Ideas For a Wedding Reception Luncheon?!
Ideas For a Wedding Reception Luncheon?
I'm getting married Feb 14th, yup, Valentine's Day. It's just going to be a small ceremony of close family members and friends, about 25 - 30 people. I'm trying to get ideas for a luncehon menu to be served buffet style at my apartment. I already figured a deli tray would be reccomended, and i have a strawberry champagne punch recipe. but otherwise, i have no idea as for salads? soups? otherwise. I have one friend who is vegan, so i want to make sure something is available for her, but also something that other people won't frown their noses upon. i have little desserts planned...chocolate tuxedo strawberries, chocolate oreo truffles, and of course wedding cake, so i'm good on that. but i would greatly appreciate some help. Remember, it's Valentine's Day...and yes my wedding day...so be creative!!! thanks in advance!!
Answers:
Congrats!! I got married on Valentine's Day too but it was an evening ceremony. Your ideas "chocolate tuxedo strawberries, chocolate oreo truffles, and of course wedding cake" sound great. I think Italian Wedding Soup would be perfect to serve with with a nice green salad.
Menu:
Variety of Sandwiches, Italian wedding Soup, Salad (Red leaf lettuce, romaine, baby spinach, shredded carrot and tomatoes and dressing, a and a few appetizers (quiches, bruschetta, artichoke hearts, mini crab cakes ) You want the menu to be romantic and reflect the holiday and occasion. The champagne sounds nice too. You could also serve a Valentine's Day drink like Passion Cocktail or a Chocolate Martini. I think how you present the food is as equally important. The servining plates, linens, roses, candles make all the difference. Keep it simple but elegant and HAVE FUN!!!!!
I'd go with Taco Bell for sure!
No, you should be creative....I'm not sure what your tastes are but what I found from my wedding reception is that the guests aren't that picky about what they eat, they are more into you two and talking to you and having a good time.
We had some sort of pork and rice thing, and a vegetarian dish, (my brother is vegatarian), and some other dish....all buffet style. I didn't taste one thing....My husband and I were so overwhelmed by it all, with the glass tinkles....means you have to kiss.....to talking to everyone, to dancing center stage (loved that!, with my husband, of course, even though the DJ had the wrong song, we still laugh about that...LOL). Your wedding is about you two and no one will care what was for dinner, or lunch in your situation, they will remember how much fun they had being part of your special day. By the way, we had the limo driver take us to Burger King afterwards since I still had not eaten any of that great food that we bought!! It was fun though, I was still in my dress and the cashier gave us free food because she went for fast food after her wedding, also, LOL.
My suggestion is to keep it simple, especially if you are on a budget. Your guests, escpecially since you have a small, tighter-knit group, will not care about what they had to eat, just the fun and excitement of seeing how happy you are.
I hope this helps. And congratulations :-)
LOVE IS LIFE UR LOVE STORY THE END OF WEDING U LOVE UR HASBAND AND LIVE A GOOD LIFE OK THAN KYOU
For starters, CONGRATS!!! Why don't you try smaller portions of several things. Have three soups and make sure to include Italian Wedding!!! Salad is pretty generic..... all you really need is some veggies in it and a few different kinds of dressings. Another idea for the salad part is if you really want to please everyone....keep it all separate and let them add in what they want. I'm not really sure how to incorporate valentines day into all of this but if you want an entree or anything try google searching Valentines Day Recipe's or Wedding Day Recipes. I'm sure you'll find some great suggestions. Try the site I listed. It's got cute ideas including heart shaped chicken pot pie. lol
Congratulations on your upcoming nuptuals! Some thoughts on a buffet for the event:
1. Spinach salad with mandarin oranges, feta cheese, crumbled bacon, and candied walnuts with a french dressing
2. Chinese chicken salad with cabbage, sesame seeds (toasted) chicken strips (optional) and a good chinese chicken vinegrette. Add crushed ramen noodles and toss.
3. Vegetarian pasta made with rotelle, sundried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, olives, and asiago cheese. (you can also add chicken tenders or sliced turkey italian sausage to this and its good too!) The sauce can be a creamy tomato alfredo.
4. Nice french rolls with unsalted butter.
5. I would also suggest adding something to round out your punch, such as some wine and beer.
Good luck!
Congratulations: If your having a Deli Tray I would serve a Potato Salad, a coleslaw and a Bean Salad. On another tray I would serve dill pickles, sliced pickled or whole baby beets and olives or relish condiment tray.of any kind. Make the buffet foods go together or complement each other somewhat.Cold drinks (colas or other canned pop) as well. Then tea and coffee served with dessert. In large glass vases you could put red and white jelly beans or cinnamon hearts for decoration and eating of course.
Possum on the half shell.....some cracker for dipping. Salisbury steak dinners cooked to perfection for two minutes...in a dish the guest can take home(keep sake) A good bottle of red wine..something in a box....7-11 is a fine place to start. As for a cake....Armadillo cake served on it's back. Or if the grooms folks got plenty of money.......McDonalds catered.Be sure to try some fried pies
Well, since you're serving buffet-style in your apartment I'm guessing it's a stand-up eating situation. In that case I'd recommend going with only small, bite-sized and finger food types of things. Nothing that requires a knife or fork since that's really awkward when you're dressed up and standing with a drink already in one hand (and probably a camera or purse somewhere too!!)
I'd suggest making some canapés, they're basically little bites of food served on a small sqare of toast or a cracker, and you can make a million different kinds and make them nice and fancy too. Also, for the most part you can make them up at least a day in advance. (make some of them vegan for your friend!)
