Food Revolution: Creative Wedding Food Ideas

Wedding food is moving on from the three-four course wedding breakfast, so if you’re looking for showstopping wedding breakfast ideas, standout creative wedding snacks and wedding evening food ideas that will leave your guests agog, this one’s for you, because being creative with your wedding menu is the perfect way to add that extra style and sass to your day. Celebrity wedding planner, Liz Taylor of the Taylor Lynn Corporation (TLC), tells us why…

Liz Taylor, TLC “Whatever the theme, if you’re creative you can weave it into the food.”

“We tend not to think of wedding menus as a fashion choice. But, as anyone who ordered black forest gateau 30-years-ago will tell you, as tastes change so do our menus. In 2016 it is not only wedding menus that are changing, but the whole way in which wedding food is presented and served is being revolutionised.

“Weddings don’t have to be the traditional set up, and the sit-down meal is now only one of a number of options.”

Recent years have seen a move towards all food being served in the evening, so that there is no split between wedding and evening guests, creating a massive party feel as well as opening the options for more creative wedding menus.

Today the traditional buffet table covered with a white starched tablecloth has been replaced by eye-catching food-stations, built to form part of the décor.

“The food is part of the theatre of the evening,” says Liz.”Food stations become stage props. We’ve served food on model trains for a Harry Potter theme, created wacky forest sweet walls for an Alice in Wonderland inspired event and turned bars into carousels for a fair-ground feel.”

That’s ok if you want fairy-tale or funky, but what if you’re inspired by the natural elements and have opted for the current hot trend of metallic colours?

“Whatever the theme, if you’re creative you can weave it into the food,’ Liz assures us. “Metallics are incredibly versatile. Golds and copper schemes fit in wonderfully with the architecture of many of the urban and industrial venues out there, and roses dipped in metallic wax are simply stunning in your floral decor. We accent that with use of gold leaf, which can be used in puddings, sprinkled on top of cocktails and to decorate the edge of plates.”

A wedding menu doesn’t come much more luxurious than serving up desert laced with gold. But Liz says that the same wow-factor can be achieved from serving simple food in an entertaining and innovative way. These days it is not unusual to find sausage and mash, fish and chips, and even pie and peas, on the menu at the most exclusive of weddings.

“You may have beef and ale or chicken and mushroom pie on the menu, but it will be served in an unusual individual dish, with a mini jug of hot gravy on the side. Or hot homemade soup – poured from vintage tea pots and drunk from an eclectic mix of vintage tea cups.” Inexpensive, but effective.

“Fish and chips is also a popular choice because it can be wrapped in paper, specially printed for wedding day, and served on exclusive glass plates or in cardboard cones and trays. It’s challenging to serve, as frying fish and chips for a large wedding and serving all together is a chef’s nightmare, but it is inexpensive, fun and is everyone’s guilty pleasure.”

“Or,” she adds, “opt for popular, fun food stations. Think kebabs and pizza vans, burgers, Asian inspired nuts and noodles, and duck spring rolls wrapped while you wait. There is something for everyone and it is a great replacement to a traditional buffet.”

If you are planning a cocktail party for your big day, Liz advises that presentation of your canapes should still be fun.

“I have served tasty canapes on everything from slates, trays resting on the hips of gorgeous people, light boxes and even my favourite client’s shoes! Be inspired!”

So, while the food itself may be more informal, the focus on flavour, cutting-edge presentation and dramatic effect, has made catering a talking point like never before.

Liz Taylor & TLC

Liz Taylor has more than 30 years experience in event planning and set up TLC Ltd over 20 years ago. Headquartered in Manchester, it has grown to become one of the leading event organisers in the UK and now works right across Europe planning and curating luxury weddings, corporate event management, product launches and parties. Find out more about TLC at tlc-ltd.co.uk.