Delicious wedding party food by Milkshed Catering at Tone Dale House & Widcombe Grange
Getting married is such an exciting time and planning for your wedding can be a lot of fun for you and your partner to enjoy. Once you’ve chosen your wedding venue, your attention will be turning to your wedding food. We’d like to offer a little advice, based on the hundreds of lovely weddings we’ve had the pleasure to help married couples enjoy at Tone Dale House & Widcombe Grange. So here are some of our top tips…
#01 Choose Your Style
Decide on what style of meal you want. Would you like a formal served meal or something more casual, say shared platters or a “carve your own” at the table? This is very much down to your personal style, there’s no right or wrong about it. But it’s good to think about this in advance of meeting with caterers. You may change your mind as your decision-making progresses, but it will at least give you the basis for a meeting or phone call to start things off with your caterer.
We’d suggest that buffet style (at least for your main course) doesn’t work for wedding numbers – you’ll end up with a queue of people waiting for food, the top table having finished eating, while others won’t have started. This can prolong the meal a lot and speeches can’t start until everyone has finished eating.
#02 Your budget
Be open about your budget with your wedding caterer and they can usually work with you to achieve as much as your budget can allow. It’s surprising what little tweaks to your food choices can do to the overall value for money you’ll achieve.
#03 Special to you
Bride & Grooms, we really think it’s important that you choose at least some food for yourselves that you love or that means something special to you. It’s your special day so don’t just choose what other people would like …..they can have that at their own special event!! What you select will also be part of the personality of your wedding that is uniquely you.
#04 Keep the food coming, as well as the alcohol!
Think about having canapes served with drinks, particularly important if your wedding ceremony time means people won’t have had lunch! Likewise, consider how many hours there will be between your wedding meal and the end of your party and think about whether your guests will need evening food. Particularly important if the alcohol is flowing!
#05 Have a tasty tasting
Arrange a tasting with your wedding caterer. Just you, your partner and the caterer. Don’t be persuaded to attend a group tasting, as that just generically gives you an idea of the caterer’s food. You want to sample the food that you will be eating on your wedding day. It really allows you to know what you’re getting and for the caterer to be able to know what adjustments you would like – no surprises on your big day! Milkshed Catering (a fabulous supplier to Tone Dale House & Widcombe Grange) go the extra mile here and prepare everything for your tasting, exactly as it would be on your wedding day.
#06 And don’t forget…
This is an obvious one, but just a reminder to think about the special dietary requirements of your guests and this needs to cover all elements of the catering – canapes, evening food etc, as well as the main meal. You can also introduce a fun element into the children’s food if you are having a separate menu for them.
Above all, enjoy the process and remember if you put yourself in the hands of a great wedding venue and an excellent caterer you can relax and let their expertise guide you through.
