Your Newspaper - Bride's Guide

Posted on: July 15, 2007

Fantastic Food

Cater to your stomach’s – and budget's – desire

By Darcel Rockett
CTW Features

Image courtesy Glen Johnson.

We remember that which stimulates our senses: things that smell, look and taste like nothing before. It may sound basic, but it’s true. How else can one explain the details of a wedding, if not through what it looked like and what was served? That’s why choosing the right caterer for your wedding is a top priority. Finding a fantastic professional entails asking questions like: Do you have liability insurance? Do you have a license to serve alcohol? What is the ratio of servers to guests? What are the cake-cutting, bartending and clean-up fees?

If you’re going with a traditional reception site, most have on-site caterers or work with an established few. If your reception is going to be in a facility that does not provide food, you will need to hire a caterer that will be responsible for preparing, cooking, decorating and serving the food for the wedding.

Dollars & Sense

Wow Palates Without Wilting Your Wallet

It doesn’t take a lot of fancy ingredients – or money – to impress your guests. Here’s a few tips on how to present money-wise, memorable wedding cuisine.

• Sub in a personal, family recipe in lieu of a pricier off-the-list item. One couple celebrated the groom’s Irish heritage by giving the caterer some of his mom’s recipes for the cocktail hour fare: shots of potato leek soup and mini corned-beef-and-cabbage sandwiches.

• Arrange colorful foods and sauces in an artistic way to add a lot of panache to the presentation without a lot of cost.

• Go sentimental. Whether it’s your first-date meal or your favorite dish to prepare together, pairing the food with a printed meaning of the dish on a menu card will leave a lasting impression on your guests about how important it is to you as a couple, no matter how mighty or meager.

Ask your wedding caterer for references and look at photos from previous parties so you know how the food will be presented; better yet, visit an event they are catering. The execution of your plan will be remembered by many, so work within a budget. Divide your food budget by the approximate number of guests to figure out how much you have to spend per head.

The food fare should reflect you and your intended’s personalities and take on a feel akin to the reception atmosphere. A low-key wedding should have food and drink that is less formal and more fun, like a mac-and-cheese course made with truffle sauce and spices instead of the usual pasta course.

“Many couples are choosing to theme their events with décor and food to bring out their ethnic backgrounds or highlight their favorite vacation spots,” says Susan Southerland, president and founder of Just Marry!, an Orlando, Fla.-based wedding-planning company. “Big cocktail hours are popular; rather than doing very fancy items that guests are not accustomed to eating, couples are offering miniature hamburgers and hot dogs, or miniature grilled-cheese sandwiches with a demitasse of tomato soup.”

With food comes taste-tests, and caterers should be showcasing not only the food or one specialty dish but the overall presentation, as well. Pay attention to their focus on detail, and consider if what they’re presenting is in line with what you envision for your big day.

Sharon Naylor, author of “1000 Best Secrets For Your Perfect Wedding” (Sourcebooks, 2004) suggests a couple hire a caterer who has lots of experience with the style of food they want, someone who masters any special or ethnic food you have in mind but also excels at the basics.

“Know that you’re an equal partner with the chef when it comes time to create your menu,” Naylor says. “Don’t be intimidated by a pre-printed list of options; you can ask for special dishes to be made, or tweaks to be made to tasting dishes. Define your style and make your choices together.”

Be Mindful of Numbers

If you’re planning a sit-down dinner for a large number of people, be mindful of the time it will take to plate food for hundreds of people, and choose accordingly. Steer clear of foods that might cool too quickly or become soggy while waiting to be served.

Your caterer should offer a contract that lists the details of your day. Make sure it’s explicit. The document will be a starting point for paring back expenses down the road, if necessary.

Favorable Fare

Just as seasons bring in new fashions, so they do with foods for receptions. Cheese courses are popping up, particularly wine-cheese pairings to add an air of sophistication to affairs. In the way of appetizers, artichokes with dipping sauces, pork skewers with pomegranate sauces, and brown rice sushi with crab, cucumber, salmon and tuna are making rounds on wedding plates.

“For entrees, brides and grooms want something unique, such as an Australian lamb instead of chicken,” Naylor says. “Combination platters with a few grilled shrimp with a ginger teriyaki sauce paired with a starch, like mini stuffed potatoes, and a steamed vegetable, like spaghetti squash, is not unheard of.”