Fresh Fruit
For those of you thinking about a summer wedding nothing is more refreshing on a warm day than some nice, cool fruit. It makes a great afternoon snack, however, if you are going to be serving a full meal straight after fruit can be a bit of a strange starter, especially as it is rather sweet.

Cheese Platter
Apart from the lactose intolerant community I don’t think there is anyone out there who doesn’t like a nice cheese platter. They are light and easy to eat, making them the ideal wedding snack.

Something Hot
For those of you wanting to try something a bit more complex then you might want to consider serving warm appetisers. Obviously this mean the starters will have to be prepared and served at a particular time but have a look at some of our tasty suggestions and see if you think they make your mouth water enough to be worth the extra effort…

Quiche
I am a big mini quiche fan. If you have a few vegetarian guests a nice mini quiche can be a little bit of heaven. There are so many different types you could try having a quiche platter instead of a regular old cheese platter.
Something for the Carnivores

Chicken Skewers
Things like chicken wings or drumsticks are delicious but a real pain to eat with getting messy. A few small, easy to hold skewers make serving some tasty teriyaki or sweet and sour chicken 10 times easier for you and your guests.

Crab Cakes
For the sea food lovers there is no better appetiser than the crab cake. A nice warm crab cake with a tangy dipping sauce will certainly arouse your guests’ taste buds.

As delicious as all of these options sound remember to only choose a few as you don’t want everyone filling up on appetisers. Remember to sit down with your wedding catering company and plan your menu based on not only what tastes good, but also depending the time, format and season of your wedding. Best of luck, I am off to go and get some lunch cause writing this has made me hungry.

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The idea behind creating a great idea for an alternative wedding cake is to think of a desert or food you love and then amplify it to create something spectacular. I will take you through two or three of my favourites and hopefully it will leave you feeling inspired!

Many people like the idea of having fruit cake at their wedding. Well if you don’t like cake then why not just have the fruit part. Fruit salad ‘wedding cakes’ are very popular in the summer months as it is a perfect light and refreshing dish. As I said earlier it is not just about the type of desert your have, it is about how spectacular you make it. The picture on the right is a fantastic example of how fruit salad can be presented to be quiet spectacular!

Another take on a tradition cake is cheese cake. No I’m not talking about the sweet American style cake, I’m talking about a cheese . . . cake. For those who love nothing more than a good cheese board then why not get your favourite cheeses and turn them into a magnificent three tiered cake!  As you can see from the image in can be quite a classy affair to have a wine and cheese session at your wedding meal. You can cater for a wide range of pallets with different cheese’s maybe cheddar for the children and blue cheese for those a bit more adventurous. Wine and champagne can be a perfect accompany to this desert.  Again this is an example of taking an average desert you would eat in restaurants and amplifying it until it matches the magnitude that is your wedding.

How about something nice, simple and a little bit fun. Chocolate fountains are becoming more and more popular at weddings, especially as they are tiered and resemble the shape of a wedding cake. This idea inserts a lot of fun into your wedding and I guarantee the children will absolutely love it!

Finally, you might not be a fan of cake but maybe you go potty over biscuits? I love this cake, it is a very elegant yet gigantic mountain of biscuits. I’m not sure how they cut it? But none the less it looks very impressive. The one thing I would love to know more about this cake, is how its core infrastructure is constructed, I can only imagine it has foundations and frames made of building biscuits.

I hope you found some of these examples both creative and inspirational. Remember it’s not unusual for people not to want a traditional wedding cake, it is your wedding so get a desert that represents you. The piece of advice which I hope sticks with you is that it is not about what the desert is made out of, but how it is presented and amplified to match the magnitude of the wedding.

To see what catering options are avaliable to you in Newbury please follow this link. Wedding caterers in Newbury.

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Grazing
This is a new style of buffeting. Although it does rather sound like feeding gazelles in a field it is actually a more social take on traditional wedding dinning methods. Many people are finding that when you allocate people a table for a three course meal you are limiting the amount of interaction they are having with other guests. Not to mention the nightmare of creating a seating plan, who does auntie May sit next to? Do you keep families together on tables or mix everyone up to spark new friendships? If these are all things that bother you then try this technique instead. The idea is to set up several buffet stations dotted around the room. Keep the food simple finger food in a buffet format. This encourages people to explore the room in search of new food making new acquaintances along the way.

Let them eat cake!
Having an outrageous cake is becoming very fashionable. Out the window with traditional styles and hello vibrant colours and elaborate icing. I think is possibly my favourite growing trend. The eating of the cake is not so important, it is about the look and feel or the cake which let’s be honest sits in the room looking stunning and that’s about all. Brides are designing their cakes to fit in with the theme of the wedding and compliment the colours used i.e. red and black.

Cocktail bars
Welcome to the reception, would you like a drink? Well there has been a massive increase in letting the guests make their own! Instead of a traditional regular bar, many brides are setting up cocktail stations. These are areas equipped with liquors’, fruit juices and mixers and occasionally a cocktail waiter to assist your guests and show off every now and then.

Supporting good causes
As you get married is nice to appreciate how lucky you are. Many couples are now involving charities and good causes amongst their wedding day. For example instead of wedding gifts many people chose to donate money to a charity of choice. Instead of buying wedding favours for all your guests why not donate the money to charity and put a little thank-you note in your guest favour box. This is a great way to raise awareness and support for charities you feel close to.

These are just a few growing trends I have noticed recently in the wedding industry. I will keep you posted with more things I see and like at other peoples weddings. When organising a wedding it is always good to read about other people’s ideas and experiences to then come up with your own concepts! If you would like to see some of the catering available in Newbury and the Berkshire area please follow this link, Wedding Catering Newbury.

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Recommendations

To find a list of potential caterers, ask around. You will find that many good companies and individuals  generate  most of their business via from word of mouth. If you have been to wedding in the past and loved their food, give them a call. Otherwise you can try asking your florist, wedding planner or any other company that you are dealing with in relation to your wedding.

References

Once you have a few potential candidates, don’t be afraid to ask them for references. Do a background check by contacting three or four past clients and ask for their opinion.

Questions to ask:

• Was the service efficient and professional?
• Was the food delicious?
• Did it arrive hot?
• Was the person you dealt with pleasant and accommodating?

Meeting your Caterer

Once you have a short list, you should arrange to sample some of the chefs recommended dishes. Sometimes this will al be part of the service, but be aware this often involves a charge. From this tasting, you can get a good idea of what the food will taste and importantly look like at your reception. This is important, for example if the starter is meant to be garnished with flowers, you should have them for the tasting. Don’t be afraid to  make suggestions or to ask the chef if he can make changes to suit your tastes, remember this is your day.

Wine Tastings

If you want to make sure that nothing is left to chance, organise with your caterer to sample the wines that will be served with the wedding meal. This way if you don’t like the way the a particular wine goes with your food, you can chnge it before it is too late. Our advice is not to get too snooty with wine and no matter what anybody says, you do not need to spend a fortune. Just pick ones that you, your fiancé and your guests will enjoy drinking.

The Contract

If you are spending a lot of money, it is important to get a written contract, don’t settle on a verbal agreement. This way you will be able to make sure that everyone knows the correct date, time, fees and specific menu items. Another important consideration is that it is common that the number of your guests may change even at the last minute, so be sure to agree on a deadline for your final count that you feel comfortable with.

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