MODULE 10
Food & Drink
Welcome to Food & Drinks
Your wedding reception follows your wedding ceremony and is where guests gather for drinks, speeches, food and dancing! This section walks you through all you need to know about catering & drinks at your wedding.
Wedding Drinks: What Your Guests Really Expect
When it comes to your wedding, guests naturally look forward to great drinks. While drinks packages come with a cost, there are a few essentials that most guests expect as part of the celebration.
At minimum, couples usually provide:
• An after-ceremony drink – a little something to say “Congratulations, you’re married!”
• A toast drink – so guests can raise a glass during the speeches.
From there, you can elevate the experience with a few thoughtful additions:
• Arrival Drinks: There’s nothing quite like walking into a venue and being handed a flute of chilled champagne. It instantly sets the tone for a fabulous day.
• Wine on the Tables: Even one glass of red or white per guest makes the wedding breakfast feel complete.
• Hydration Station: Keep guests refreshed with dispensers filled with iced water, fresh fruit slices, or even herbal infusions.
• Tea & Coffee Station: A comforting touch that works beautifully during the afternoon lull or alongside dessert.
• Cocktail Hour: A fun way to transition from daytime celebrations into the evening party, especially during the room turnaround.
Thoughtful drink choices don’t need to be extravagant — they simply need to enhance the guest experience and match the atmosphere and vibe you want to create.
Make Sure the Bar Is Ready Early
At summer weddings especially, it’s likely that guests will arrive feeling warm — they may have been sitting in the car for a while, travelling in the heat. By the time they reach the venue, they’re often hot, thirsty, and ready for a refreshing drink to help them cool down and relax. That’s why it’s important to have the bar open from the moment guests start arriving.
The groom’s party should typically arrive around 90 minutes before the ceremony, and they’re usually followed by the older generation, who tend to turn up first. These early arrivals really appreciate a little hospitality to ease into the day. Offering tea, coffee, soft drinks, or chilled water makes a big difference and sets a welcoming tone right from the start.
Personalising Your Wedding Drinks
There are so many different types of drinks couples can include as part of their wedding celebration, and it’s a lovely idea to choose something that truly represents you as a couple. Think about incorporating your favourite drink or adding personalised touches that make the experience unique.
You could include fun features such as:
A “Pimp Your Prosecco” station with fresh fruits, syrups, and garnishes.
A gin station featuring three of your favourite gins and mixers.
Signature cocktails, renamed after the two of you, your pets, or memorable places you’ve travelled together.
Beer barrows or a beer-filled bathtub, which always go down well with guests.
Just be mindful not to overlook guests who aren’t drinking alcohol. Make sure there’s a thoughtful non-alcoholic alternative — and ideally something that doesn’t make it obvious. You may have guests who are expecting or not quite ready to share their news, so offering subtle alcohol-free options ensures everyone feels included.
Top Tip…
Not a fan of Canapes?
Choose bowls of posh crisps on tables, olives or your favourite sweet treats!
Food
Everyone remembers the food, for the good bits and the bad. If the cake wasnt served - guests remember, if the food was cold, guests remember, if the food was the best food they have ever tried my goodness they remember!
If your real foodies its time to get creative, show off your personalities, the places you have traveled and the menus you love and the flavours that feel like you!
For example:
If you got engaged in Greece, you may choose Greek sharing boards as a nod to your engagement location.
If you holiday in Turkey every year, a Turkish inspired mezze sharing starter could be a lovely touch.
If you were born in Napa Valley and have family over there why not treat guests to a wine from the Nappa Valley region?
Consider little moments from your journey together too. If every Sunday you walk the beach with your dog then why not serve fish and chips as your evening food? These thoughtful choices help your story flow naturally throughout your wedding day making it feel even more meaningful and personal.
There are so many options when it comes to your wedding day menu, and your catering team will guide you through whats possible.
