How Should You Cater for Special Diets?

Creating the perfect wedding meal can mean making sure that your guests all feel included, whether they have restricted diets or not. Still, many couples are left wondering just how many special diets they need to cater for.

If you or your fiance have a special diet, it’s perfectly acceptable to have the entire menu fit this. Whether you’re vegetarian, gluten-free, or paleo, you can choose a wedding menu that reflects what you want to eat.

When it comes to your guests, it can get tricky. Obviously you don’t want anyone’s allergies to keep them from enjoying your wedding, but you also don’t want to have to offer every guest a different meal. Instead, work with an experienced caterer to create a menu option that suits a number of dietary restrictions.

In general, you shouldn’t need to provide more than two or three menu choices. If you’re struggling to come up with a menu that suits everyone, a buffet service might give you the chance to offer more dishes so that guests can mix and match to fit their diets.

Whatever dietary requirements you might need to meet, working with a great San Diego wedding caterer can make things much easier. To find out more about our services, or to discuss the perfect menu for your San Diego wedding, get in touch with us today!

How Much Food Should You Have at Your Wedding?

You want your San Diego wedding to be something to remember, but you don’t want guests’ memories to be of how hungry they were. However, you also don’t want to end the day with loads of wasted food. When you work with an experienced wedding caterer, you won’t need to worry about either extreme!

One of the big mistakes people make in trying to cater their own event is under- or overestimating how much their guests will eat. It’s not as simple as figuring out a meal for four guests, or even a dozen guests. When you have a larger guest list, you need to take all sorts of things into consideration.

A professional caterer will also be prepared for the inevitable problems that arise at any event. If you’ve asked guests to choose their meal in advance, some will insist on changing their mind on the day. If you have a buffet, a few items will be unexpectedly popular. A caterer knows that this is bound to happen, and can prepare for it.

Of course, the biggest advantage of working with an experienced wedding caterer is that you don’t need to worry about the food on your big day. You can focus on enjoying your wedding and celebrating with friends while enjoying some fabulous food! To find out what we can do for your San Diego wedding, get in touch today!

Wine or Beer Tasting Cocktail Hour

One of the biggest wedding food trends for 2013 is a twist on the traditional cocktail hour. Instead of just offering guests a glass of champagne or bottle of beer, give them a whole tasting menu.

The trend is inspired by wine tasting tours and beer flights. You can incorporate the great beers and wines of California, or include drinks from other important locations. It doesn't all have to be alcoholic, either. A few special soft drinks can help break up the tasting.

The key to this trend is to give your guests small tasters and a lot of variety. Having different drinks for them to compare can also be a great conversation starter -- your guests can compare notes on which they loved and which they didn't.

For a perfect cocktail hour, add in paired foods for each drink. This can give your guests the best possible taste experience. To find out more about creating the ideal drink tasting menu for your San Diego wedding or event, get in touch today!

Groom's Cakes Are a Great Addition to Your Wedding Menu

The tradition of the groom's cake might date back to Victorian times, but they've been growing in popularity over the past few years, particularly here in Southern California. The idea behind them is that they offer a chance for the groom to have a cake that suits his taste. It can also be decorated to reflect his hobbies.

A groom's cake can actually be any type of dessert. Cheesecakes are a favorite choice for many grooms, but it is also very common to choose a different flavor of cake or even a fruit dessert.

The groom's cake can be served at the same time as the wedding cake, as a smaller late-night treat, or even before the wedding at the rehearsal dinner. Whenever it's served, it's important to choose a delicious dessert that will taste as great as it looks.

If you're looking for help creating the perfect menu for your San Diego area wedding, or want to know more about groom's cakes, get in touch with us today!

The Perfect Southern California Wedding Brunch

Wedding brunches are hugely popular, and with good reason. Many couples prefer to have an earlier wedding, and a brunch is the perfect meal to serve earlier in the day. It also offers plenty of room for creativity in your menu, and is one of everybody's favorite special meals.

