Start with how the night should feel
Before dishes, decide the vibe. A black-tie plated dinner and a barefoot sharing feast are different parties that happen to both involve food. Couples who pick the format first end up happier than couples who start by picking proteins.
Our wedding catering bookings split roughly into three camps: long-table sharing feasts (the majority now), plated alternate-drop dinners (still strong for formal receptions), and grazing-plus-stations for couples who'd rather keep everyone moving.
The ideas that keep getting rebooked
1. Shared feasts down long tables. Platters of lamb shoulder, big bowls of sides, everyone serving each other. It turns dinner into the social event instead of an interruption to it.
2. A live carving station. A chef carving brisket or porchetta to order draws a crowd and smells incredible. It's dinner and entertainment in one line item.
3. Canapés that mean something. We've done mini versions of the couple's first-date meal and oysters from the beach where he proposed. Guests remember the story more than the food, but the food has to be good for the story to land.
4. Dessert boards instead of plated dessert. Mini pavlovas, chocolate tarts, cheese and fruit down the middle of the table. It reads generous and lets people graze while speeches run long.
5. The late-night tray. Toasties or mini pies at 11pm. Cheap, easy and the single most-mentioned detail in our wedding reviews.
- Format before dishes — pick how the night feels first.
- Shared feasts are our most rebooked wedding format.
- The 11pm toastie tray is cheap and unforgettable.
- Always taste the menu before you commit.
Ideas that sound better than they eat
Some requests we've quietly steered couples away from: full DIY buffets (nobody wants to queue in a wedding dress), overly ambitious seven-course menus (reception timelines can't hold them), and food trucks parked outside the venue (fun in theory, a queue and a cold dinner in practice when 120 people hit it at once).
None of these are impossible. They just need honest planning. If you want a food truck vibe, we can run a street-food station inside with the same menu and a tenth of the wait.
How to actually choose
Ask three questions: What do we eat when we're celebrating at home? How do we want people to move through the night? What's the one food moment we want guests to remember? Answer those and the menu mostly writes itself.
Then taste it. Any caterer worth booking will cook the shortlist for you. Our Signature and Luxe packages include tastings, and seasonal thinking helps the budget breathe, which we cover in this piece on seasonal menus.
