So much has evolved in the wedding world, yet wedding food options can still seem very stuck in the past: three courses, chicken or fish, and a long wait between every course. If that’s your dream dinner, brilliant, but if not, there are far more interesting ways to feed a room full of people you love.
Before you choose your wedding food, ask yourself these four questions:
What do you two actually love eating? If a formal dinner is only on the list because it’s what weddings do, ask yourselves whether you want it or whether it’s just a wedding tradition.
When are people eating? A reception that runs through dinnertime needs a proper meal, not three canapés and a glass of fizz.
How will people eat? A standing party needs food guests can manage with one hand and without cutlery. Anything overly messy is a recipe for disaster.
What does your venue allow? Some venues only let you use their in-house caterer. Make sure you ask if you can bring in external caterers before you fall in love with the idea of a taco truck.
Wedding food ideas for the main meal
🍕 A wood-fired pizza van
Pizza is about as close to a guaranteed crowd-pleaser as wedding food gets. Ask for a vegan option, a gluten-free base and a special combo that feels personal to you – bonus points if you can name after the two of you!
🌮 A taco bar
Warm tortillas, two or three fillings, a row of salsas and a lot of lime. Everyone builds exactly what they want, which sorts out most dietary requirements in one go.
🍛 A curry feast
Big pots of curry with rice, naan and pickles feed a crowd beautifully. Label the spice levels clearly, unless you want to watch your nan discover a vindaloo.
🧀 A grazing table
A long table piled high with cheese, cured meats, bread, dips and fruit looks spectacular. If it’s replacing a meal, add hot dishes, salads and plenty of carbs,
🍝 A pasta bar
Two or three sauces, a couple of shapes and a small mountain of parmesan, with a vegan alternative alongside. That doubles as your vegetarian option, since true Parmigiano Reggiano is made with animal rennet.
🍰 Afternoon tea
Finger sandwiches, scones with jam and clotted cream, and tiers of little cakes. Just be ready to settle the jam-or-cream-first debate in the speeches.
🥞 A brunch reception
Get married in the morning and celebrate with pancakes, eggs and pastries, plus a jug of Bucks Fizz for anyone who needs one.
🥦 A fully vegan menu
Done well, vegan food wins over even the most committed carnivore. If you’re going all-vegan, mention it on your invitations or wedding website so nobody’s surprised.
Late night wedding snacks
Evening food is always a welcome surprise and keeps the dance floor going and soaks up the toasts.
🥓 Bacon rolls (and a veggie version)
A late-night favourite at British weddings. Soft rolls, crispy bacon, ketchup or brown sauce (a debate in its own right), and a veggie version alongside.
🍟 Cones of chips
Hot chips (fries, to our American readers) in paper cones, salted, vinegared and served with dips. A good reason for guests to stay for one more song.
🍗 Fried chicken
Crispy chicken in boxes is hard to beat at 11pm. Or go straight to the source and hire your favourite chicken shop to show up, which might be the most honest end to a wedding day there is.
Wedding desserts that aren’t just cake
Cake is lovely, but it isn’t compulsory. Instead, how about:
🍩 A doughnut wall
A pegboard covered in doughnuts doubles as decor and dessert. Keep it out of direct sun, because icing melts.
🥧 Pies instead of cake
Instead of a wedding cake, what about sheet-pan pies from a pie maker you’ve seen at a farmers’ market.
🍦 An ice cream van
Few things make grown adults as giddy as an ice cream van pulling up on a summer afternoon.
🧁 A family bake table
Ask the keen bakers in your life to bring their best cake, traybake or biscuits. It costs very little, and every slice comes with a story.
Cheap wedding food ideas: how to feed 100 people on a budget
The cheapest way to feed 100 people at a wedding is usually one carb-heavy main, such as pasta, curry, tacos or pizza, served as a buffet or from a single food truck instead of a plated meal. A few more ways to stretch the budget:
🖤 Skip the starter. Hardly anyone misses it, especially if there were canapés with the drinks.
🖤 Time the wedding between meals. A late-morning ceremony with brunch or a 2pm ceremony with afternoon tea costs less than a full dinner.
🖤 DIY one course, but not everything. Desserts from family bakers or a cheeseboard you put together yourselves are manageable. Cooking a hot dinner for 100 on your wedding day is not.
How to keep buffet and DIY food safe
Buffets, grazing tables and potlucks are exactly where food sits out longest. According to the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, food shouldn’t be left out of the fridge for more than two hours, or more than one hour above 90°F (32°C).
🖤 Keep hot food hot, at 60°C (140°F) or above, in chafing dishes, slow cookers or warming trays.
🖤 Keep cold food cold, at 4°C (40°F) or below, by setting dishes on ice.
In the UK, caterers follow the Food Standards Agency rather than the USDA. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, hot food has to be kept at 63°C or above, and chilled food at 8°C or below.
Tell guests what they’re eating
Add a line to your RSVP cards or wedding website asking about dietary requirements and allergies, then pass the list to your caterer early.
Whatever you serve, put it in writing. For a sit-down meal, a menu card at each place tells guests what’s coming. For a buffet, food truck or grazing table, one big sign by the food does the same job. Mark the vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free dishes, and list the main allergens.
WeddingTemplates.com has menu cards and large buffet menu signs you can edit in a free browser editor. Print the cards at home and send the signs to a local print shop, since a sign big enough to read from the queue won’t come out of a home printer.
About the Author
Abraham Hart is the founder of WeddingTemplates, where couples design their own wedding invitations, menus and signs in a free browser editor and print them wherever they like.