How To Plan Your Catering For All Your Wedding Celebrations

More than a wedding day

With many events and weddings postponed this year due to Covid-19, it’s fair to say that we all find ourselves in desperate need of a good old wedding celebration and party!

Many couples have sadly had to delay this year’s plans and move their day to 2021 or even 2022.  But this has caused diary headaches for many wedding suppliers and venues combining both this year’s and next year’s new weddings together in one calendar year.  With over 250,000 weddings in the UK each year, there could be as many as 500,000 couples exchanging their vows in 2021!

What we have seen, is many couples making the call to move their weekend wedding to a mid-week date.  For some there has been a sense of disappointment of missing out on the traditional Saturday wedding, but for many this has meant rather healthy cost savings with mid-week weddings often cheaper for venue hire than the premium dates at the weekend.

With a little extra budget to spare happy couples are looking for ways to make their wedding day last that bit longer and taking advantage of a week off work for their guests.   All of a sudden a Wednesday Wedding turns into a Tuesday to Thursday wedding break… more than a wedding day, it’s a wedding three days!

Here are just a few examples of how you can extend your wedding celebrations over a couple of days.  These are great examples where food, drink, friends and family really are at the heart of the celebration of marriage.

Catering the evening before the wedding day

There are many venues around the country that you can hire during the week and you can have exclusive access to for more than one day.  Often, venues will allow you to have the place the day before to set-up and the day after to clear away, so you get three days hire with your wedding in the middle.

For those venues that have on-site accommodation these can offer the perfect place to bring together close friends and family to start the celebrations the day before.  Whether you’re camping festival style in a woodland, hiring a yurt or a tipi on a farm, or there are cosy cottages or rooms at your barn or stately home, one thing to check would be; can you host a small event the night before.

There are also  some lovely examples of street-food menus being served the night before the wedding as family come together to relax in the grounds of the venue.  It can be a great way to share the excitement and have new found friends meeting together so people already know each other on the wedding day.  Think of Paellas, curries, BBQs, Mac n Cheese –  take-away done really well with no dishes afterwards!

Here’s a sample menu from caterers Caviar & Chips including some very tasty Indian influenced dishes; perfect to celebrate the eve of your big day:

Vegetable Samosa, Fried Okra, Onion Bhaji (Served with Pickle, Chutney, Mini Popadoms & Raita)

Trio of Curry – Chicken Tikka Murgh Massala, Tandoori Lamb Bhuna & Red Lentil Dahl( Served with Mushroom Rice, Garlic & Coriander Naan, Popadoms, Pickle & Chutney)

 A side of Tandoori-spiced Cod( Served with Bombay Potato, Tomato-roasted Cauliflower, Cauliflower Pakora & Tamarind Reduction)

 White Chocolate & Coriander Dome (Served with Passion Fruit Mousse, Cardamom Tuile & Hot Chocolate Sauce)

Catering the day of your wedding

When it comes to the wedding day, there is of course the wedding breakfast to look forward to for everyone.   We’ve had the menu planned for months, if not years in advance and it’s such a significant part of the day.  Literally your first meal as a married couple.

In addition to this though, you don’t need to wait until canapés to enjoy some delicious, freshly prepared food.  For a wedding with a late afternoon meal for example,  chefs can prepare a wedding picnic for the wedding party.  When the bride, bridesmaids and close family and friends are together getting ready with hair make-up and the last minute details, a grazing picnic can be a perfect way to stave off hunger and settle the nerves, especially with a cold glass of champagne or sparkling wine.

Photo by Katarzyna Pracuch on Unsplash

Catering the day after your wedding

Just because your guests may have finished off all of the champagne and wine, it doesn’t mean the celebrations have to end there.  The day after your wedding can be a lovely occasion to bring a group of friends and family back together to share stories and vague memories of the night before.  A brunch the next day is the perfect way to help with one or two tender heads and this can be as simple as a family BBQ with chef at the grill serving tasty burgers, salads and grilled vegetables or it could be a classic Sunday brunch of smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels with bowls of granola, berries and fresh coffee.

Here’s a mouth watering example of a menu from Caviar & Chips  for the next day:

Beef & Horseradish Burgers

Selection of Sausages, Braised Onions & Sauerkraut

BBQ Chicken Breast

Halloumi & Pepper Kebabs  

BBQ Cauliflower Steak

Garlic & Herb Buttered Potatoes

Corn on the Cob

Pickled Slaw

Baby Leaf Salad

Want more advice on your wedding menu? Caviar & Chips’ award winning team has years of experience and will be happy to inspire you to make your day extra special. They cater for events all over the UK, so whether you’re catering in a woodland, tipi, yurt, marquee in the garden, stately home or somewhere in-between, they’ll craft a bespoke menu and create unforgettable memories with the Caviar & Chips Experience. Visit their website by clicking here or check out their instagram here for some mouth watering inspiration.

This article was written in collaboration with Caviar & Chips Catering.