Planning on getting married at some point in the near future? You’re going to want to make sure you earmark plenty of money for food and drinks before you do.
On average, couples are spending about $33,000 on weddings these days. And most experts say you should set aside about 40% of that for your various food and drink expenses.
You should also make sure that you serve the right foods at your wedding since they could make or break your reception. There are all kinds of wedding food ideas that you can put to good use when you’re preparing for your big day.
Let’s take a look at 12 foods that you might want to serve during your wedding to keep your guests satisfied.
1. Filet Mignon
Beef has pretty much become a staple at weddings these days. You almost can’t throw a wedding reception without offering a steak of some kind to your guests.
There are lots of different types of beef that you can serve to your wedding guests. You can go with everything from top sirloin to ribeye.
But your best might be to go with filet mignon. It’s one of the fanciest yet most versatile types of beef that you can serve. You can dress it up with fancy vegetables or dress it down with mashed potatoes, and your guests will love it all the same.
2. Beef Brisket
Are you going to be hosting a very casual backyard wedding for your guests? Filet mignon might not fit the bill when this is the case.
You might be better off going with great barbecue-type foods when you’re generating wedding food ideas. This can include everything from BBQ chicken and ribs to hamburger patties and beef brisket.
Just because you’re taking the casual approach to your wedding doesn’t mean you can’t go all out with your food selections. You can still serve delicious dishes to your guests, even if they’re being served on paper plates.
3. Rack of Lamb
When some people attend weddings, they want to eat something that they don’t usually eat on a regular basis. It’s one of the few times they get to experiment with fancy foods they might not be able to eat otherwise.
A nice rack of lamb would be great for these types of guests. They probably aren’t cooking up racks of lamb on the regular at home, but they’ll enjoy eating lamb at your wedding. They might even remember your wedding for years to come because of the lamb you served.
4. Wedding Chicken
Beef is obviously a great option for weddings. But you should try to include at least one chicken option to go along with it since not everyone loves eating red meat.
There are going to be countless chicken recipes that you can choose. But if you want to keep things simple while still providing your guests with a great meal, how about so-called wedding chicken?
It’s a very flavorful chicken that’s easy to make for a large group of guests. You won’t hear too many complaints when this chicken starts hitting the tables of your wedding reception.
5. Chicken and Waffles
We provided you with a casual beef option earlier, so we should probably do the same thing for chicken, right? Not everyone is going to be serving chicken at their wedding in a formal environment.
BBQ chicken might be a good option as we already suggested. But if you’re searching for something a little more exciting, may we suggest chicken and waffles?
Chicken and waffles are one of the most creative wedding food ideas. They’ll appeal to both adults and children alike and will allow them to experience why chicken and waffles have become such a popular dish at restaurants all across the country in recent years.
6. Tacos and Fajitas
Most weddings aren’t held on Tuesdays. So, unfortunately, you can’t throw an official “Taco Tuesday” wedding celebration.
But don’t let that stop you from working a taco bar into the mix at your wedding. You can equip it with everything from ground beef and shredded chicken to guacamole and cilantro and let your wedding guests go to town.
You can also create an accompanying fajitas bar for your guests who would prefer to go that route. People will have so much fun putting tacos and/or fajitas together and chowing down on them at their tables.
7. Lobster Tails
Once upon a time, early American settlers referred to lobsters as “cockroaches of the sea.” There were so many of them washing up on land that many people didn’t want to be seen eating them.
But times sure have changed! Today, lobsters are one of the fanciest foods that you can serve at a wedding. They’re also some of the tastiest seafood that you’ll find for your wedding celebration.
Crab Dynasty carries a wide range of lobster tails and can help you pick out the ones that will work best for your wedding. You’ll put your wedding over the top with the addition of fresh lobster.
8. Salmon
Lobster is far from the only type of seafood that you can serve at your wedding. Salmon has turned into another popular choice among those planning weddings.
In a perfect world, you should offer your wedding guests at least one beef option, one chicken option, and one seafood option. And if you’re trying to find the best fish to include as your seafood option, you can’t go wrong with salmon.
9. Crab Cakes
Is your mouth watering right now thinking about all the seafood that we’ve mentioned already? You’re going to be salivating even more in a second.
Crab cakes are yet another solid selection for those planning a wedding. When crab cakes are made right, they’ll be delicious and fill a person up at the same time.
You can also serve crab cakes with everything from fresh vegetables to French fries, depending on how fancy you want your wedding to be. You’ll have lots of options when you add crab cakes to your wedding menu.
10. Pizza Pies
A recent survey discovered that, if people were forced to pick just one food to eat for the rest of their lives, most of them would pick—you guessed it—pizza! Pizza appears to be the most popular food in the country at this time.
Why not take advantage of that when creating a wedding menu? You can have fresh pizzas cooked up and served and ensure that everyone is happy.
You and your soon-to-be spouse might even want to come up with a recipe for your very own wedding pizza. You can create something unique that will introduce your wedding guests to pizza in a whole new way.
11. Stuffed Peppers
Stuffed peppers are admittedly a little bit off the beaten path when it comes to wedding food ideas. But hear us out!
You can stuff peppers with almost anything you want. From ground beef to cheese, cheese, and more cheese, the sky is the limit.
It might be fun to think up different things that you want to stuff inside peppers to create fun dishes for your guests. You can even come up with clever names for them if you want to keep things interesting.
12. Vegetarian Special
There are more than 375 million people who consider themselves vegetarians living throughout the world today. You’re likely going to have at least a few of them at your wedding.
There are also some people who simply prefer to eat vegetarian-style meals in certain instances as opposed to meals with beef, chicken, or some other type of meat. You’re probably going to have a few of them at your wedding, too.
Your goal should be to provide at least one vegetarian special at your wedding so that everyone has something to eat. Include it as an option when you send out RSVPs so that you know approximately how many vegetarian dishes you’ll need.
You should also inquire as to whether any of your other guests have dietary restrictions that impact what they can and can’t eat. It’ll allow for you to have more than enough food on hand to provide everyone at your wedding with something delicious to eat.
Use These Wedding Food Ideas to Map Out the Menu for Your Reception
These wedding food ideas are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to wedding foods. There are so many great options out there that you can choose from.
Make it your mission to pick out the foods that you think your guests are going to love the most. You don’t want to serve anything too fancy or too casual based on your wedding venue and your wedding guest list.
Spend at least a few weeks researching different kinds of foods before settling on the ones you want. This means doing everything from reading up on them to tasting them for yourself to see if they’ll be good for your guests.
Want to get more tips on throwing a successful wedding? Read the articles on our blog to get great advice.