We made our food decisions a while ago, but I realized I never blogged about that process. It was right after we secured the venue, and I only contacted a few caterers because I was still a little frazzled from my “gotta catch ‘em all” approach to the venue hunt. All of them except for one required a signed contract to schedule a tasting. I couldn’t believe that—what’s the point of the tasting then? It sucked but I completely wrote them off for it.
Amit from Spilled Milk Catering not only offered a tasting before we signed—he came to our house to do it. He heated up some stuff in our oven and left a bunch of leftovers. And it was GOOD. So good.
We didn’t really have any ideas about what should be on the menu. I love food—like a lot—and I guess you could say I’m an equal opportunity eater. So, I care that what we serve is delicious, but I don’t care that it’s anything specific, if that makes sense. So we just said “whatever most people like” and Amit brought over a sampling from the menu we ended up crafting.
Passed appetizers:
Buffalo chicken wontons served with a spicy buffalo blue cheese sauce
Mini grilled cheese sandwiches served with creamy tomato soup shooters (I’ll never get tired of these.)
Medjool dates stuffed with goat cheese and wrapped in bacon (Goat cheese is my kryptonite.)
We’re serving dinner buffet style. This is completely because it’s the least expensive option. I really wanted to do family style, but we’d have to rent the dishes for it, and plated was a lot pricier because of the servers needed. But buffet lets you get whatever amount you want…and we’ll get the leftovers.
Baby spinach salad with balsamic roasted pears, parmesan, crispy pancetta and onion vinaigrette
Creamy roasted vegetable pasta served with roasted eggplant & roasted zucchini with a creamy alfredo sauce (This is our veggie option. This originally was a little healthier but I requested alfredo. You’re welcome, guests.)
Mustard glazed salmon served with a tomato basil beurre blanc
Wild rice with garlic, fennel, & onions
Grilled flank steak served with a wild mushroom demi-glace
Grilled asparagus with lemon
Roasted garlic mashed potatoes with fresh chives and white truffle oil (whattttt??!)
Are you hungry? (I am.) How did you choose your caterer? Is it weird we weren’t allowed tastings before signing a contract?
(All photos via Spilled Milk Catering)
All of this sounds crazy amazing. I’ve never actually been to a wedding where they’ve served mini versions of anything, but the mini grilled cheese and tomato soup shooters sound seriously awesome. Yum!
I got married about a month ago at Whittemore House and also used Spilled Milk – the food was SO good!!
So glad you were able to find a caterer that would let you taste before signing! I am getting a little disheartened at how hard that seems to be. I completely agree, why would you want a tasting after you’ve reserved the service? What if you didn’t like it??
Sounds amazing! I made sure we could do a tasting before we signed too. I hear that is pretty uncommon, though, which I agree, is crazy!
We had one caterer who flat-out forgot our appointment and left us waiting outside their office, which was also pretty bad.
Definitely hungry now! Every single thing sounds (and looks) delish.
Sounds awesome!
I do kind of get why some caterers would only do tastings after getting a contract… They could get screwed if they did tastings for just anyone. There are some terrible people that would just go for free dinner without being interested in booking the caterer, at all!
People love their free stuff, and all!
My venue only has one caterer they work with, but it’s a well-known restaurant I have been to and enjoyed, so I trust that their catering will be good too. They also have two tastings a year but you have to sign a contract with the venue first, so it’s basically the same thing as having to sign a catering contract. I almost prefer that they only had one option for caterers because it’s one less decision I had to make.
@jessindc: ah! i’d love to hear how it went – any tips?
@heyitsmallory: yeah, it definitely makes sense – i think it helped that we were passed to the caterers via our venue, so they knew we were legit getting married and stuff. i can see how you could be sneaky though!
@seabeeny: oof, that is bad! i’m guessing you didn’t sign with them…
I wish I had it in my budget to include these delicious things! It sounds amazing. I would totally be pumped to be eating that food at a wedding.
Our tasting is this week, and we don’t have a signed contract yet—she seemed more than willing to accommodate us, even moving the tasting to an odd time so my fiance could be there!
@heyitsmallory: i was the same way. we almost went the restaurant route just because we would know the food, but it wasn’t cost effective in the DC area!
@RunningLove: that’s awesome – enjoy!
All sounds delicious! We signed a contract before a tasting, that was pretty standard everywhere. So annoying, I agree!
Everything sounds delicious! I’m not sure if I’d choose the salmon or the steak, both sound amazing!!
Our venue also does the catering so there wasn’t any pressure there. The food was amazing but we didn’t get our tasting until months after we signed the contract with the venue.
Mrs. Gray Wolf, Washington DC Age and Occupation: 26, Business Development Executive Fiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Research Scientist Engagement Date: November 11, 2011 Wedding Date: February 2013 Venue: Whittemore House About Me: I'm an ultra-organized, pun-loving, list-making, cheese-enthusiast bride-to-be. Although my day job is in cubicle land, I'm happiest in the modern art wing of a museum, having recently earned my Masters in Museum Studies. Shortly after a chance meeting five years ago, I moved in with Wolfman and haven't looked back since. We love music, movies, TV, and all things pop culture; we have an unspoken competition to be the first to share the latest YouTube sensation or indie song. Together, we've filled quite a few pages in our passports, but also love quiet nights in with a Game of Thrones marathon and our French Bulldog, Tonks (Harry Potter, anyone?). I'm planning a small, cozy winter wedding---think mercury glass and candle light---in the heart of DC. Our venue is a historic home with a lot of political charm, but needs a bit of work to be wedding-ready.
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