Food, Glorious Food

In the UK food is very important to us. We live in a culture of business lunches, dinner dates and celebratory drinks, rewarding our children’s good behaviour with the promise of chocolate or ice-cream. Any social occasion tends to involve food and your wedding is no different. Your guests will expect to be fed and watered, but how do you decide the most suitable type of cuisine?
The food at a wedding is usually a topic for conversation among guests so it’s important to get it right, while keeping it within your budget. The big expense at weddings is often the drinks, so that’s something else that needs careful consideration.
When deciding between a sit down meal or a buffet, you need to consider the theme of your big day. A buffet tends to be cheaper and more sociable, but a sit down meal can be elegant and involves less queuing. You also need to consider your wedding venue, number of guests and dietary requirements when choosing your dining options.

· Sit down dinner

As this usually requires silver service, a sit down meal tends to be a more expensive option. However all guests have a specific place to sit and there’s no queuing chaos, which can be a better option for elderly guests. You can decide the number of courses to serve and guests have the option of choosing their menu beforehand.

· Finger buffet

A less formal choice, a finger buffet includes a selection of canapés, snacks and sandwiches for guests to eat with their fingers. This allows guests to mingle and choose exactly what they want to eat and is also a good option if you’re having a lot of children at the reception. However, it’s a good idea to have some form of seating, so that those who don’t want to stand can sit.

· Fork buffet

The fork buffet is a cross between a formal meal and a finger buffet, as guests have a choice of hot and cold foods, such as quiche, salad and pasta, but there is still a formal seating plan. Once it’s cleared away you can then use it for the desserts as well.

· Pot luck

If you’re having a small intimate wedding, perhaps in a friend’s barn or at your parents’ house, a cheap option is to ask your guests to each bring a dish for the reception instead of a wedding gift. However, be sure to specify a course on wedding invitations so you don’t end up with fifty desserts.

· Hog roast or BBQ

A popular evening reception choice after the main wedding meal earlier in the day, guests who are still hungry can refuel with a hotdog, burger or roast pork sandwich.

Don’t forget to find out if there are any guests with dietary requirements and to make sure that there are food options available for them.
Regarding drinks, these days a free bar is extremely rare as guests could drink a couples’ entire budget in one evening. It’s up to you whether you serve welcome drinks, have wine on the table and provide champagne for the toast, or if you let guests buy their own.
Traditionally, dessert is the wedding cake, but you could also have a selection of cupcakes, fruit and ice-cream for your guests and then take home a slice of wedding cake if they want to.

John Lewis Wedding Insurance

Arguably one of the most important parts of any wedding, if your food and/or caterers fail to show up, you’re going to have a lot of hungry guests.

John Lewis Wedding insurance could help to financially protect you if your wedding doesn’t go entirely to plan. So if the caterers go into liquidation, we could cover the cost of finding a replacement under our Failure of Suppliers Cover.

We also offer Marquee Cover for weddings and civil partnership ceremonies in the UK. Click Here to find out more.