Spring 2011 Wedding Buffet Ideas

Your wedding day is one of the greatest days of your life, and also one of the most expensive. You don't have to let your wedding day lack due to the economy. Instead of hiring a caterer, use a do-it-yourself approach to the reception. For a spring wedding, fore-go the traditional sit-down dinner and long buffet line. Choose a more creative style of presentation by utilizing food stations.

Staging The Event
Food stations are separate presentations of specific food items. One table may have hors d'oeurves, while another table is set as a small salad bar. The items on your food menu are displayed throughout the room instead of on a long table where everyone crowds in to fill their plates. The food stations allow the guests to eat in a less formal atmosphere. Your family and friends can socialize while visiting the various tables.

Think of the food stations as a display from your favorite restaurant. Choose tablecloths in the colors of your wedding. Add small stands or shelves at the back or center of the table, and place the food trays in an attractive manner. Fill the empty spaces with fresh or silk tulips and daffodils. You can save on the cost of fresh flowers by rooting and growing narcissus bulbs in small containers, so their blooms add to the spring-time festivities. The narcissus blooms also make a good centerpiece for the guest tables.

The Benefits
Food stations contain finger foods, samplings of delectable treats and smaller portions of food presented on individual serving plates. Although guests may come back to the station for a second helping, the predetermined portions keeps those certain guests from emptying the entire bowl of shrimp or other desired offerings. The separate tables also allow for a larger variety of certain food items. For example, instead of serving large platters of roast beef, grilled chicken or poached fish, provide samplings of the meats with a variety of dipping sauces or relishes.

The food stations do away with the need for waiters because everyone serves themselves. The tables are located in key positions around the room so they are convenient to the guests but still out of the way of the festivities. The smaller wait staff means less money out of pocket. The individualized portions mean less money spent on food and less food going to waste.

Signature Cocktails and Other Drinks
A large portion of the reception finances goes to the beverages served. Keep the bar bill to a minimum by serving beer, red and white wine and one signature cocktail created by you and your beau. The spectacular wedding drink doesn't have to be an alcohol-based drink. You may choose to develop a sparkling punch. The idea of the signature cocktail is in the presentation.

Coat the rims of the glasses with a colored sugar or dip the rims into melted chocolate and allow the coating to harden. Fill with your drink mix just prior to the start of the reception. If you choose an alcohol-based drink, you don't have the expense of stocking an entire bar. The signature cocktail contains only one type of liquor, in most cases. For a spring wedding, keep the drink light and sparkling, like a sangria. Avoid using heavy ingredients like milk or cream-based liqueurs. You may keep it simple by creating a frozen concoction made with a blender. Ask one or two people to act as bartenders to create the drink as needed.

The bride has a myriad of duties to perform in preparing for the wedding. The reception buffet should be the easiest part. It is your day and you will want to enjoy it, instead of worrying about the catering budget and the long lines of guests at one table.

Sources:
Colin Cowie: Wedding Cocktails; http://www.colincowie.com/article/cocktails; March 29, 2010
Catered Elegance: Food Station Menus; http://cateredelegance.biz/content/view/27/41/; March 28, 2010