After a year of micro weddings and postponements, we are excited to be back and better than ever. Seriously, wedding season appears to be in full swing and it has been so incredible watching the weddings we have planned for one or two years finally be brought to fruition. There’s lots of love everywhere! Today on the blog, we are sharing advice on one of the most exciting parts of a wedding: the food! Okay, maybe it’s not one of the most exciting parts but your guests will remember (and rave about!) the food when done right. Plus, attending a menu tasting is always one of our couples favorite wedding planning days. If your mouth is watering and you are excited to dive into wedding food ideas for your Hudson Valley wedding, keep reading!
In case you are new to our blog, let us quickly introduce ourselves (so you know who you are taking advice from). I’m Angela, lead wedding planner and creative director at Elite Wedding and Event Planning. You can learn more about us here, or learn more about your wedding planning and design services here. If you already have a date in mind for 2022 or 2023, make sure to reach out and inquire sooner than later. Space is filling fast! We would love to connect and see if we would be the right fit for your wedding day.
Plated Dinner Wedding Food
Whether you choose 3 courses or 7, plated dinners are the most traditional style of catering for wedding receptions. With a plated dinner, the food is almost always excellent and it’s nice to wow your guests with a menu you’ve hand crafted for them. If you choose this traditional catering style, you’ll need to make sure your venue has a large enough kitchen! At Elite Wedding and Event Planning, we often take advantage of more untraditional wedding venues (ballrooms are not our style!) so this is definitely something to consider. The other disadvantage to a plated dinner is guest only get to try one of the menu options on the wedding day, but trust us, they will be looking forward to their selected meal!
Buffet Style Catering
Buffets were rising in popularity, as they are a great way to offer your guests many different dinner options. Although buffets can have a casual feel, you can always add fun and interactive food stations so that it feels more elevated. In general, buffet dinners often take less time to orchestrate than a plated dinner so if you want your wedding reception to feel like less of a dinner and more of a party, this might be a great option.
Family Style Wedding Dinner
Family style catering has exploded over the last couple years – and for good reason! This classic dining style allows your guests to enjoy a multitude of options for their dinner and adds warmth and conversation to each wedding reception table. For a more elevated dining experience you can choose a combination of family style and plated where the sides are plated for guests and servers come around to eaach table with the proteins butler style. This gives family style catering the luxury feel of a plated dinner combined with the selection of buffet style catering.
Food Stations & Interactive Elements
Here at Elite Wedding and Event Planning, we don’t plan cookie cutter events. Even if you choose one (or multiple) of the above options, the sky truly is the limit when it comes to your wedding or event. To get your creative juices flowing (and mouth watering), we love the open flame cooking of Heirloom Fire Catering or The Swell Party. Or, for a completely different interactive experience, check out Oyster XO for roaming oyster shuckers.
If excellent food is a priority for you, consider adding food stations and other interactive elements to your wedding day. We’ve seen everything from food trucks to large grazing stations. It’s your wedding day and we believe there are no rules. Don’t be afraid to mix and match the above catering styles too!
Hudson Valley Wedding Planning
We hope this has inspired you to start thinking about your own wedding day dinner! If you have any questions, don’t be afraid to reach out on Instagram and we can have a conversation! We are very familiar with the different catering options (and more importantly, which venues can accommodate which!) in the Hudson Valley and Catskills area of Upstate New York. If you already have a date in mind and know you want help making your wedding uniquely yours (and absolutely wow-ing your guests!), inquire about our availability here.