Since you're doing a deli tray, I'd also recommend a cheese & paté tray with a few different kinds of fancy little crackers. Don't forget some little dishes with olives, pickles, and maybe some nuts.
If you're giving little keepsakes filled with candies to your guests as favors, have a dish of the candies on the table as well.
Oh, as an alternative to a salad, which is pretty difficult to eat standing up, I'd make some little salads served on endive leaves. You could fill them with tuna salad, bits of crab, chicken salad, or whatever you like, it's a nice light alternative to all the bread & crackers from the canapés.
Other finger foods you could do are mini egg rolls & spring rolls (you can make veggi ones for your friend!), melon wrapped in prosciutto, little skewers with a cube of cheese and a grape, skewers with a green or red pepper chunk a little meatball and a cherry tomato, mini quiches, snails in puff pastry, whatever else you like in puff pastry, basically anything you can imagine!
For more precise recipes, search appetizers, hors d'oeuvres, canapes, or finger foods on your favorite recipe website.
For some really nice, very fancy recipes, try
www.epicurious.com
it's my favorite recipe site.
Congratulations! Enjoy your wedding day!
You said deli tray,so that will be the meats.Put the breads in a wonderful basket next to the tray and do a sandwich bar.For the vegans also put a green salad, then a tray with salad fixings next to it,little tomatoes,pickles,olives,baby corn,and purple onion rings.Next to that put the salads that will fill up the hungry eaters--pasta(with meats), potato,cole slaw---if you want beans then do chili beans (with meat)I don't think you will need the beans, they are messy and hard to handle.I read that the silverware should be at the end of the table so people will not try to hold them and dip their food, makes sense to me.Don't forget the dressing for the green salad and the condiments for the sandwiches.(put them in a pretty basket)Make it easy clean up and sounds like you have the rest under control.The ideas can all be done and wrapped or bagged the day before for easy serve..Congratulations.......
Split Cornish game hens with an apricot glaze would be wonderful. For your vegan guest make her apricot glazed tofu.
Try a fresh spinach salad with fresh berries, goat cheese, honey glazed walnuts, and raspberry champagne dressing (you can buy the dressing pre-made in most grocery stores in the US).
Congratulations on the upcoming event!
I saw this idea and recipe in Southern Living Bridal Magazine?.
They had a brunch style
Vegetable Cheescake, fresh fruit, crackers, wine, a few appetizers, soup, fresh salad and some type of meat /fish dish.
You should be able to make a vegan version using Toffuti.
For your vegan friend if you don't want to do a vegan version just do a nice salad and make sure you get a vegan friendly salad dressing
THREE-LAYER CHEESECAKE
Serve with assorted crackers and fresh fruit.
3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened and divided
3 tablespoons chopped pimientostuffed green olives
2 teaspoons olive Juice
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 (2-ounce) jar diced pimiento, drained
1 teaspoon grated onion
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
BEAT 1 package cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; stir in olives and olive juice. Spread olive mixture into bottom of a plastic wrap-lined 8- x 4-inch loafpan.
BEAT 1 package cream cheese at medium speed until creamy; add mayonnaise and Cheddar cheese, beating until blended. Stir in pimiento and onion; spread over olive mixture.
BEAT remaining package cream cheese and butter at medium speed until creamy; add garlic and Italian seasoning, beating until blended. Spread garlic mixture over pimiento mixture. Cover and chill at least 3 hours or until firm. Yield: 8 appetizer servings.
Prep: 20 min., Chill: 3 hrs.
ROASTED VEGETABLE CHEESECAKE
Serve with a green salad and assorted crackers.
2 large tomatoes, halved
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 yellow squash, sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 medium-size sweet onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1/2 cup uncooked long-grain rice
1 cup water
1 teaspoon vegetable broth concentrate
3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened and divided
4 large eggs, divided 1/3 cup firmly packed fresh basil leaves
8 ounces fontina or Monterey Jack cheese, shredded and divided
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon pepper, divided
1 (8-ounce) container sour cream
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Garnish: fresh basil sprigs
ARRANGE tomato halves, cut side down, on an aluminum foillined 15- x 10-inch jellyroll pan.
TOSS together bell pepper, squash, and 1 tablespoon olive oil; place on jellyroll pan next to tomato halves.
TOSS together onion, garlic, and remaining 1 tablespoon oil; place on jellyroll pan next to bell pepper mixture.
BAKE at 425 deg for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally; cool.
MELT butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat; add rice, and saute 3 minutes. Stir in I cup water and broth concentrate; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until rice is tender. Cool slightly.
PRESS rice into bottom of a 9inch springform pan.
PROCESS 1 1/2 packages cream cheese, 2 eggs, basil, tomato, red bell pepper, and squash in a food processor until blended. Add 1 cup fontina cheese, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; pulse until blended. Pour over rice in pan.
PROCESS remaining 1 1/2 packages cream cheese, remaining 2 eggs, onion, and garlic in food processor until blended. Add remaining 1 cup fontina cheese, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Pour over tomato mixture.
BAKE at 350 deg for 40 minutes. Stir together sour cream and flour. Spread over cheesecake, and bake 10 more minutes. Cool on a wire rack 20 minutes. Gently run a knife around edge of cheesecake, and release sides. Garnish, if desired. Serve warm or chilled. Yield: 12 appetizer or 8 main dish servings
Fruit Platter