Breaking Away from Traditional
Couples are looking to shake up the typical wedding menu
By Deborah Rutledge
Traditional wedding cakes seem to be losing their appeal, kind of like the top tiers that couples are first excited, then underwhelmed, to try a year after their wedding.
“In terms of desserts, I would estimate only about half of weddings have traditional wedding cakes,” says Kristen Race, director of Operations for Garnish Catering in Blue Ash.
Instead, couples are opting for varied, miniature desserts, with perhaps a small cut cake for themselves, she says.
Wedding guests may now be treated to small “bundtinis,” an array of mini fruit pies or often desserts that are the bride’s and groom’s personal favorites, according to Renée Fink, catering/events consultant at Elegant Fare Catering & Events in Cincinnati.
“It’s fun to hear the creative ideas that some brides-to-be bring to the table on this sweet subject,” Fink says.
New dessert options are among the recent trends in wedding catering—some a result of the pandemic and others from couples’ creativity.
“People are pretty innovative these days,” says Michael Castro, chef and owner of Modern Elegance CE, which is based in the Cleveland area but caters throughout Ohio.
He says pie bars featuring 10 to 15 different pies and doughnut displays on peg boards are popular stand-ins for traditional wedding cakes.
Couples now often request late night fare for an after-party crowd that stays after many guests have left, he adds. When they suggest serving something akin to a food truck, Castro offers up his Late Nite Bite Bar, with offerings like sliders, made-to-order pizzas and bar food staples.
The pandemic has given rise to new trends born of adjustment and flexibility.
Fink notes micro weddings are common lately, largely the result of brides’ wishes to celebrate a special event with friends and loved ones while adhering to pandemic guidelines.
“Some of the biggest trends we have seen have been more about customization,” Race says. “I think we were not able to do a lot of traditional things during COVID so brides and grooms got more flexible and creative.
“We’ve seen more personalized stations with different experiences like our ahi tuna carving station served over noodle salad in a Chinese to-go container, live-action popcorn stations, flaming ricotta doughnut stations or even a Chicago dog vs Skyline Coney station.”
Even the popular charcuterie presentation has been tweaked to account for safety.
“Another trend we feel we were on the front end with was creating individual hors d’oeuvre offerings that at one time might have been a display item,” says Don Vonderhaar, CEO of Vonderhaar’s Catering in Cincinnati. “An example would be a charcuterie display now being offered as a charcuterie kabob or components served in an individual vessel such as a bamboo cone or boat.”
He says some pandemic concerns linger, like supply chain issues and the volatility of food costs, plus staffing levels.
“Interactive stations have taken a step back, but I think they will gradually come back in the future,” Vonderhaar says. “We still see an uptick in passed hors d’oeuvres and plated dinner service and I don’t think this will change moving forward.”
Jackie Myers, event sales and curation specialist for Spice Catering Co. in Cleveland, echoes the observation.
“We have had a really strong push towards plated service instead of buffet or family style,” she says.
Other current wedding trends include:
– Food and/or beverage walls.
– A strong shift toward seasonal cuisine and sourcing local foods when possible.
– More emphasis than ever on special dietary requirements, such as vegan, vegetarian or gluten-free offerings.
– Menu items to accommodate for growing prevalence of food allergies.
– Late-night snacks “to go” as the evening winds down.
– Comfort foods being offered or presented in a creative and bold way.
– Receptions with all appetizers, for a dinner by the bite. As an example, Garnish caters a very Cincinnati-themed wedding with Goetta sliders, mini coney dogs, and chicken and waffle skewers.
– The newlywed couple eating dinner together in their bridal suite, which gives them some privacy and time to connect before working the crowd.