Reception Food Ideas

Planning your wedding reception food is one of the most important parts to the wedding planning process. Every couple wants their wedding day to be memorable and the food for the guests plays an important role in creating the whole mood of the evening.

Just like the dress code, the wedding menu can direct the formality of the evening. Whilst a sit down dinner requires a formal seating plan and silverware, wedding receptions with a buffet style dinner or food truck will create a more casual atmosphere. Depending on the ambiance you're wanting at your wedding reception, will change the wedding reception food you decide.

Before choosing the wedding reception food, we recommend considering the other elements of your wedding reception. Keep in mind the location, whether you're having an outdoor wedding, an evening wedding reception, early celebrations or a cocktail hour - deciding these elements to your wedding reception first will then help you choose your wedding food ideas.

Once you've got a rough idea on the style of your wedding reception, it's time to choose the wedding menu! There's lots of different wedding food ideas to choose from, that's why we're making the wedding planning process easier for you with these wedding menu ideas! Browse through, find your favourites and start putting together your menu.

Summer wedding food ideas

For summer weddings, you want to keep the wedding reception menu light, fresh and seasonal!

Entree

Seafood is a very popular option for summer weddings, with plenty of options to choose from. If your guests eat raw fish, sushi makes for the perfect savory appetizer. For weddings with a BBQ, cooking up grilled prawns, popcorn shrimp or half shell lobster are all delicious options that will keep your guests satisfied.

For vegetarian options, choose seasonal appetizers that showcases in season vegetables and fruits with fun toppings such as dressings and tasty sauce. Offer a filling main course and ensure there's a few different options at the salad bar that are vegetarian.

Provide small snack bowls of olives or antipasto so guests can help themselves during cocktail hour. Nothing worse than drinking on an empty stomach!

Main

For the main course, having a selection of food stations offers a great variety that wedding guests can help themselves too. For early celebrations offer a seafood brunch bar with mini lobster rolls, oysters, fresh fish and lemon sauce. For evening celebrations, host a spread of mini fish tacos, a salad bar, seasonal vegetables, veggie roll ups and other bite sized snacks for your vegetarian guests.

Dessert

The hotter weather might make your wedding guests less inclined for a big slab of wedding cake so it's essential you offer different options. Prepare a spread of refreshing seasonal fruits and bright fruit cups that will keep your guests cool. For those who prefer savory, offering a cheese board with premium brie and blue cheese is guaranteed to impress.

Overall, keeping your wedding reception menu a lighter fare is always a good idea for a summer wedding.

Winter wedding

Now that we've discussed the best wedding reception food for your summer wedding, it only makes sense to jump into the best wedding food for a winter wedding reception!

Entree

Essentially, food for winter is the opposite to a summer wedding. With a summer wedding, you want your food cool and refreshing. For winter menu ideas, you want your food warm and hearty.

Quick and easy appetizer ideas are offering fresh bread with butter and warm delicious soups. Tomato soup or a cream based soup are great options that work as a perfect savory appetizer or tasty entree to your wedding menu.

Main

It's known that people eat more in winter so make sure your wedding menu consist of filling meals. Italian cuisine is a popular option for winter with pasta being a classic wedding staple. Offer a gluten free pasta dish as well as vegetarian options for those with dietary requirements and serve plenty of fresh bread dizzled with olive oil.

Allow guests to help themselves to your tomato soup or cream based soup throughout the night with a soup station. This is a fun treat that your friends and family members will love.

Dessert

Wedding dessert ideas can vary from the big traditional wedding cake, warm sticky date pudding, bread and butter pudding other winter wedding desserts to choose from. Just make sure you provide the option for guests to help themselves to hot custard!

Breakfast wedding food

Many couples choose to have a beautiful morning wedding reception, which means their wedding reception food needs to be breakfast themed. Luckily, there a plenty of incredibly delicious wedding menu ideas that will leave a lasting impressing on your guests.

Entree

Breakfast wedding entree ideas include bagel toast served with different toppings such as smoked salmon, avocado or tomato. Seafood is a great breakfast option too, with half shell crab or mini lobster rolls offering a lighter fare.

Main

A few breakfast options for the main course includes bagels with smoked salmon and cream cheese, avocado on fresh bread with olive oil, veggie roll ups or caesar salad with mini chicken and crustini. Breakfast can be served as a buffet style or even as a plated meal.

Dessert

For wedding dessert ideas, offer fresh croissants with jams and butters, seasonal fruits, mini pancakes with strawberries and/or scones with strawberries and cream for a yummy sweet flavor.

Casual weddings

If you're wanting to steer away from a fancy plated dinner and keep your wedding food cool and casual, there are plenty of menu ideas to match what you're looking for.

Entree

For casual weddings, there are less rules and pressure on providing a flawless menu. Instead, choose those wedding classic favourites such as french fries, onion rings, vegetable skewers or fried chicken drumsticks.

As a classic snack, offer little bowls of peanuts and pretzels so your guests can graze between meals. These snacks will go down a treat during cocktail hour!

Main

Food trucks are a great option for casual weddings. Guests can choose whether to walk up to the food truck to order or, the staff from the food truck can walk around with the reception food.

Choose from sliders, hot dogs, fried chicken, fish tacos or even kebabs! The menu ideas from food trucks are endless so anything you're craving on your wedding day, they can deliver.

Dessert

Wedding dessert for casual weddings can be as simple as the traditional wedding cake decorated with edible flowers, mini cupcakes, donuts, an ice cream station with fun toppings or anything the food truck provides!

Menu ideas for casual weddings are purely up to the wedding couple to decide. If there's a nostalgic dish you want to serve up or, you simply want to munch down some fried chicken and french fries after cocktail hour - you can!

Wedding menu ideas

There are so many wedding menu ideas to choose from that it can be overwhelming trying to decide. We recommend discussing with your partner what you both would enjoy and then considering what your guests will enjoy snacking on. At the end of the day, this is your wedding and it's of utmost importance that you and your other half enjoy the wedding food... and then your wedding guests!