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Weddings

The Best Catering Advice for Crafting the Perfect Wedding-Day Menu

Local caterers share expert advice on wedding menu planning, trends to try, and more.

Written by Amy Moeller
| Published on December 4, 2019
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Photograph by Sarah Bradshaw Photography

Looking for expert wedding catering advice? We asked nearly a dozen local caterers for advice on creating the perfect wedding-day menu. From popular trends to kid-friendly options to dessert choices for those who don’t like sweets, these wedding pros cover everything. Here are their best tips and tricks for festive food and drink.

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Photo courtesy of Susan Gage Caterers

Make Menu Planning Easy

Pick one delicious entrée that you feel happy serving your guests. That way you don’t get overwhelmed with how many want fish or beef or chicken. Your caterer will help with alternatives for dietary restrictions. —Craig Currie, Root & Stem Catering

Keep Waiting to a Minimum

Have drinks passed during cocktail hour to avoid long lines at the bar. —Lauren Upton, Ken’s Creative Kitchen

Hospitality Is Key

Don’t forget the guest experience! Often, your guests will remember being thirsty, hungry, or bored long before they remember your napkin color or your centerpieces. —Casey Gardella, RSVP Catering

Photo by Liz Fogarty Photography

Get Personal

Incorporate a recipe that represents your culture, a favorite childhood meal, or a dish from your life experiences or travels. Make the menu memorable by telling a story. —Andrew Gerstel, Windows Catering Company

Cocktail-Hour Convenience

Don’t skimp on the café seating and standing cab tables during cocktail hour. Guests appreciate a place to set a glass or cocktail plate so they can chat and mingle. —Amy Lewerenz, Ridgewells Catering

Offer a Healthier Choice

Start things off with a kombucha cocktail. Kombucha brings healthy fermentation and a delicious carbonation to beverages. Try switching out the ginger beer in your Moscow Mule for ginger kombucha. —Gina Cristiano, Purple Onion Catering

wedding-catering-advice
Photo by Love Life Images

Double Up

Use an edible cookie as a place card. —Stacey Benefield, Susan Gage Caterers

Trends To Try

Vertical food buffets, hanging cocktails, and suspended wine vessels where guests can help themselves to a glass of wine. —Bill Homan, Design Cuisine

Don’t Skimp on the . . .

Staff! The proper amount of staff will make your guests feel welcome and taken care of. —Amit Gulati, Spilled Milk Catering

Photo by Liz Fogarty Photography

Remember the Mocktail

You’ll have some guests who aren’t drinking for any number of reasons. You still can give them a taste of the caterer’s creativity in drinks.—Craig Currie, Root & Stem Catering

Popular Provisions

Three of our experts suggested interactive stations or rolling food carts at cocktail hour, a fun way to make sure guests aren’t ravenous by the time they sit for dinner. “Adding something a little more substantial where people can graze without having to search for food is always appreciated.” —Abbey Lupien, RSVP Catering

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A Cocktail-Hour Idea

Switch things up with cocktail flights in small or unique glassware. —Stacey Benefield, Susan Gage Caterers

Photo courtesy of Spilled Milk Catering

A Money-Saving Meal

Forgo the steak and serve something more interesting. —Amit Gulati, Spilled Milk Catering

Don’t Forget the Kids

Have some kid-friendly food and drink options, and account for children in your seating plans. We love when couples go the extra mile and provide care packages with activities for kids. Taking care of the little ones at your event goes a long way toward increasing the enjoyment of their parents! —Amy Lewerenz, Ridgewells Catering

Nostalgic Food With a Modern Twist

Who says your tastes have to grow up just because you did? How about pop tarts for dessert or grilled cheese sandwiches loaded with Havarti, caramelized onions, and fig jam? —Glynis Keith, Catering by Seasons

wedding-catering-advice
Photo courtesy of Susan Gage Caterers

Don’t Like Sweets? Try These Savory Options Instead

Along with providing wedding catering advice, we also asked our experts for dessert ideas for those who don’t like sweets. Their responses have us (almost) thinking twice about the cake.

An action station where chefs slice fresh fruits (melons, pineapples, dragon fruit, peaches, figs, kiwis, and berries) to create colorful, made-to-order fruit cups that guests can finish with a splash of elderflower, cassis, or simple syrup. —Amy Lewerenz, Ridgewells Catering

We recommend a Prosecco and savory cotton candy station. Marry the sweetness of cotton candy with the spice and zest of tamarind and Tajín, and dollop it into your bubbly for a sparkly surprise. —Margot Jones, Purple Onion Catering

Designer pretzels or an assortment of flavored popcorn. —Bill Homan, Design Cuisine

Goat-cheese ice cream sandwiches with ginger-spiced sponge cake. —Amit Gulati, Spilled Milk Catering

Opt for a stacked cake of cheese wheels decorated with grapes, figs, and berries. —Lauren Upton, Ken’s Creative Kitchen 

A great alternative to sugary desserts is a refreshing, low-sugar sorbet station. Keep it interactive by letting guests build their own sundaes with a variety of toppings and garnishes.—Kim Schanzer, Windows Catering Company

 

This article appeared in the Summer/Fall 2019 issue of Washingtonian Weddings.

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Amy Moeller
Amy Moeller
Editor, Washingtonian Weddings

Amy leads Washingtonian Weddings and writes Style Setters for Washingtonian. Prior to joining Washingtonian in March 2016, she was the editor of Capitol File magazine in DC and before that, editor of What’s Up? Weddings in Annapolis.

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