Are you planning to have your wedding on a beautiful summer day? If so, you are in luck. From refreshing cold drinks to all the fantastic season flavours, there’s a wide array of summer wedding food ideas to choose from. The key when planning your wedding menu is to avoid anything too messy or difficult to eat. Also, it’s a great idea to keep your food stations interactive.
Fill your tables with different summer wedding food ideas so your guests can nibble as the event continues. Incorporate fresh seasonal foods and keep the wedding catering event light and colourful. Below are seven of the most mouth-watering summer wedding food ideas to add to your menu:
Idea #1: Sushi Bar
Contrary to common belief, sushi does not refer to uncooked seafood. It’s a popular Japanese dish, which consists of prepared vinegared rice. In most cases, it is usually prepared with seafood such as salmon, tuna, yellowtail, eel or squid, and garnishes like pickled ginger, soy sauce and wasabi.
Other accompaniments include vegetables and tropical fruits. Among the most preferred types of sushi are the maki, nigiri and temaki sushi. The maki sushi basically consists of rice, fish or vegetables, and seaweed rolled to form a cylinder. The nigiri is a mixture of vinegared rice and a slice of seafood or eggs.
The temaki sushi, on the other hand, is maki sushi rolled into a cone shape. It contains some type of seafood and/or vegetables. Its light, refreshing taste makes sushi one of the most ideal summer wedding food ideas. You can also add your own style to the sushi bar presentation to create a dazzling effect.
Idea #2: Entrée Selections
Whatever food you chose for the main course, make sure it’s as fresh and light as possible. Instead of grilling heavy foods such as steak or pork, go for the lighter chicken or fish options.
Take things up a notch by adding mango salsa or any other seasonal fruity flavours. You could also try coconut-fried chicken served with dipping sauces, a tantalizing salmon entrée, mini hamburgers, lobster rolls or corn dogs, grilled veggies, fresh flatbread with greens, prosciutto and lemon toppings or red bliss potato salad.
If you crave seafood, you can have a whole section filled with different types of seafood beside a delicious display of sauces.
Idea #3: Pizza
This a great alternative to the entrée options we have just highlighted. Freshen things up by adding watermelon as a topping. After all, what’s a summer wedding menu without watermelon, right? If you are also a lover of strawberries, you’ll love this wedding food idea. You can throw that on a pizza with basil and balsamic too!
Idea #4: Cool Appetizers
During the summer, temperatures may be very high. Having cold appetizers on your menu is always a pleasant summer wedding food idea for your guests. Think of appetizers like shrimp cocktail on ice, gazpacho shots served in cucumber-shaped cups, Caprese skewers (whose ingredients are similar to those used in a classic Caprese salad: fresh tomatoes, basil and mozzarella) and mini Caesar salads.
Ice cream served with a fun, and delicious candy toppings is another treat you can throw in for an unforgettable summer wedding.
Idea #5: Iced Tea Bar
How about setting up an entire station with different types of iced tea? Add a pile of sliced lemons, mason jars and fun colour-coordinated napkins and straws. Your wedding guests will keep making tea the whole day!
Like the iced tea bar, having a nonalcoholic lemonade bar is also a great way to keep guests hydrated throughout the day. Mojitos and daiquiris with garnishes are some of the chilled drinks you should consider serving at a summer wedding.
The different colours and flavours, along with the cut fruit garnishes, add to the aesthetic appeal of your reception or the cocktail setup. If your budget allows, hire a bartender who can make and serve out the cocktails or come up with a signature drink.
Idea #6: Fresh Fruit Salads
Replace the old Caesar salad with a chilled fruit salad. Include as many fruits as you like. These could be berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries) mixed with the one fruit we all love, especially on a hot summer day, the watermelon.
You could choose a strawberry salad comprised of fresh arugula, summer strawberries, almonds, goat cheese and a light dressing, such as balsamic or poppy seed. As for the watermelon, you can have it balled and paired with embellished toothpicks, in salads or sliced, and then creatively laid out on serving plates for guests to pick as they like.
Idea #7: Cheese Station
To serve cheese at a summer wedding, you need to be at the top of your game. This is because the heat could make the cheese either too soft or too hard, ultimately ruining the entire dish.
If you absolutely can’t do without cheese, try gourmet mac and cheese with toppings such as parsley, bacon and Vienna sausages, among a range of other choices.
A summer wedding is a great time to be creative with food. The warm weather means your guests’ spirits are high. To keep them that way, a wedding menu should feature delicacies that leave guests yearning for more.
