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Food & Drink
Food and drink is the heart of the party, so you'll want to work
closely with your catering staff to make sure you get it right.
If you are entertaining over 100 guests at your reception, it's a
good idea to have two bars rather than one. Setting them up
in two different places - on separate ends of the marquee, or one
indoors and one outdoors - will encourage your guests to circulate
and avoid crowding. It's now popular to have designer cocktails
at weddings: a specially designed drink, often themed to the wedding
- tropical fruit drinks, signature martinis, or whatever works with
your reception. You can make up menu cards for the bar, naming the
drink and listing the ingredients.
Buffets are very popular for weddings, since they're a
good way to feed guests without breaking your budget. Buffets can be
either formal or informal, depending on the style of your event.
A free-standing buffet means that guests can utilise both sides of
the buffet table, and there will be less waiting. Another option is
to combine a free-standing buffet with catering stations, where a
member of the catering staff stands on one side to serve cut roasts
or cake or other food that requires staff.
To avoid crowding, a member of the catering staff can invite
guests to the buffet table by table. For the best
presentation, ask your caterer to vary the height of the food:
catering boxes can be placed on the table and draped, and then
serving platters rested on top.
One increasingly popular option for both buffets and seated
dinners is to have a dessert bar, wedding cupcakes, or individual
mini-wedding cakes in preference to a traditional wedding cake. It
can be less expensive and avoids cake cutting charges, and is fun
for your guests!
Our standard 6' x 2'3" trestle tables are versatile and popular
for receptions because they are easily used for bars, buffets and
stations. Make sure you confer with your caterer to order the right
number for your event. Our Marquee Calculator
can help you determine the size of tent you need to accommodate
everything including your food and drink tables. Additionally, your
caterer may require catering tents. These are smaller tents or
marquees for cooking, food preparation and good storage, located
near the main marquee, but separate. Some caterers provide their
own, but others may require you to provide them, so be sure to check
when you review the budget with your caterer and before you place
your Accolade order.
Tables & Settings
Tables settings and centrepieces are critical elements in setting
the mood and look for your reception. The colour of the linen you
select, the flatware, the plates and china -- all of it comes
together to create a special ambiance for your event.
Many couples planning a wedding spend a great deal of time
pondering centrepieces for their event. While flower
arrangements are traditional, there are other options that can also
prove to be both unusual and more cost effective. Arrangements of
candles, potted plants or herbs, and baskets of wedding favours are
fun for guests, and can easily be taken home to be re-planted,
eaten, or enjoyed later. As long as the centrepiece is low enough
for guests to see across, or tall and thin enough to see around,
virtually any idea can be a success.
Wedding favours are a tradition imported from the US, and
as their popularity grows in the UK, so does their individuality.
Instead of almonds and dragees in white boxes, many couples are now
doing votive candles with their wedding date or guests names,
specially compiled music CDs, or other creative treats for their
guests. In addition to the festive and elegant touch favours add to
your tables, they can also double as place cards when the guests'
names are attached and placed at each setting.
The table setting will vary depending on the formality of
your event, time of day, buffet or seated meal, and what you are
serving.
| # |
Description |
Notes |
| 1 |
Salad plate |
Placed in centre of dinner plate or to the
left of the dinner napkin. |
| 2 |
Napkin |
Can also be placed in the centre of the
dinner plate, or in place of the dinner plate if plates are on
the buffet. |
| 3 |
Salad fork |
A smaller sized fork |
| 4 |
Dinner fork |
Larger fork |
| 5 |
Dinner plate |
Can also be collected at the buffet, and
the table laid with napkins in the dinner plate position. |
| 6 |
Dinner knife |
May be replaced with meat or fish fork by
wait staff at a seated meal. |
| 7 |
Teaspoon |
For tea and coffee. |
| 8 |
Soup spoon |
Only if serving soup |
| 9 |
Bread & butter plate |
Optional but nice to have. Bread and
butter can be placed in baskets on the table, or in baskets on
the buffet. |
| 10 |
Water glass |
Be sure to provide your guests with plenty
of water, especially in the summer or if you have heavy drinker. |
| 11 |
Wine glass |
For very formal settings, both a white and
red wine glass should be laid on the table. |
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