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When it comes to wedding meals, whether you have a healthy budget or a tight one, a little bit of planning can go a long way towards ensuring a feast that guests will be salivating over for years to come.<\/p>\n
The trick is keeping your meal simple, opting for good quality ingredients (or a caterer that uses them) and ensuring you choose food that everybody likes, not just the bride and groom.<\/p>\n
“The most common wedding meal mistake people make is ordering only food they like,” says Anthony Sullivan from award-winning Sydney caterers Forte Catering and Events.<\/p>\n
“If, for example, a bridal couple love prawns, you might see prawns crop up in the entree and main, as well as in a salad, so it’s really important to take your guests into consideration, but also to think about what’s going to be fresh and taste best when you’re getting married.<\/p>\n
“There’s little point ordering a fig dish if you’re getting married in the winter when they’re not in season,” adds 39-year-old Anthony. “They won’t taste their best, but they probably won’t offer value for money, either.”<\/p>\n
Anthony, a 12-time winner at the NSW Restaurant & Catering Association Awards, has loved cooking since he was a child growing up in Bathurst and, in the intervening years, has travelled and cooked in kitchens across the globe.<\/p>\n
He’s currently Forte Catering and Events’ Executive Chef where he takes great pride in reinventing traditional dishes.<\/p>\n
Having worked in hotels, restaurants and the catering industry for many years, Anthony says weddings pose a special gastronomic challenge, but that simplicity, generally, is a bridal couple’s best route.<\/p>\n
However, over the years – and the many hundreds of weddings he’s catered for – several mistakes tend to appear and reappear:<\/p>\n
People always remember the food at a wedding, especially if there is a lack of it! Hungry guests at a wedding is a big no-no and making ruthless cuts when it comes to the food is something that must be avoided at all costs, according to Anthony.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile feasting on oysters, prawns and other delicacies is certainly tempting, it can be a little extravagant for those watching the bank balance. Your guests will be far more appreciative of a generous selection of less extravagant
\nitems than they would a handful of expensive morsels.\u201d Instead of reducing the size of meals, be wise with your selections and opt for main dishes such as salmon and chicken and steer clear of the more expensive options such as lamb or kingfish.<\/p>\n
There is not much worse than sitting down to a hot and heavy meal on a sweltering summer\u2019s day or nibbling on a cold summer salad in the middle of winter.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s so important to keep the time of year in mind when selecting your dishes and it\u2019s no surprise that food tastes best when it\u2019s in season. It\u2019s also less expensive than sourcing ingredients out of season,\u201d says Anthony.<\/p>\n\n\n
Just because you like a glass of red at the end of the work week, doesn\u2019t make you a wine expert. Don\u2019t be left flailing in front of the wine list picking wines based on their fancy names.<\/p>\n
\u201cSpeak to your caterer and ask them to provide some wine pairings for you at different price points,\u201d says Anthony. \u201cAnd remember, you don\u2019t need to blow the budget to have seamless food and wine matches,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s really no need to have a dessert and wedding cake, according to Anthony.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy the time dessert comes around guests are usually pretty jolly and are keener to hit the dance floor than a chocolate fondant. Serving a delicious wedding cake accompanied by some fresh cream and berries is a great way to keep costs down and guests happy,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Anthony advises couples to steer clear of making the menu too repetitious or too adventurous. Exotic menus can provide an interesting twist for thrill-seeking foodies but chances are, those with a simpler palate will become intimidated with what\u2019s in front of them. When selecting the food that will be served on the day, the key is to consider who will actually be eating it.<\/p>\n
\u201cGuests will get bored if they have to sample seven different canap\u00e9s containing the same ingredient, while the less adventurous guests may even opt to go hungry if the dishes are too exotic. A variety of simple, fresh, clean flavours that are plated and presented well will ensure you have your bases covered,\u201d says Anthony.<\/p>\n
Whether you are hiring a caterer or having friends and relatives cook, Anthony says “the most important thing is to keep it simple.<\/p>\n
“You don’t need to go too gourmet. When it comes to weddings – and any event, really – as long as the food is good and there’s enough of it, you’ll generally find your event goes brilliantly!”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38583,"template":"","au_article_tag":[579,325,667],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au-article\/38581"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/au-article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au-article\/38581\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38583"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"au_article_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au_article_tag?post=38581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}