG of 350 is enough. However, if you have a close-knit wedding of 200 you might want to increase the MG as most people will turn up in an intimate wedding.
Image via Pinterest
Small Can Be Big
Instead of a spread of 200 dishes, go with smaller, well-curated, refined and authentic menus. Say yes to unique offerings like farm-to-table organic meals (or counters), featuring everything from local black jamun to asparagus. You can also have a chef’s table for an intimate wedding. Lavish doesn’t mean quantity, it should also focus on quality!
Look Out For Dietary Restrictions and Allergies
Whether you have Jain guests, people who eat non-veg or someone with a peanut allergy, talk with your caterer about these challenges well in advance. Make sure they label all the food items correctly to avoid any religious issues later! Also, if you have a lot of kids in your guest list, have your caterer create a kid-friendly menu for them to avoid wastage. They will also prefer fewer dishes in comparison to adults. To be on the safe side, avoid any common allergic food ideas.
Thematic Counters
Have one station which will be a fun and interactive station for your guests. Like they say: the one attractive idea that makes your wedding much talked about. And you know how much people talk about food when it's good. It can be a DIY cupcake station or even a food truck. Just pick that one item that is so avant-garde. We personally recommend a fun kebab food stall or a popsicle station!
Image via Pinterest
Eco-Friendly Food Style
If you want to go eco-friendly while deciding your wedding menu, we recommend you opt for a seated meal. That way people don’t overload food from counters, they try it in the first round and then go for the second. A huge amount of food waste can be stopped. Also, go for banana leaves over plates. Always always opt for local cuisine to avoid carbon emissions!
Include Yourself In The Food!
It’s your wedding after all! Include your and your partner’s favourite dishes on the menu and ask the caterer to label them in that way. This way you are not only bringing an element of fun, but also eating what you like on your biggest day. But first, sit down and think - what kind of food do you guys like? What cuisine most speaks to you? Do something that goes with the rest of the food items too!
Balance The Ratio Of Food Made With Number Of Dishes
Seems like an obvious thing but sometimes people don't realise this. If the venue typically makes 10% food above your minimum guarantee, then ensure that in case your menu is limited, then they make more than 10% as each food will be split amongst a higher number of people
Photo by Baltazar Photography
Tasting Menu
Make sure each caterer you shortlist; you have a taste test of all the food items. You may assume that you know how a dish tastes, but that particular chef may choose to prepare it in a different way. It’s always better to be safe than to be sorry on the wedding day. And caterers will give you a sample tasting - it's part of your costs.
Choose Local
We talked about this before, always choose local produce over exotic ingredients. Your costs will come down immensely. Mutton chops over shellfish in Goa? Nopes! Fish tikka over Biryani in Hyderabad? Nopes! Got that?
Quick Tips
- You must arrange for ample options to suit variety of taste buds.
- Always maintain a distance between vegetarian and non-vegetarian counters.
- Ensure that the drinks and desserts are unlimited; people love to get second helpings in scorching summer.
- Check plate weight if you don’t have a lot of seating options. It's quite cumbersome to stand in heavy clothes, hold onto a heavy plate and eat!
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