Menu Planning:

Starting to envision your reception feast? Even if you're leaving the cooking up to the professionals, there are a few things to think about before you meet with your caterer. To make menu planning as painless as possible, read on for some great tips.
 

Before the menu selection, you need to know which meal you're serving. This depends mostly on the time of your reception: breakfast (9:00-11:00 a.m.); brunch (11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.); lunch (12:30-3:30 p.m.); tea (3:00-5:00 p.m.); cocktails (5:00-7:00 p.m.); dinner (6:00-9:30 p.m.); dessert (9:00-10:30 p.m.) -- or even a cruise ship--style midnight snack (11:00 p.m.-1:00 a.m.).

Count Your Dollar Bills

Unless your wedding budget is wide open, the number of guests will play a major part when deciding what to serve. You may love lobster, but for 400 guests might be out of the question. You also have to think about how long it will take to serve a sit down meal. One of the biggest problems with party food is the lag time between preparation and presentation. That creamy seafood in puff pastry looks great in the kitchen, but by the time it gets to table 17, the cream may have soaked through the pastry, creating a mess. So, for a large reception, choose food with a long shelf life. And on the flip side of things, take advantage of having a small gathering. A very intimate wedding could lose some of its specialness if a basic chicken meal is served. And we wouldn’t want to have that now, would we!

Variety is Key

When choosing your menu, whether it is a down home barbeque, sophisticated hors d'oveures, or lavish six-course meal, you need to make sure you feature variety -- in flavor, texture, appearance, temperature, color -- to keep all of the senses stimulated. If you're having a dessert buffet, for example, you don't want the entire spread to consist of rich chocolate things (although who would complain about that!) Your caterer should steer you in the right direction, but it's helpful to have your eyes and taste buds ready. It's also a good idea to keep in mind your guests' tastes as well. No, there's no need for a food questionnaire with the invitation -- just remember to offer enough variety that everyone can find something to eat. If you're going to have a casual light lunch, make sure you offer more than ham and cheese sandwiches -- you may have green-eating-only guests.

Culinary Sophistication

A growing number of couples are forgoing the traditional "banquet-hall fare" for more adventurous cuisine. Why serve beef when there's filet mignon in Merlot sauce? You know your guests will talk about food and service. People are looking at traditional food with a twist. Today's brides and grooms are knowledgeable about food, and know what they like. With a variety of cooking shows on TV, there's exposure to interesting yet economical ways to serve boneless breast of chicken.

Free Samples

Of course you should taste the food before you decide on a menu (or a caterer, for that matter). But don't just let your taste buds do all the work -- how's the presentation? Is the dish attractive? Imaginative? Colorful? Do all of the foods on the plate complement each other? Is it the feel you want for your wedding?

Money, Money, Money

We all know food costs money, but you'd be surprised how fast a wedding reception menu can add up. Just make sure you have a realistic idea of what you can spend before you begin planning some elaborate meal you can't afford. There are many ways to save cash when planning reception food.

Stay in Season

Let's be frank -- an ice cream bar is not the best choice for an indoor December wedding. Time of year and the corresponding temperatures should be a large factor in menu planning. Great cooks plan their menus around seasonal food -- whatever is freshest that month or season. Your favorite summer tomato salad, for example, just won't be as juicy in January; pasta with a rich tomato sauce would be a better winter bet for tomato lovers. Ask your caterer and culinary pals what's fresh when; see if you can incorporate those foods into your wedding meal vision.

Drink & Be Married

We can't forget the liquor -- and you shouldn't either when planning your wedding menu. Many of the factors that apply to food also apply to the bar -- time of day and type of reception, budget, your tastes -- and the two should work well together. Your six-course sit-down meal should feature wine(s); the festive brunch could include bloody Marys and mimosas. But don't forget to also offer non-alcoholic beverages. You don't need Aunt Beverly getting wasted at 11:00 a.m!

Dress Appropriately

You'd never wear black tie to a casual backyard wedding, right? Well the same goes for food -- the level of formality of the reception menu should blend with the formality of the reception itself. If you've decided to go with a relaxed cocktail reception, make sure the food you're serving follows suit. And don't forget -- even the simplest of foods can look special when presented with flair. Remember, presentation is everything.

Instructions Not Included

You know when you're standing at a party and you have a drink in one hand and a plate of food in the other, and you can't figure out how you're going to eat without finding a place to set your glass? We're not saying that you should forgo non-finger foods, just think about how easy or convenient the items on your menu will be to eat in the setting in which you're serving them. If you're having a garden reception where you'd like the guests to mingle (i.e., few tables and chairs) a full plate of food that needs to be eaten with a fork and knife is not the best situation. Even if a sit-down meal is in the works, crab claws or barbecue drumsticks can make dinner into a complicated, messy event.

Foods for Thought

There's more to the menu than the main course! Get all your meal's details in writing -- from the appetizers to the side dishes to the dessert. There should be no surprises when it's time to eat.

~ photo courtesy of Tonesha Housen