Photos on thumbnail courtesy of Ivan Garcia Studio. Catering from Churrascos and floral design from Carter’s Florist & Nursery.
In the midst of planning the “Best Day Ever,” you’ll have a number of decisions to make! From deciding on the perfect decor that matches your theme just right to booking vendors and so on, the entire process is so much fun! In addition, it’s also safe to say that food will pop up in a few places too. After all, you’ll need to think about scheduling tastings with catering companies, ponder ideas for the wedding cake and any other tasty treats that you may opt to incorporate into your big celebration.
For anyone familiar with our wedding blog, you’re likely well aware of the fact that we enjoy discussing all aspects of the wedding planning process. With so many different components included throughout and more than a few talented wedding professionals to consider booking, there’s no shortage of items to talk about. As referenced in the opening paragraph, this week’s blog post is going to be perfect for any couples who are currently in the planning stages and working to finalize the food part of their wedding. Our team at Madera Estates has had the opportunity to host hundreds of weddings over the years, so we’ll do our best to provide an overview of various food-related items that you’ll want to consider for your special day.
Main Meal
The best place to start on a blog post all about wedding food is with the primary meal that you’ll serve your guests. As we often say with some of the various other vendors that you’ll book, the best plan of attack for selecting the perfect catering company is to carefully do your own due diligence. Take the time to schedule tastings with local reputable caterers and avoid rushing through the process. Unsurprisingly, tastings are extremely important for this part of the planning process, so it’s important to ensure you book with someone that you’re happy with! Furthermore, as you’ll notice with wedding vendors in larger cities (like Houston), there are numerous options to pick from. In fact, for some, this plethora of options can even seem a little overwhelming. Nonetheless, a good pro tip is to seek recommendations and referrals from friends and family members that may have recently tied the knot. Not to mention, if you’ve already booked your wedding venue, they could be an excellent source of information as well. Remember, they’re already working with many of these local vendors on a regular basis throughout the year, so they can certainly be a great resource for steering you in the right direction!
Before we continue on to the next food-related topic, we also wanted to highlight a few final items in regards to your main meal. Are you considering having a cocktail hour in-between the ceremony and reception? If so, you’ll want to see if they can cover some appetizers for this. Are you wanting buffet style or plated meals? This is another great question, as it can impact the pricing as well. How about on-site service? Unsurprisingly, this is very important and something worth clarifying too! All in all, there are a number of variables you’ll want to confirm beforehand (including quite a few tied more so to logistics).
Desserts
Another food-related item that will certainly command your attention will be the desserts! While this one may seem rather straightforward, you can’t ignore the fact that there are some extremely talented cake creators and as such, you have some decisions to make here too. Additionally, while the wedding cake is the traditional dessert option at weddings, not all couples are huge cake fans and as a result, we’ve seen dessert tables grow in popularity as well!
First off, let’s discuss wedding cakes. If you’ve seen some of our blog posts that walk through previous weddings hosted at Madera Estates, you’ll likely notice that cake creators are able to create cakes that not only taste great, but also are truly beautiful. Whether it be in regards to the design, style, flavor or anything else, it won’t hurt to look through social media for ideas and inspiration on what you may be interested in having at your wedding. By the way, just as we mentioned above in relation to the main meal, don’t forget to taste test some of the flavors/icings.
As we continue on with this blog post, we also referenced how dessert tables are becoming a popular alternative to the traditional wedding cakes. This presents some flexibility as there are a plethora of desserts you could choose to include. Going along with this, another possibility would be to have a smaller cake and then a dessert table too. This would essentially give you the best of both worlds. In the end, we always encourage couples to go with what they prefer for their big day!
Other Food Options
Thus far in this blog post, we’ve covered two of the food options that you’ll tend to see at most weddings: the main meal served at the reception and then either a wedding cake or a dessert table (or both!). However, food at weddings can include quite a few other things too! We’ve been able to see many of these various options at past weddings and wanted to highlight them here in case you’re interested in incorporating them into your own celebration.
Churros – When it comes to tasty treats that are sure to be a hit at wedding receptions, we’ve seen churro bars be just that! While your guests are dancing the night away on the dance floor, they can enjoy churros as well.
Late Night Snack – Speaking of tasty treats, who doesn’t love a late night snack after a fun wedding reception? We’ve seen several couples opt to have food catered in later on during the reception for their guests. Being in Texas, Whataburger is certainly a popular option for this!
Appetizers for the Cocktail Hour – In the section about your main meal at the reception, we discussed how your caterer for that could probably handle appetizers for the cocktail hour too. Nonetheless, before we wrapped up this blog post, we wanted to mention it once more. Particularly if you’re planning on utilizing the time in-between the ceremony and reception to take your formal photos, you’ll want to have something to keep your guests occupied during this cocktail hour. One important aspect of this will involve having some appetizers for them to enjoy.
Host Your Big Day at Madera Estates
If you’re currently in the process of planning your wedding day, you’re likely well aware of the various to-do’s you’ll need to complete before your special day. As featured throughout this blog post, a few of those decisions will revolve around food. From deciding what type of food you’ll want to finding a caterer capable of making it happen and even the possibility of including a late night treat, this will undoubtedly be one of many enjoyable parts of the planning process.
Before you start researching local vendors for a churro bar or meet with catering companies, you’re going to want to have your wedding venue booked! This will ensure you have a wedding date set and can share that with caterers to determine availability. We didn’t provide much background on our venue in the opening paragraphs, but Madera Estates is a luxury wedding venue located in Conroe, TX. With years of experience in the wedding industry, our team is focused on helping engaged couples create the wedding of their dreams. From the getting ready moments all the way through that amazing send-off surrounded by friends and family, we’re here to make sure all of the details are just as you had envisioned. If you’re interested in scheduling a free tour of our venue, feel free to click the link HERE.