Many couples now choose a more relaxed and informal dining style such as sharing boards with a selection of meats and sides such as salads, potatoes and slaw’s. Others prefer the elegance of a more formal dining style with canapes and a three course meal, 2 course dinner, buffets or grazing tables.
For the evening street food vans are super popular. Think Fish and chips, mexican, wood fired pizzas, burgers, gourmet hot dogs or comforting favourites like mac & cheese, pie & peas, dirty fries, chilli and rice, loaded jacket potatoes or a cheese tower with different chutney's fruits and crackers.
Ultimatley the evening food should be a refletion of you as a couple. With so many options available, you can truy create a foodie experience your guests will rave about!
Your Menu
When you booked your venue, you may have been given a list of their recommended caterers, or you may be required to use the venue’s in-house catering team. Either way, my first tip is always pay for a tasting — it’s one of the most valuable steps in shaping your wedding menu.
Start by letting your caterers know your overall food budget for the entire day. This budget should cover:
Canapés
Starters
Main course
Dessert
Evening food
Cake cutting (some venues charge for this, others don’t — it depends on your chosen venue)
Next, share a clear idea of the type of food you’d love to serve. Let your caterers know your likes, dislikes, dietary requirements, and the number of guests attending. Then — and this is important — give the chefs creative space.
Provide them with your budget, guest numbers, and a general theme or style you love, and let them design a menu for you. Chefs are incredibly creative people; when they have the freedom to work within your price point and brief, they often produce something even better than you imagined.
Once they’ve put together a menu, book your tasting and refine your choices from there. It’s such an enjoyable part of the planning process and sets the tone for the culinary experience your guests will share.
Table Plan
I always recommend having a table plan, unless you’re choosing a more laid-back wedding style — for example, an outdoor celebration with street-food vans. Even then, it’s still important to ensure there is a seat available for every guest. You never know when everyone may decide to sit and eat together, or if a guest announces an impromptu speech and people suddenly find themselves standing with plates of food.
Placing a menu on each table is also a thoughtful touch, reminding guests of the dishes they are about to enjoy. You don’t need one menu per person — one per table is perfectly acceptable, as long as it includes all options.
If you’ve offered different choices such as meat, fish, and vegan dishes, it’s extremely helpful for the catering team to know who ordered what. A simple way to do this is by writing the guest’s meal choice on the back of their place card.
For example:
Salmon – S
Beef Wellington – B
Brownie – B
On the reverse of the guest’s name card, it would simply read “SBB.” When food service begins, the catering lead will ask guests to turn their name cards around so the team can clearly see their selections. Don’t worry — no one expects you to remember what you ordered nine months ago!
Top Tip…
If you’re booking singing waiters, be sure to inform all of your suppliers, especially your catering team in advance and coordinate the performance around the caterers’ service requirements.
Speeches Before or After?
Discover what the pros and cons are for doing your speeches before, during or after the food is served.
Wedding Gifts
In this video I will explain whether wedding gifts are necessary, who they’re for and the best time to give them out.
Top Tip…
When cutting the wedding cake the bride should hold the cake knife with her right hand, while the groom places his right hand over hers before they proceed to slice down together.
If the cake has, pillars, a foam or cardboard support, know where they are located and be careful not to cut through them.
A document to help guide you through how to prepare, what to take and how to decide on your final wedding day menu.
Your Wedding Tasting
Once you have confimred your menu pop the details of the different options on this easy to use PDF.
Your Wedding Menu
Allergies & Dietary’s
Everything you need to know around allergies and intolerances to keep your guests safe, well and happy.
This is your simple guide to drinks, bottles and measures.
The Ultimate Guide To Measures
Your guide to creating a memorable Champagne Tower.
Champagne Tower
Cocktails could be a fun and trendy touch to your wedding day. From refreshing cocktails to elegant classics each cocktail brings its own character and charm.
Cocktails
A description on how to lay your table for a formal wedding breakfast.