Bored with standard wedding fare? Want your guests to remember your meal for all the right reasons? Aim for a feast that’s unique, tailored to you and full of flavour
The advice most of us hear when we look at catering is not to risk being too different with the wedding food and drink. Imagine the horror of your fussy aunt pushing her plate away, or your cousin (the one who takes packets of Supernoodles on foreign holidays, ‘just in case’) having to skip the starter. How could you ever for-give yourself? Actually, let’s get one thing straight: people will come to your wedding to celebrate with you because they love you. So if you spent your twenties travel-ling the world, or you love nothing better than seeking out exciting new bars and restaurants with your H2B, why should you play it safe on your wedding day? Think about your invitations for a minute – were they cute, contemporary, classy or off-the-wall? Whatever style you chose, you picked it because it represents you, even if you didn’t realise it. So don’t stop there: put your own stamp on the food and drink!
Bespoke canapés
“Travel seems to be the biggest influence in personalised catering,” says Kelly Naylor of Bespoke Catering. “For one couple, we created seven different canapés for the seven continents they’d travelled to together, and used maps of each continent to line the slates we served them on.” This is a fantastic idea because it gives your guests a little insight into your journey as a couple, and is something fun for your guests to enjoy when you’re off having your photos taken. The canapés don’t have to be too outrageous, but having some thought behind each one is a nice touch.
01877 382130, www.bespoke-catering.com
It must be pop (up)
While your guests are enjoying a canapé, why not give them something special to wash it down with? BYOC’s talented mixologists arrive at your venue with instrument cases, but rather than violins or oboes, these are stuffed full of cocktail essentials such as juices, herbs and bitters. You provide the alcohol and BYOC provides the know-how to turn your drinks reception into a pop-up speakeasy that your guests will be speaking about for years to come.
01273 823383, www.byoc.co.uk
Eat the street
Forget lukewarm bacon rolls. If you’re a foodie couple, a tasty street food truck will blow an evening buffet out of the culinary waters. Street Food Scotland is a great source for checking out some of the country’s emerging stars and pop-up heavyweights. Vendors include Alplings (food newbies offering ‘tasty mountain food’ such as vegetarian bread-based dumplings from the Alps), Babu Bombay Street Kitchen’s Indian/Scottish fusion fare, or Scoop – its pop-up dining delights were so successful the team recently launched Glasgow’s Ox and Finch restaurant.
07788 567113, www.streetfoodscotland.co.uk
Home comforts
“We’ve tried to strip back some of the formality that surrounds wedding meals,” says Gillian Reith, who, as one third of talented siblings Three Sisters Bake, is passionate about providing a relaxed and personal service. We were lucky enough to sample the Sisters’ spread at a Glasgow Wedding Collective event recently (pictured above) and it did not disappoint. When so much party food and catering is designed to resemble a single Dulux sample strip, in varying tones of beige, Three Sisters Bake lets you taste the rainbow with a colourful display of hearty, succulent, expertly prepared dishes. As well as the fantastic fresh and tasty ‘gourmet buffet’ offerings, Three Sisters Bake can arrange mobile bar set-up and service, waiting staff, furniture set-up and the Sisters’ famed cakes and dessert tables. It definitely makes sense to make your wedding a family affair.
01505 228087, www.threesistersbake.co.uk
p.s. I love brew
It’s hard not to notice the unstoppable rise of craft beer over the last few years, and increasing numbers of couples are asking for trendy ales and beers to be included in their wedding bar. Krafty Brew offers couples the chance to brew their own beer, complete with personalised labels that feature the wedding date and details. Company director Marina Doherty told us: “Craft beer has become more popular than ever because of its superior quality and fuller flavour.
Why invest so much effort in wine and let beer be an afterthought when it can be tailored so individually for the big day?” You’re given as much or as little help as you like, especially during the creative process – the company recently made a whisky-infused beer for one client, so you’re free to come up with a brew that you and your guests will love.
0131 555 7189, www.kraftybrew.com
Shake things up
The idea of creating a signature cocktail for your wedding might seem daunting – especially if your idea of mixed drinks means adding Blue WKD to your Buckfast (it is a thing! It’s a Really Cheeky Vimto) –
but if you have the right help, it’s easy.
Cocktail catering company 10 Dollar Shake can help you devise bespoke drinks for your big day. “It’s nice to pay homage to memories or moments that are significant to you,” says head bartender Adrian Gomes. “We recently worked with a Scottish bride and American groom who lived in Japan. We created two drinks: one using Caorunn Scottish Small Batch Gin and the other using Evan Williams Bourbon, both of which had Asian flavours and ingredients, but which produced very much a Scottish drink for the bride and an American-influenced drink for the groom. They loved it!”
www.10dollarshake.com