Custom catering for varied drinking styles at your wedding
When it comes to planning a wedding, the menu is one of the most crucial and memorable elements. One aspect often overlooked is how the catering can complement your guests’ drinking habits and the overall flow of your day. Every group of guests has a unique drinking pace, from teetotalers to moderate drinkers to enthusiastic celebrators, and one size doesn’t fit all when it comes to wedding catering.
Let’s explore the various menu styles and options available and what will best suit your guests’ drinking pace.
For the big drinkers
There are a couple of factors here: pacing, service, and food types. Kickstarting your big day with canapés is a good choice if many of your guests are known to enjoy their drink. If your guests are arriving at your venue and being served drinks before the ceremony or are congregating at the reception while you are having photos taken, this is a great opportunity to get that first layer of food into them as they enjoy those first couple of drinks.
Bite-sized nibbles and handheld items circulating frequently can encourage guests to eat early, as they are not likely to break away from conversations to fetch food for themselves that has been laid out at a station. We recommend serving a variety of food that is high in carbs or protein, such as buttermilk fried chicken sliders, mushroom arancini, lamb rump skewers, or smoked brisket soft shell tacos, to help line those stomachs and increase the chance of your guests lasting throughout a full evening of celebrations.
When it comes to the main meal, we recommend getting your guests away from the bar and sitting down, whether that’s a plated or shared table-style meal. As courses are served and consumed, there’s a rhythm to the evening that doesn’t continuously centre on alcohol, and as the focus is on the food and conversations, guests are less likely to mindlessly refill their glasses as they might at a bar or in a cocktail setting. The act of sitting down, eating, and conversing gives the body time to metabolise alcohol more efficiently.
It can often be a good few hours between your main meal and the end of the night, and this is where a large portion of the drinking and epic moves on the dance floor take place. Surprise your guests with supper partway through the night. This is a final round of small bites, equivalent to the traditional stop-in at Maccas on the way home from a night out. We have served up mini cheeseburgers, cheese toasties, and sausage rolls to save guests from going hungry late into the night.
For the light drinkers
For guests who don’t drink too much, consider making the food the main event. There can be a large period of time between parts of your day before the main meal, so when it comes to nibbles before the sit-down, make it something fun and interactive; we’re thinking edible garden grazing tables, oyster bars, and floating dessert stations!
Plated sit-down dinners are a great option here; you can curate a menu that really wows your guests and highlights local produce. Allow time between courses for speeches; this helps with extending the length of this part of your day, ensures people have time to savour their meals, and breaks up the speeches into smaller, easy-to-stay-focused chunks.
Alternatively, instead of a conventional sit-down meal, you could consider opting for a roaming food service, placing the spotlight on the food. This approach involves circulating numerous small bowls of food among the guests that can be eaten standing, collectively forming a full meal experience. Think broad bean and pecorino stuffed gnocchi, char siu pork belly accompanied by Asian greens, and chargrilled hanger steak served with a side of triple-cooked chips.
For the moderate drinkers
If you’re hosting guests with varying drinking paces, the shared table approach ensures everyone finds something to enjoy. Shared tables resonate with moderate drinkers due to their flexibility. Guests can pace their dining and enjoyment, creating a comfortable and relaxed experience.
One of the strengths of a balanced shared table is its versatility in accommodating varying preferences. When your guest list includes individuals with different drinking paces, a shared table-style setup ensures that everyone finds something to enjoy.
Crafting the ideal wedding menu is about more than just satisfying the taste buds; it’s about tailoring the dining experience to complement the diverse drinking habits of your guests. Whether they’re raising their glasses high and often, sipping sparingly, or finding a comfortable middle ground, the right menu can balance and enhance the entire evening.
If you’re curious about the options of food styles to host at your wedding, the team at LittleWolf are experts at asking the right questions to ensure you have the right catering option for you, your theme, and your guests.
