How to Choose Your Perfect Wedding Menu
Posted onOne of the most important aspects of your wedding day and something guests will undoubtedly talk about for many months is the food. Here’s our advice on choosing the perfect wedding menu.
Choose meals you love
We believe the wedding menu should truly reflect the happy couple and what they enjoy eating. So don’t feel you have to go for something that you wouldn’t usually have just for the occasion.
At Berry Blue, we provide an array of options to choose from. Whether you’re opting for a three-course meal, a BBQ, sharing platters, a buffet, or an elegant afternoon tea – we can help. Our motto is “anything is possible”. Menus should be seen as a guide to what we can do, not the only thing we can do.
Keep it seasonal
Seasonal, local food always tastes better. Asparagus in November is never quite the same as freshly picked English asparagus when it tastes sweet and succulent. Beautiful vibrant colours showcasing the food of the season is a win-win and is a more sustainable option.
We’re proud to provide fresh, seasonal produce, some of which comes from our farm in the Cotswolds. Our menus are designed with the seasons in mind so we can recommend which menus work well for a particular date.
Book your caterer early
We recommend you begin the dialogue with your caterers as soon as you can. This will help to plan your timings for the day, and your budget, and give you a clear idea of the style of food you’d like.
We love talking to our couples about food to help bring their dream menu to life. Our dedicated team of chefs and event managers are there to help not only on the day itself but in the run-up to the wedding right from the initial enquiry. Get in touch to speak to a member of our team.
Whether you are a couple of complete foodies or new to menu planning, trying to cater for lots of different people can be extremely daunting. At Berry Blue Creative Food, we can help with all aspects of your wedding catering. We pride ourselves on creating bespoke menu’s using fresh and seasonal ingredients, presented beautifully.
Add bespoke elements to your drinks reception
Make your drink reception something your guests will remember with bespoke drinks. If you’re having a summer wedding we recommend adding edible flowers as a garnish.
During the drinks reception, you could also have canapes to keep the guests satisfied. If you’d prefer something different to canapes, you could have antipasti cones, oyster shacks, an ice-cream bike, grazing tables, or a bruschetta and olive station. The possibilities are endless!
Depending on the time of day you are getting married and how long you plan on having the drinks reception will determine the number of canapes you choose. We recommend three per hour.
Plan your timings for the wedding breakfast
We recommend two hours for a traditional three-course wedding breakfast. However, this will increase if you are offering guests a menu to choose from. Don’t forget to also take into account the time for speeches.
If your timings are looking a bit tight one recommendation would be to opt for a mini desert station where guests can help themselves. This creates a physical movement for your guests, whereby they will leave the wedding breakfast tables and enable the catering team to clear away the wedding breakfast and turn the room around ready for the evening food.
Cater for all dietaries
When choosing your food options, make sure to cover all dietary requirements. Including, vegetarian, vegan, halal, and gluten and dairy free. Sharing and grazing buffets work well when you are trying to accommodate very large numbers.
You’ll also need to make sure that the catering team are aware of any allergies.
Check what the venue provides.
It’s important to know what your venue provides and what you need. At Berry Blue, we can provide the essentials you’ll need for the day, including, crockery, cutlery, table linen, and glassware. We also have options to upgrade your glassware, to vintage glassware or coloured glassware.
It’s also worth checking when you are able to set up for your wedding. For example, if there is a wedding the day before you won’t be able to set up until the morning of the wedding. However, we can help make the planning easier, so if for example, you want to fold your napkins in a certain way, we can ensure the napkins are delivered to your home in advance of the wedding thereby alleviating some of the worry on the day of the wedding.
Don’t forget to feed your suppliers.
Your photographer and videographer will usually be there for a very long day and will need feeding. It’s worth checking the terms of your contract with the suppliers as sometimes it will state that they require a hot meal. If you’re having a band, they may require feeding before they start their performance so you will need to tell your caterers the timing of the meal service of the suppliers.
Pick your evening food.
Depending on the time of your wedding and if you are inviting additional evening guests, you will need to think about whether to include evening food. The evening food can be as fun as you’d like it to be, whether it’s mini fish and chips or stone-baked pizzas.
Whether you are a couple of complete foodies or new to menu planning, trying to cater for lots of different people can be extremely daunting. At Berry Blue Creative Food, we can help with all aspects of your wedding catering. We pride ourselves on creating bespoke menu’s using fresh and seasonal ingredients, presented beautifully.
Find out more about our wedding catering packages: https://berry-blue.co.uk/services/weddings/
