Catering Update

Last time we talked about catering, I mentioned my dilemma regarding my idea of a true "brunch" reception—including both breakfast and lunch items. Reaction to this was mixed! Some people said they thought it was a great idea and others said it was weird and I should stick to one or the other. Ultimately they encouraged me that it's my wedding and I should do whatever I want—quirky or not (probably more quirky than not...)!

I don't always subscribe to the "do whatever you want, it's your wedding" doctrine. I think input is important and you shouldn't always do something just because it's what you selfishly want! That being said, I don't think the items you put on the menu fall under this category. In designing the menu I was focusing on a variety of items where everyone would have something to eat (including the health-conscious and vegetarians). All that to say—I decided to move ahead with my plan to essentially split the menu.

I did take a few things into consideration. First of all, I want the menu to stay portable and casual. This means no pancakes or steaks!

Photo credit.

Don't they look delicious? I'm a french toast person myself, but I knew that I wasn't going to be including pancakes, french toast or waffles on the menu. Delicious as they are, they don't really fit a buffet reception, especially when we want to encourage people to mingle and walk around. I'm one of those "don't let my food touch" people—so if I eat a pancake, it's sitting down with nothing else on my plate. This applies to all kinds of "syrupy" or more involved foods that I was trying to avoid. Did I spend enough time over-analyzing pancakes yet? Thought so.

Photo credit.

Alright, so steaks. First of all, I actually hate my steak rare. I like it well done, and my favorite part is the charred edges. Total side note! But here's my real point with steaks—and actually all foods in the typical "formal" reception menu—it doesn't fit with the rest of the ceremony and reception. We're in a casual room with a simple reception. Not really steak material—or crab cakes, or salmon, or... you get the picture.

So now for the inspiration picture. Still a work in progress!

Cinnamon rolls, muffins, mini quiches, fruit, chicken salad croissants, pasta salad, and cheese & crackers.

Here we have a mix of three "breakfast" foods (the cinnamon rolls and muffins are a pastry mix) and three "lunch" foods. All of them, though, are fairly casual and all except the pasta salad could be semi-finger foods. For some reason I'm just stuck on the pasta salad!

*spoiler alert* We did our tasting with the venue and tried two different kinds of pasta salad. We chose a pasta salad that had a good flavor without being bland or overly distinctive. I'm super excited about it and hope that other people like it too!

I'll talk more about the tasting next time, but for now I think we have a decent idea of where we want to head with this! I can't wait!