A Meal Fit For A King (Or At Least A Hummingbird)
January 2nd, 2008 @ 2:01 pm by Mrs. Hummingbird
Happy New Year Everybody! I hope everyone who celebrated had a great one, and best wishes to all the lovely ladies who are getting married in 2008. I don’t know about the lot of you, but when the clock struck midnight and my neighbours started setting off fireworks, I realized that I was getting married this year and was hit with how much I still had to do. Less than six months to go - yikes!
Anyway, although we made our decision about the caterer back in November, I’ve somehow neglected to write about it, so I figured with it being a new year, I would catch up on my backlog and blog about my experience so far, as well as the meal we’ve chosen for our wedding.
As I mentioned in a few of my previous posts, food was a big concern for me. I love to eat and I wanted to make sure that my guests had enough to eat. But we had certain requirements:
1) That there were no nuts involved in the cooking of our meal because my uncle is deathly allergic.
2) That there were lactose free options for my lactose intolerant friend.
3) That there were meat-free options for my godmother who is a vegetarian.
4) That there were meat-full options for Mr. Hummingbird’s family who are close to carnivores.
With all those requirements, we figured it would probably be best to do a buffet. We’ve of course been to a number of lovely weddings with plated meals for sure (Our BM and MOH’s comes to mind) but considering our formality level and considering the way our families eat, we felt going the buffet route would be best. That way, people could get exactly what they wanted and exactly how much they wanted.
So, with a buffet in mind, we began our search for a caterer. Though we hit a rough patch or two, we happily managed to come across a caterer just outside of where Mr. Hummingbird’s family lives who seemed to fit the bill. Not only was their price reasonable, but their selection seemed to be exactly what we were looking for. So, for a week or two, I went back and forth with their catering manager and modified the menu until we had what we wanted and then, we went down to sign the contract.
I have to admit, when we went to sign the contract, I was a little bit nervous about things since we had only been dealing with this company via the internet, but the second I walked into their cafe and was hit with the delicious aroma of their food, my fears began to vanish. By the time both the catering manager and the chef sat down with us to work out the details of our day (they only do one wedding a weekend so their attention was fully on our plans), I was sold. This was the caterer for us!
Anyway, without further ado, feast your eyes on our wedding day menu!
Hors D’oeuvres (these are to be passed by waiters while we go to take our pictures):
Smoked curry chicken pinwheel wraps with roasted red peppers and caramelized onions
Sun dried tomato and kalamata olive tapenade on foccacia crostini
Quesadillas stuffed with jalapeno, sun dried tomato and goat cheese
The Buffet Itself:
Oven-baked rolls and loaves
Mixed green salad with maple Dijon vinaigrette
Traditional Caesar salad with double smoked bacon and garlic croutons
Pasta salad with sweet peppers, onions, sun dried tomato, fresh basil and cheese
Roasted wild mushroom salad in balsamic vinaigrette
Grilled vegetable crudités platter
Cheese and cracker platter
Vegetable rice pilaf
Dill-marinated tricolour roasted potatoes
Medley of steamed vegetables
Spaghetti tossed in fresh marinara sauce
Sirloin of beef with roasted garlic rosemary au jus
Chicken marsala braised in forest mushroom sauce
The Dessert:
Fresh fruit platter
Sweet cardamom bread (courtesy of my FMIL - I’ll talk more about this later because it’s awesome.)
Rich chocolate cake (courtesy of my MOH Greg. We did a demo of this over the break and I’ve got to say, it is seriously one of the best chocolate cakes I have ever had.)
So as you can see, we went pretty simple with our choices, but I think it’s perfect for us and what we want for our wedding.
Anyway, I know it’s probably hard to think of after days and days of eating, but ladies, I’m curious - what are/were your wedding meals like?
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7 Responses to “A Meal Fit For A King (Or At Least A Hummingbird)”
Ours was a buffet that wasn’t super fancy. We just wanted good hearty food.
Appetizers (bought by us and set up by my fantastic relatives):
-Swedish Meatballs
-Fresh fruits and veggies w/ dipping sauces
-Sodas
Buffet Meal:
Garden Salad with the in house Ranch dressing
Rolls of Bread w/ Butter
Scalloped Potatoes (The best I’ve ever had, its not even offered in their restaurant)
Pasta with Marinara Sauce
Chicken Marsala
BBQ Tri-Tip (BBQ that seemed more suited for a wedding reception though)
Grilled Halibut
One note: its nice to request that the caterer bring a special plate of all the choices to the bride and groom. I forgot to do that and my sister in law was going to get us our plates but the caterer beat her to it. While we didn’t care that much about protocol, our parents wanted us to not ‘walk the line’.
wow. i’m excited to eat at your wedding. the menu sounds delicious!
we’re still not sure what to do with the wedding menu. we still have to talk with the hotel about it… but one things for sure… there will be poutine.
my favorite wedding meal was the paella my best friend had at her wedding [along with these insanely delish potato rounds they had as appetizers]. their relationship solidified while she was in spain so they wanted to introduce that into the meal…both in seafood and non-seafood versions. it was absolutely delicious.
and probably the only thing i ever remember eating at any wedding.
oh my goodness! i don’t think that any of your guests will be disappointed in your menu! sounds yummy!
we’re having a traditional New Orleans cocktail reception, meeting with caterers in two weeks (we’re planning long distance from the west coast!)… but expect to see jambalaya, crawfish etouffee, oysters bienville or rockefeller, and of course bananas foster! really, i hope people like the food and don’t just hit up the open bar, though who can say no to hurricanes and pimm’s cups? ha.
When you say you’ll “talk about” the sweet cardamom bread later, that’s code for “post the recipe for,” right?
Mrs. Hummingbird, Toronto
Age and Occupation: 25, Publishing Coordinator
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Videogame Designer/Cartoonist
Engagement Date: May 4, 2007
Wedding Date: June 28, 2008
Blogging Since: September 18, 2007
Venue: A garden wedding followed by a tented reception on Mr. Hummingbird's father's property.
About Me: I’m a pop culture loving, vintage obsessed foodie living in Canada’s biggest city with my fantastic fiancé and our lovable fluffy cat Bettie. I’m stoked to marry my best friend and to throw what I hope will be
the most fun and colourful party of our lives.
Lovely menu! sounds good.
well, i am freshly engaged….like, just engaged New Years Eve nite, lol. but we have talked before hand about having a brunch or lunch buffet.
trying to have the meal earlier so our options aren’t as expensive.
i would love a breakfast buffet simply bc i imagine sausage and eggs are loads cheaper than any entree, but the logistics of that seems kind of scary (what time would i have to get up to get my hair done?) so i will probably avoid that one.