The Modern Wedding Menu: How Things Have Changed?
If you’ve been to many weddings with foods prepared and served by a catering service Philippines in 2000, chances are, you’d spot the difference the way these services do wedding catering today. Ultimately, the modern wedding menu gets more modern in terms that there is currently a marriage of a variety of flavors that goes into the wedding menu.
For starters…
Hors d’oeuvre, appetizers, or entrées (they are essentially the same) often make a grand entrance at most of the wedding receptions today. These are served during the cocktail hour while guests are socializing. The cocktail hour is the period between waiting for most of the guests to arrive and the main course to be served. Appetizers are served for the purpose of sustaining the guests while they wait.
There are at least two ways to present the starters: 1) tabled hors d’oeuvre and 2) butlered (or passed) hors d’oeuvre. The hors d’oeuvres are usually paired with cocktail drinks. Entrées can be light or heavy, depending on the length of the wait time. Thus, if the wait time will be more than one hour, make sure that heavy appetizers are served.
Appetizers can also be hot, cold or both. What we see today, nonetheless, is the elaborative, intricately designed entrées that are served in the most creative manners. Some of these are in shot glasses, cocktail glasses, skewers, paper cones, wraps, and Chinese soup spoons and forks. Frequently though, the appetizers are eaten by hand.
Visually stunning haute vegan appetizers served on shadow boxes are the current trend. Hawker-style trays, if not customized carry trays, for serving the charcuterie are also in, making presentation and delivery more exciting for the guests. Artful pairings are also possible as evidenced by ‘eat and sip’ concepts at the entrée buffet stations which include smoked meats and specialty whiskeys, artisanal cheeses and traditional wines, etc.
For late-night munchies…
Weddings run late up to the wee hours. So, serving after-party snacks is yet another trend that we have seen unfold in the recent years. Hours after dinner and when booze is flowing plentifully, casual and comfort food are incorporated into the late-night menu.
As the evening wears, more and more people will be hungry. The secret is integrating sweet, salty, and savory such as mac and cheese croquettes, mini pecan pies, banana pudding with toasted meringue and grilled cheese sandwiches.
Whatever your choice may be, the goal is serving something that will soak up the booze while keeping them full and energized. But of course, the late-night bites are regarded as another way to carry through the wedding theme.
And now for the wedding cake…
Unlike western weddings that can forego wedding cakes in exchange of other dessert treats, Filipino weddings will never be complete without a wedding cake. Nonetheless, the trend is having ‘naked cakes’ or cakes with no frosting whatsoever. These cakes go perfectly for rustic chic wedding themes.
Further, we see more of cupcake tower cakes wherein the small-sized wedding cakes double as souvenirs. Majority of the couples are declining the white wedding cakes and opt for themed cakes instead. Multi-tiered cakes are also becoming less common as well as the bride and groom cake toppers. Some cakes involve a cute baby toppers or in-season flowers. Some cakes come with no topper at all. And yes, no more styros!
Vanilla and carrot cake are two of the most popular options. That was before. At present, wedding cake flavors can be anything that the couple desires. In fact, they can even have a multi-flavored wedding cake; a different flavor on each tier. Lemon-thyme, apple walnut, raspberry, red velvet, espresso and even S’mores are common flavors. Some couples prefer fruit wedding cakes especially for outdoor, summer weddings.
Ever wondered what caused these changes?
Perhaps, one answer to this question is the ever-growing population of culinary experts and highly qualified culinary staff joining the catering kitchens. Catering companies is now equipped with the right talent to accommodate custom menus such as a gluten-free wedding menu.
With these chefs and sous chefs at the helm, interracial menus that feature international cuisines are possible. The idea is to honor, reflect, and incorporate the respective cultures of the bride and groom. An interracial wedding menu thereby symbolizes the union of two cultures. The premise is making the wedding more about the couple including their favorite foods and integrate them into the menu.
Aside from that, the modern couples are food savvy. They are well-traveled and mingled with various cuisines while doing so. They know exactly what they want to include in their wedding menu and from which cuisine. So, expect cuisine-specific food stations on weddings in the near future. The more varied the wedding menu, the more fun and exciting it gets.
Alternatively, there are couples who are veggie-centric. They are into healthy living, and they somehow want to let the people know the benefits of doing such. For them, there is no better opportunity to show people their advocacies than their wedding day and through the food they intend to serve. Catering kitchens are rising to these occasions, enhancing menus to suit the palates of the newlyweds and their guests.
There will always the a demand for uniqueness, so the wedding will be remembered in a good way. As such, menus are well-experimented from starters to midnight snacks as long as they fit with the overall theme and of course, budget.
Finally, Filipinos are never known to skimp on food. In fact, the biggest portion of the wedding budget is allotted for food. Food makes or breaks a wedding, and we all know that. We ensure that the foods we serve are delicious and tasty and that everyone will have his or her share of the occasion. We take pride in the overabundance of food during weddings.
In sum, changes are inevitable. What’s important is the basics. Foods have to be tasty. And they must be served at their proper temperature wherein hot are served hot and cold are served cold, and not vice versa. Presentation matters. After all, we eat with our eyes first. Nonetheless, it is the taste that counts.
Image credits: Food shots by Hizon’s Catering except for the naked cake. We do not take credit for other photos that were used.
