Wedding Guys’ Wednesday: Party Foods Your Wedding Guests Will Love
It all begins with four simple words, “Will you marry me?” And with that question, your life is forever changed. You are no longer a “me,” but a “we.” It is no longer “my dreams, my family, my future,” but “our dreams, our family, our future.” A wedding is the beginning of a new chapter in your life.
But before you walk (or dance) down the aisle, you need to figure out a lot of details.
Enter The Wedding Guys™, Matthew Trettel and Bruce Vassar, recognized internationally as leading authorities on wedding celebrations. Their fun, energetic personalities, keen eye for detail, and passionate love for all things wedding gives couples a fresh new approach to wedding planning.
The Wedding Guys bring years of industry knowledge and trend-forward expertise to Twin Cities couples through their Signature Weddings, Twin Cities Bridal Show, and Unveiled – The Ultimate Wedding Planning Event. They associate and collaborate with leading international couture bridal gown designers—keeping a pulse on fashion trends—while actively working with trendsetting artisans, designers, couturiers, and producers who are leaders in their respective fields.
They will take you from “to-do” to “I do!” in a new eight-part series, “Wedding Guys Wednesdays.” They’ll share fashion advice, answer common questions about ceremony and reception etiquette, and provide the ‘inside track’ to planning your own signature wedding. Along the way, there will be contests and ticket giveaways to the Twin Cities Bridal Show Sept. 21 at the St. Paul RiverCentre.
Wedding Day Menu Trends
Action stations are a hot trend for today’s modern couple—allowing guests to customize their selections from a station (taking the place of a standard buffet line). Action stations are a great way to get your guests up and mingling, and perfect for picky eaters or those with dietary restrictions.
Action stations aren’t just for dinner, though, they can also be part of the cocktail reception. After all, the cocktail reception is where the fun and interaction really begins. Mini items are key for action stations, so small plates are encouraged, or sometimes no plates at all, relying instead on napkins and unique serviceware.
Trending items include mini sandwiches served open-face like Ruebens and Rachels. Asian-inspired flavor combinations are everywhere, so why not change things up with grab-and-go Japanese rolls? Incorporate grilled shrimp, masago-togarashi aioli, and wakame salad, then cleverly display the options on an open-backed bookcase. This way, guests can grab a bite from the front of the bookcase while the service staff secretly refills from the other side. (Ingenius!)
Many times the trick is in finding creative service vessels. Spoons and tasting forks can present single-serving items like mini lobster thermidor and frozen lemon curd topped with Absolut Citron “caviar.” Speaking of hors d’oeuvres on spoons, try Asian-inspired combos like ginger beef over coconut rice and thai beef with cucumber, chili yellowfin tartar Thai melon and prosciutto dressed with Thai vinaigrette dressing. The use of forks also works for one-bites. Consider portobello mushrooms with herbed goat cheese, red pepper confit salmon with cucumber, dill and crème fraiche—or the ultimate comfort food, macaroni and cheese (made with gourmet cheeses).
Sometimes a trend isn’t what’s new, but rather a new twist on an old favorite. The good old deviled egg from neighborhood cocktail parties of the 1950s is a perfect example of this. Why stop with the traditional recipe? We would expand it by thinking about what goes with eggs: bacon, shrimp, salsa, spinach, and ketchup or steak sauce.
Other popular items including peppered vodka gazpacho, citrus vodka ceviche, or chilled spicy avocado mango ceviche served in individual shot glasses. Station options are often only limited by your imagination.
We also continue to see small plates as an experiential trend, but even more noticeable to us are multiple courses of small portions such as simple steak bites with ethnic seasoning served on a sizzling platter. Butler passing these delectable bites creates quite the stir. New techniques of poaching and steaming foods in smoky liquids, tea, coffee, beer and wine—in place of water—will be all the rage in 2015.
We recommend the following culinary experts for an unforgettable wedding day dining experience, whether you’re looking to serve a sit-down meal, action station, or butler-passed hors d’oeuvres:
Afton House Inn/Afton Hudson Cruise Lines
Crowne Plaza St. Paul-Riverfront
Doubletree by Hilton Hotel St. Paul Downtown
Embassy Suites St. Paul-Downtown
Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites – NE Lake Elmo/Machine Shed Restaurant
Lutsen Resort on Lake Superior
Marriott Minneapolis Northwest
Morrissey Hospitality Companies, Inc.
Learn more about these culinary experts at the Twin Cities Bridal Show on September 21 at the Saint Paul RiverCentre.
