Food for Thought
A champagne brunch, buffet lunch or silver service? The options for your wedding reception are deliciously varied…
There are lots of different ways you can personalise your wedding - from the invitations to the favours, but the one area that will leave the sweetest aftertaste and best lasting impression will be the reception. From the décor of the room itself to the food being served, each little detail counts if you want your guests to savour every minute.
 Whether you're spending £5,000 or £50,000 on your wedding celebrations, you can expect to spend around 40% of the entire budget on your reception. How much you can actually afford to spend per guest is then a matter of simple maths. For example, if you have a £10,000 wedding budget, £4,000 should be set aside for the reception. If you have 100 guests this will give you £40 to spend
per head with that amount going up the fewer guests you invite and falling the more your
numbers increase.
Once you start looking at reception venues and menus you'll realise that there's a huge variety to choose from, so rather than going in blind and allowing yourself to be bombarded with locations and ideas, try to have a budget and wedding theme in mind before you even start your search.
If you want yours to be the fantasy fairytale wedding then hosting your reception in a castle or stately home would seem like a logical choice, but if you want a more contemporary wedding, you should focus your attentions on more modern locations such as a smart city centre hotel. If you want to stay away from the conventional altogether you may want to look into the idea of hiring a venue (museum, theatre, gallery...) and contracting caterers, or you could consider erecting a marquee in a park, forest or garden.
MORNING HAS BROKEN
Hosting a wedding breakfast or brunch is a great way to entertain guests without spending a fortune. Your wedding can still retain a sense of formality if you choose a sit-down breakfast or brunch, but you can also take a more informal approach by serving a breakfast buffet or finger menu. Mini croissants and pastries, fresh fruit salad, smoked salmon, a smoothie bar and bacon and sausage rolls are all popular choices. The one snag? To host a breakfast reception you'll have to have a very early wedding ceremony, but if you don't mind exchanging vows to the dawn chorus, this could be the choice for you.
 AN AFTERNOON APPETISER
If you're not an early riser and you don't want your
guests to feel rushed and hassled in the morning,
then you could choose a mid-day reception which
will allow you to serve a more laid back, and not
too costly, lunch menu. You can serve hot,
elegant dishes or simply go with the timeless
theme of sandwiches, salads, pasta and fruit.
Another wedding feast alternative - which also saves on cost - is afternoon tea. Here you can go ballistic with dainty sandwiches, gorgeous little cakes, scones with clotted cream and delicious preserves, all of which lead nicely up to the wedding cake.
Once again you'll find something on the menu to suit all budgets and the mid day timing will be a hit with guests who aren't being kept waiting for hours before being fed.
DINNER AT DUSK
A traditional dinner reception remains the most popular choice with couples today and it's easy to see why. The early evening timing means that you have had the whole day to enjoy the excitement of getting ready, the ceremony and the photographs, plus you'll have had plenty of time to mingle with your guests before sitting for dinner. Then there's the undeniable fact that a reception room lit by candlelight or twinkling fairy lights in the evening is incredibly romantic. An evening reception also lends itself well to an unbroken chain of entertainment, with the meal usually being followed by speeches, the first dance and then either a band or DJ to get the party started.
 On the down side, dinner is often the most expensive choice, especially if you go for a formal, sit down meal with four or five courses which tends to be the norm at chic hotels. Menus vary from anything from £25 to £80 per person for a silver service set dinner, but of course, there are many choices for menu, serving style, and theme. You will need to decide whether you want a buffet, specific food stations, canapés or a traditional
sit-down meal.
The type of food that you serve at your reception and the way that you serve it should be decided by a number of factors. There's the budget of course, but you also need to consider whether you have a wedding theme that will dictate or suggest specific food types.
Let's tackle the budget first. Start by getting a quote per head based on several menu options. This will allow you to know up front what the final cost will be and help you to make the best decisions. By this stage you'll know whether your venue has caterers or whether you'll need to hire outside caterers. Hotels remain the number one wedding venue choice because they offer an all-in-one package providing the chef, reception room and staff. At first glance their menu prices may seem high, but while holding your reception in a marquee or hired room may seem the more economical choice at first, costs quickly rise when you factor in hire costs for the catering, tables, chairs, linen, staff, toilets etc...
PERSONAL TOUCH
Hotels and caterers are very aware that you'll want to make your wedding unique, so while they will show you a number of menu options, they should be more than happy to discus different menu ideas that you may have. "Admittedly it can often be a difficult task to create a balanced menu to suit all tastes," explains Michelin star chef, Michael Deane owner of several Belfast restaurants. "Remember there will often a wide range of ages to cater for and a whole host of dietary requirements. However the consummate chef should be able to create a menu to reflect the tastes and flavours that the couple love and perhaps incorporate these into dishes that might have particular significance to them. For example, we have a wedding coming up in one of our restaurants and the couple have opted for a very casual approach with tapas style starters to remind them of time they spent in Spain together at the start of their relationship. Its nice if we can help re-create a bit of romance on their special day!"
