Wedding Menus for all Seasons

By Cori Russell

Spring Wedding Menu Ideas

Summon the taste of spring with light flavors and delicate textures…

* In Season - serve a main dish featuring ham or lamb

* Fresh produce – round out the meal with a bounty of fresh fruits and young vegetables like baby carrots, baby asparagus and new potatoes

* Elegant sides – serve mini quiches or update traditional deviled eggs by adding salmon or crabmeat

* Bar favorites – a spring menu seems to call for champagne. Mix up a batch of mimosas for a morning wedding, or create a festive champagne cocktail.

Summer Wedding Menu Ideas

Use your summer menu to invoke warmth, sunshine and fun…

* Serve lighter fare – think fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables like berries, watermelon, tomatoes, cucumber, and corn, seafood and lean poultry like chicken. Between courses, serve a light sorbet.

* Spark up the grill - serve traditional picnic and grill fare like barbeque, burgers and potato salad

* Head to the tropics - feature tropical signature cocktails like margaritas, sangria, or mojitos.

Fall Wedding Menu Ideas

Bring out the rich and comforting tastes of autumn…

* Traditional favorites – you cannot go wrong with seasonal standbys: turkey, red potatoes, corn bread dressing, green beans, and honey glazed carrots.

* Family style – re-create a traditional thanksgiving feast by incorporating your family recipes into your wedding menu and serving the meal family style (if your guest list is small).

* Hearty proteins - Choose a hearty meat that will pair with heavier side dishes – turkey, roasted quail, rib roast

* Keep it elegant – you can serve traditional fare in sophisticated, creative ways – present soup or veggie puree in mini shot classes or hallowed out gourds, or warm apple cider in glass mugs with cinnamon sticks.

Winter Wedding Menu Ideas

Warm up to a decadent winter menu with these cool ideas to reflect the season…

* Hearty dishes – serve heartier fare in sophisticated, creative ways – such as colorful butternut squash puree or warm pumpkin soup in ramekins or shot glasses.

* Wintery beverages – warm guests with eggnog, spiced wine or mixed coffee drinks.


Recommended Online Sites

• The Honeymoon Boutique at Bare Necessities


• Create Your Own Wedding Website - Great way to keep your guests updated on your wedding!

Delicious Hors D'Oeuvres ideas for your Wedding Reception

At a Wedding Reception where a full meal is to be served, hors d'oeuvres may be offered to guests during the first hour of the reception. However, at a tea or cocktail reception, hors d'oeuvres will be the "main course".

There are may options for hors d'oeuvres, depending on the formality of your reception and the type of food to be served at the meal. Popular food that can easily be picked up and eaten with one hand are best.

Here are some delicious hors d'oeuvre ideas you may want to consider

* Chinese Won Tons with a plum Sauce
* Chicken and Shrimp Egg Rolls with a plum sauce
* Pot Stickers with a Sesame Sauce
* Glazed Chicken Drumettes
* Swedish Meatballs
* Italian Meatballs
* Seafood Salad Mould with assorted crackers
* Petite Cocktail Quiches
* Stuffed Deviled Eggs with choice of: coconut and chutney, traditional or topped with caviar
* Imported and Domestic Cheese Display with assorted crackers
* Fresh Fruit Fantasy with Strawberry Chiffon Dip or Chocolate Fondue
* Warmed Spree of Brie Cheese topped with brown sugar and nuts, served with French bread
* Teriyaki Ribbon Chicken or Beef
* Italian Sausage Marinara
* Salmon Mousse on toast rounds
* Cascading Vegetable Display with a fresh dill dip
* London Tea Sandwiches
* California Baja Rolls
* Taquitos
* Tomato, Cucumber and Green bean Salad
* Tomato, Mozzarella and Bermuda Onion Salad
* Rumaki
* Bacon Wrapped Dates Stuffed with Sun Dried Apricots
* Fresh Melon Wrapped in Honey Baked Ham
* Mushrooms Stuffed with Spiced Cream Cheese
* Sautéed Mushrooms in a pastry shells

Hors d' oeuvres may be set out on tables "buffet style" for gues to help themselves, or they may be passed around on trays by waiters and waitresses.

When selecting hors d' oeuvres for your reception, consider whether heating or refrigeration will be available and choose your food accordingly. When planning your menu, consider the time of day. You should select lighter hors ' oeuvres for midday receptions and heavier ones for an evening reception.

Tips to Save Money:

Tray pass hors d'oeuvres during cocktail hour and serve a lighter meal.

Avoid serving hors d 'oeuvres that are labor intensive or that require expensive ingredients. Compare two or three caters; there is a wide price range between caterers for the same foods.

Consider serving hors d'oeuvres "buffet style" . Your guests will eat less this way than if waiters and waitresses are constantly serving them.

If you want more ideas check out this book


Additional Wedding Advice:

MerryBrides
Fun Weddings
Great Wedding Advice
Sparkling WeddingsCreate Your Own Wedding Website- Great way to keep your guests updated on your wedding!

Wedding Day Meal Options

Wedding Day Meal Options

(MS) - One of the biggest decisions a couple has to make when planning a wedding concerns how to feed the guests. This boils down to two choices: a sit down meal or a buffet style serving. Each has their ups and downs, and which route to take typically depends on a number of factors.

· Degree of formality: Formal weddings often call for a sit-down meal, as it's generally viewed as more elegant. But this doesn't exclude the buffet- style option from formal weddings. At more laid back, but still formal, weddings a buffet-style meal is perfectly acceptable. For weddings that aren't as formal, it's generally best (and less expensive) to offer a buffet style meal.

· The guest list: The global nature of the world today means friends and family are spread out more than ever. The guest lists at many weddings are increasingly looking like a United Nations summit, with attendees coming from all over the map. If a wedding guest list features many guests who have flown or traveled from afar, it might be more appropriate to offer a more relaxed, sit down meal.

The age of guests should be considered as well before deciding on a meal option. If there will be lots of elderly people or even guests with young children, it's probably easier on them to offer a sit down meal. For weddings that boast a particularly young guest list, a buffet style might encourage more mingling and allow those guests to meet one another a lot easier than a sit down meal would.

· Budget: Buffet-style meals are generally less expensive, but this isn't always the case. Some think a sit-down meal will cost more because a wait staff is required to serve the food and drinks. While this is true to an extent, buffet-style meals still require a staff on hand to replace food that has run out. In addition, the time of day of the reception plays a role as well. For example, a buffet-style lunch will not be nearly as expensive as a buffet-style dinner. In general, though, a buffet at a wedding is almost always more budget-friendly than a sit down, typically costing far less per plate.

· Flexibility: Guest lists are often unique, with each guest having particular preferences when it comes to food. This makes buffets an especially attractive option. Sit down meals can be very limiting, which won't bode well for picky eaters. A buffet, however, offers many selections, and chances are even the pickiest of eaters will find something they can devour.

Recommended Reading

Wedding Menus

Addition Wedding Planning Advice
http://merrybrides.livejournal.com
http://funweddings.blog.com
http://windsor.weddingwindow.com
http://weddingsbyashlee.blogspot.com