Combining breakfast and lunch favorites gives you lots of flexibility. You can serve soft carnitas tacos alongside a vegetable omelette. These savory dishes can work perfectly next to sweeter choices, such as pancakes, waffles, or fresh fruit salad.

No brunch is complete without drinks, though. A mimosa is a brunch standard, as is a bloody Mary. But don't stop there! Champagne cocktails are perfect with brunch, and ideal for a wedding. For non-drinkers, a sparkling fresh fruit punch can be special without the alcohol.

Of course, you'll want to serve something extra special for your wedding day. Why not think about something with a real flair that will wow your guests? We love coming up with the perfect menu for San Diego weddings, bringing together traditional dishes and fresh, contemporary touches. Get in touch today to find out more about what we can bring to your San Diego wedding catering!

Hors d'Oeuvres for Dinner

The cocktail hour is going large these days, with many brides choosing to have their whole wedding meal served that way. The hors d'oeuvres dinner is a big new trend for 2013 weddings, and can be great fun.

The idea is pretty simple -- instead of having a cocktail hour of finger foods followed by a seated meal, whether table service or buffet, you have everything served in bite-size portions.

Having a bite-size meal might not sound like it'd be filling, but by having food served for the entire time of the reception, your guests are able to graze whenever they feel hungry. It can give a big variety of tastes, and makes it easy to deal with any fussy eaters in attendance.

You also don't need to worry about everyone getting seated at the same time, or people being too stuffed to get on the dance floor. Even after cutting the cake, you can have small pieces of it served to your guests as they stay on the dance floor.

To find out more about having an hors d'oeuvres dinner for your San Diego wedding, get in touch with us today!

Rustic Wedding Theme Food Ideas

If you’re looking to hold your wedding in the countryside or want to bring a rustic feel in to your city ceremony, you could always extend the theme by letting it influence your reception menu.  We have some delicious suggestions that you might want to consider.

 

• Serve iced tea and lemonade from pitchers and keep bottles of beer, water and soda in buckets of ice.

 

• A buffet fits in well with a country wedding theme.  Think about offering barbecued or fried chicken, meatloaf, platters of meat, corn on the cob and potato salad.

 

• For a sit down version, you could choose pork loin, baked fish, macaroni and cheese and plenty of roast potatoes and salad.

 

• For a southern style, you could incorporate grilled cheese sandwiches, savory tarts, shrimp and fried green tomatoes into your menu.

 

• In the colder weather, roasted root vegetables are a good idea.  Combine them with traditional cuts of meat for that rustic taste.

 

• For dessert, it’s got to be homemade fruit pie – apple and cherry are ideal choices.  Pick a quality ice cream to complement them for a luxurious texture.

 

We’d love to discuss the ideas that you have for your wedding menu, whether it’s rustic, traditional or vegetarian.  Why not give us a call and let's chat?

How to Match Food to a Wedding Theme

Wouldn’t you agree that a great wedding celebration has great food?  Not only that but the style of the menu should make sense with the style of the wedding.   Here are a few tips on how to match your wedding food to the theme of your wedding:

• Traditional Wedding – Serve traditional; Think filet mignon, roasted asparagus, and red bliss potatoes.

• Modern Wedding - Think creative and contemporary cuisine.  Food stations work particularly well for this type of reception, as it allows you to offer your guests an eclectic selection of your favorite foods, whether you love Asian-fusion, heirloom bacon, or sushi

• Casual Wedding - Opt for down-home favorites, with an emphasis on comfort foods. A buffet style or family service works best for very informal receptions. You could have a mashed potato bar, mac and cheese shooters, chicken fried steak, fried green tomatoes, etc.  Perhaps bring in a family favorite recipe. 

Matching the style of the wedding food to the location is important.  You wouldn’t go to a five star restaurant expecting to be served chicken nuggets.  The same holds true for a wedding reception.  Serve food appropriate to the theme of your wedding and everyone will leave happy.