DREAM UP A THEME
Theming your menu by the season is a great idea as it allows the chef to use high quality local produce, helping to keep costs down. A summer menu for example should be light and tasty and could feature salads, fish and poultry with seasonal produce such as asparagus and strawberries all washed down with a cocktail or a classic summer tipple such as Pims and lemonade. In contrast, a winter menu lends itself well to rich, hot food. If you're a fan of red meat and ‘proper' puddings such as sticky toffee pudding or apple crumble, this is the time to serve them. Soup makes a great starter at this time of year, or even a delicious hot canapé. Serve a roast for the main course or create a talking point with a pig on a spit! Consider offering warming welcome drinks such as mulled wine or a hot toddy when guests arrive.
 Reception themes are as limitless as your imagination as Matthew King, executive chef at Castle Leslie Estate reveals, "We have found that brides are more interested in customizing their menus to include their favourite dishes and some modern and international flavours. The most unusual reception request I've had was when I worked in Boston. A couple who are big basketball fans wanted to have their wedding where the Boston Celtics play. The wedding was black tie and 500 people were in attendance. For the reception they requested a beer tasting of small micro breweries and they wanted staff dressed in concession uniforms passing miniature hot dogs, miniature burgers and roasted peanuts. They then sat down to a very formal meal, so they incorporated a bit of the quirky with a bit of the formal."
Food ‘stations' are another reception trend catching on in Ireland after enjoying huge success in America. Self-proclaimed foodies will love this trend which incorporates tasting bars for every whim. Indulge guests with a wine and cheese station and hire a professional sommelier to provide pairing pointers; set up a mashed potato bar, complete with your choice of spuds and toppings or use an ice cream stand for dessert, complete with bowls of toppings like, mini marshmallows, whipped cream and chocolate sauce! Or how about a champagne bar? Just pick your favourite bottles of bubbly and add mixers such as Chambord, Midori, cranberry juice, and pineapple juice - guests will have lots of fun making their own signature cocktails.
FEAST YOUR EYES
Who said that food only pleases the palate? You can devise a wedding menu where the food preparation is as flavourful as the food itself. How about a Tepanyaki station (Japanese barbecue), where guests choose raw meats, shrimp, veggies, noodles, and sauces and watch it get stir-fried? Or perhaps French chefs donned in aprons and hats could create flaming crepes tableside. Presentation is important as well. Your guests are likely to recall a fabulous-looking buffet table before they remember what foods it featured. Be creative - instead of serving soup in a bowl, have it ladled into a hollowed-out pumpkin. Or serve lemon sorbet in a scooped out lemon skin.
The wedding cake is another area of the reception where you can make a real visual impact. "The most noticeable change over the last few years has been in the style of wedding cake requested," says Ed Cooney, executive chef at the prestigious Merrion Hotel in Dublin. "The cake of choice used to be the traditional three tier cake with royal white icing however now more modern style cakes are being requested such as profiterole cakes, specific designs on cakes and even cup cake wedding cakes." Or how about the latest craze - a cheese wedding cake. A great alternative to the traditional sweet dessert, your cake will look gorgeous and can be served as a final ‘cheese course' after dinner.
BUFFET OR SIT-DOWN RECEPTION?
If you're struggling to decide whether to have a buffet or a sit-down wedding breakfast, read on. Whatever time of day you choose to hold your reception guests can be seated at a formal sit-down dinner, enjoy a more relaxed buffet, or perhaps celebrate with canapés. Read through the pros and cons of each to help decide which is best for you.
HELP YOURSELVES...
• Usually less expensive than a formal sit-down meal as fewer staff are required
• Interactive ‘food stations' are a fun talking point. Guests can top their own pizzas
or create their own ice cream sundaes
• Allows guests to pick and choose what they would like to eat
• Can offer the best of both worlds. Guests can help themselves to a main buffet
and then sit down at tables where waiters serve dessert.
• If space is limited a finger buffet (or canapé party) dispenses with the need for
tables and chairs meaning you can invite more guests
• Buffets generally allow people to mingle so they're a great idea if your guests
know each other well
PLACES PLEASE...
• Considered more formal so perfect for a traditional wedding
• Guests (especially the elderly) often prefer being served to self-service
• A set table plan ensures you are in charge of who sits where
• Formal seating gives you the opportunity to decorate tables beautifully with
elegant linen and floral centrepieces, creating a wonderful reception room
OTHER OPTIONS...
Barbecues are a popular choice for summer weddings, but remember that the sun is never guaranteed so you'll need a back up plan in case of rain. Another outdoor favourite is a picnic on the lawn. Arrange guests into small groups of around 6-8 and provide each one with a picnic rug and a hamper filled with goodies. There's also the option of doing a reception that consists of drinks and canapés only. Canapés come in all shapes and sizes and you can create a canapé menu that reads like a four course meal.
THE FINAL COURSE
As you've seen the culinary choices for your reception are endless but in the stress of choosing your menu and trying to please all palates, don't lose sight of what the day is all about - YOUR wedding. Matthew King, executive chef at Castle Leslie Estate sums it up perfectly when he says, "a wedding is a very special day and the food needs to compliment the atmosphere. It is important to determine the style or vision the bride has for her special day and devise a menu that captures that. The food can be formal, casual and relaxing or fun and a bit quirky. It all depends on the couple." In essence, this is your reception, so serve it up your way. WJ
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Reception 
Meeting up with the lovely Kirstie McMurray from Cool FM, our compare for The Wedding Journal Reader Awards on Monday!
