How to Incorporate Cheap and Chic Food and Beverage Ideas Into Your Wedding Reception

It’s a marriage not a wedding, right? So don’t blow a year’s salary on champagne and caviar. The idea is to share a meal with the folks who supported you as you marched toward the aisle. Start with what you like even if it’s mac and cheese--serve it in tiny ramekins; it’s chic not cheap. Incorporate one wow factor (other than the cake) and a well thought out cocktail menu. Here’s more inside info to start you on your way to reception bliss.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Cuisine menu selected from above suggestions
• Non-alcoholic specialty drink ingredients, clear glass jars with spigots (or use ladles if the jars don’t have spigots) , glasses with flowers tied to stems (glasses, flowers, ribbon)
• Specialty cocktail ingredients, glasses
• Wrapped favors and pedestals
• Champagne cocktail (pear schnapps), glasses, nice note cards or paper, printer, recipe, ribbon

1. It’s not necessary to serve alcohol before the ceremony. Serve a non-alcoholic specialty drink instead. Present it as self service in large, clear glass jars with ladles. Pre-garnish the glasses and tie a favorite flower to the stems of the glasses. If you are having a smaller or at home wedding, break out your engagement gifts like silver trays and platters, use them to stack the glasses on.
2. At million dollar events, pricey mixologists are hired to concoct signature specialty drinks. Lean on your caterer, bartender friend, liquor distributor, magazines or check out the Web sites of your favorite liquors to see what they have up their sleeves. Debut an exclusive cocktail made from the new melon rum or a liquor of your choice. Then pour the cocktail in tall vodka glasses, and present them on carved ice blocks for guests to easily grab.
3. Instead of a sit-down meal or a formal cocktail hour, get right to the party with waves of small plate and finger foods presented in a variety of ways: some set on guest tables, some on small buffets, and very few trays passed. Instead of serving lobster tail, try smaller tastes of the delicacy like steamed lobster bites (catering link below).
4. Incorporate a wow factor like a risotto station. Ask the chef to compose several varieties to satisfy everyone: mushroom, lemon with asparagus and peas and so on. Present them in hollowed wheels of cheese so the cheese melts a bit as the risotto is served from it (yummmm).
5. Serve a champagne cocktail instead of expensive champagne and make the ingredients part of the centerpiece: start with a large clear glass or silver container, place bottles of inexpensive champagne and pear schnapps into the container. Insert the “Perfect Pair Cocktail” recipe into the napkin fold. Here’s the recipe: Pour 1 oz. of pear schnapps into the glass, fill the rest of the glass with champagne (don’t worry; it doesn’t have to be exact) and drink up. Or, feature “The Cozy:" champagne drizzled with almond or hazelnut syrup garnished with a cinnamon stick.
6. Wrapped favors double as table décor. Stack them on pedestals and place them on either side of the champagne presentation.
7. The cake presentation is the star of the dessert show, but some co-stars will only make it look better, right? Especially when they are the bride and groom's favorites like: mini root beer floats, mint-kahlua milk shakes with chocolate straws, freshly baked cookies, or passion fruit mousse in a white chocolate cone with fresh berries.

Who Can Help:

• Find Decorators & Designers Here. Compare Up to 4 Quotes, Free Service & No Obligation.