A Wedding Cocktail Hour
Wherever a personal holiday is conceived, such as your future anniversary, it is necessary to think through the wedding menu to the smallest detail, table setting, organization of space and entertainment. Invitees eat and communicate while standing, moving freely and take pictures. Tables with refreshments are set up and served in such a way that it would be convenient for everyone to approach and take food to their plate. It is possible to arrange one long table or make several thematic: snack bar, dessert, fruit, pastries, drinks, etc..
Plates, appliances, and glasses are placed on the edge. Dishes need to be prepared for more than enough, because people usually do not go back to where they left their plate. To avoid confusion, wine cocktails for drinks can be marked with a ribbon or topper with a name. The attendance for a cocktail hour is less than for a banquet: approximately one waiter for fifteen to twenty people. They keep order on the tables, take out additional dishes, napkins, and help pour drinks.
Wedding Cocktail Hour Reception Options
A cocktail hour reception for your large crowd is generally required and expected. Usually, the ceremony is held in a beautiful place: on the banks of the river, in a park or in a panoramic room at the top of a skyscraper. A buffet reception in such an atmosphere should be an exquisite moment of the wedding.
A wedding cocktail hour will support the forces and quench the thirst of the most persistent guests and newlyweds. For beautiful romantic photos, you can even organize a wedding picnic in the countryside or in a nearby park.
Buffet Menu For The Wedding
The basis of the wedding cocktail hour is cocktails and delicious snacks. These are small, portioned foods, also known as finger foods, that are eaten in two bites. Their choice is diverse: from rolls to fruit skewers. Hot dishes are not included in the menu, because hearty snacks satisfy your hunger well.
What is present on the wedding table? Canapés, vegetable and meat slices, cheese plates, bruschetta, rolls, mini-sandwiches, pies, mini-barbecue, tartlets, bacon, quiche, salads, bread sticks, and crackers with sauces and pastes. Salads and snacks are effectively served in glasses, in baskets of dough and even profiteroles. The bride and groom can choose ready-made buffet sets, which already include a variety of dishes, or make a menu to your taste.
The classic three-tier wedding cake on the cocktail hour table is increasingly being replaced by a product from a variety of portioned cakes. A cupcake or pasta cake looks impressive. In it, you can easily use several fillings at once, while having such a dessert is much more convenient.
A bright addition to the feast is a chocolate fountain, a champagne fountain, or a pyramid of glasses with cocktail. Cocktails are the main drink at the wedding. But it is worth considering the tastes of all the guests, having prepared stronger drinks and wines. For your much younger guests, soft drinks are a must.
If you decide to hold the celebration easily and naturally, the catering service will suggests how to organize a wedding reception in a stylish, satisfying, and budget-friendly way.
Canapés
Canapés are delicious main dishes that are included in the buffet menu most often. A canapé is a mini sandwich. The basis for them are pieces of fresh or toasted bread. If canapés are cooked on skewers, then in some cases they don’t make a bread base.
Canapés can contain a variety of ingredients. For example:
- herring, salmon, salmon, pink salmon;
- smoked chicken, boiled pork, salami, ham, boiled sausages;
- various types of cheese;
- tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and other vegetables;
- prunes, olives;
- cheese cream;
- caviar;
- Pastes.
Meat Cuts
Also often included in the buffet menu. When compiling meat slices use:
- various varieties of sausages;
- fat;
- boiled or smoked meat;
- ham;
- Bacon.
In many cases, cheese and other foods are added. The main rule for the preparation of meat cuts – the ingredients need to be thinly sliced and beautifully arranged.
Light Meals On Skewers
Practically no cocktail hour is complete without light snacks on skewers. The main thing in their preparation is to take into account the compatibility of products. Here are the most popular options for light meals on skewers, which are often included in the buffet menu.
- Shrimp and cheese.
- Cucumber and crab sticks.
- Cheese and olives.
- Apple and salmon.
- Bacon and zucchini.
- Ham, tomatoes, and cheese.
- Assorted pickled vegetables.
- Sausage and cheese.
- Ham and Brussels sprouts.
- Cheese, pineapple, and grapes.
When preparing snacks on skewers, foods are usually diced.
Vegetable Slices
In the preparation of vegetable slices usually use:
- Tomatoes
- cucumbers
- bow;
- potatoes;
- pepper;
- zucchini;
- Eggplant.
- Vegetables can be raw, pickled, boiled, fried, or grilled. In some cases, mushrooms are added to the slices.
Cheese Plates
As a rule, a single buffet menu is not complete without cheese plates. In their preparation, various types of cheeses are used. Among them: dor blue, roquefort, gorgonzola, sheep and goat cheeses, parmesan, gruyere, masdam, emental, gouda, edam, mozzarella, shaurs, camembert, ricotta, etc.
Most often, cheese is laid out in a circle. Moreover, its tender cheeses begin, and piquant closes it. Hard and semi-hard types of cheese are laid at the edges, and soft at the center.
In addition to cheeses, products are usually added that can correctly emphasize the taste of each of the varieties and improve the appearance of the dish.
Tartlets
They are baked baskets in which salads and other snacks are placed. We list the most popular fillings.
- Salads: “Tenderness”, “Olivier”, “Caesar” and “Crab”.
- Grated cheese with lemon juice / garlic.
- Cheese, tomatoes, and chicken breast.
- Cream cheese, salmon, eggs, cucumbers, and mayonnaise sauce.
- Salmon, avocado, soft cheese, lemon juice, dill.
- Red caviar.
The basic rule for the preparation of tartlets is that the filling should not be too liquid. Otherwise, the baskets will get wet.
What else is served at the wedding cocktail hour?
Above we talked about the main dishes that are included in the buffet menu most often. Next – we list additional ones.
Stuffed Eggs Or Vegetables
From vegetables, tomatoes, to zucchini are usually prepared. The most popular fillings are:
- red play;
- fillets of various fish species;
- sauces;
- pastes;
- grated cheese with garlic;
- canned fish with chopped onions;
- and so forth
Rolls
Most often, for the preparation of rolls, pita bread, bread, or the main ingredients (cheese, ham, bacon) are taken as the basis. Fillings are very different. The choice depends on desire and imagination. The main thing is to consider the compatibility of products.
Mini Salads
They are usually laid out in small portions on spoons or bowls.
Dessert
For desserts at receptions most often served:
- sweet and fruit tartlets;
- ice cream;
- jelly;
- small cakes;
- brownies;
- muffins
Hot Meals
Most often, the following hot dishes are included in the buffet menu.
- From poultry (julienne, chops, fried wings / legs, kebabs).
- Fish (kebabs, steaks, brooches).
- From pork / veal (steaks, grilled ribs, chops).
- Grilled vegetables.
Wedding Cocktails: Which Ones To Choose?
Even despite the fact that most of the wedding events prefer to serve vodka or good brandy, the rapid trends demonstrate a change in the taste of guests in the direction of a direct decrease in the degree. This is especially evident among the younger generation, because they now love the light and bright tastes of fruit and milk shakes with the addition of a certain amount of alcohol. In addition, bright and unusual cocktails will become a real decoration of the wedding hall!
Trends In Wedding Cocktails
It should be noted right away that even weddings now serve beer. Previously, they could not even think of such a thing. The standard cognac was replaced by whiskey and rum. However, in such a huge whirlpool of tastes and shades of alcoholic aroma, you can get confused or even harm yourself by mixing several opposite cocktails. It is for this reason that one should carefully and thoughtfully approach the final selection of wedding cocktails.