Cold appetizers for the wedding table
The distinctive features of a real festive table are the variety in the wedding menu and the original design of the dishes.
Particular attention is paid to alcoholic drinks and accompanying dishes, which have received the general name “snacks”. In a broad sense, this culinary term refers to a light meal served before main courses to whet the appetite, often accompanied by an aperitif.
However, for the Russian culinary tradition, the concept of “snack” is more common precisely as an addition to alcohol, and since at almost any celebration, including a wedding, strong drinks play one of the main roles, then the dishes served with them occupy an important part in everything holiday menu.
All dishes on the wedding table should be served in stages, replacing each other. In this regard, it is necessary to calculate the approximate time of the gala banquet and change the snacks so that the table is full until the very end of the wedding feast.
All snacks are divided into two main types:
- Hot;
- Cold.
Both hot and cold snacks can be made from a wide variety of ingredients: meat, fish, dairy products, vegetables, mushrooms, fruits, etc. Usually, at a feast, at least 5-10 snack dishes are prepared, both hot and cold.
Not a single holiday table is complete without cold appetizers, and a wedding feast is no exception.
Their main difference from hot dishes is that they are intended not so much to fill you up, but to whet your appetite in anticipation of the main course.
In this regard, cold appetizers are considered by culinary specialists as companions to aperitif drinks. Traditionally, cold dishes are prepared from meat, fish or vegetables.
The easiest way to calculate the required amount of alcohol and snack portions is based on the number of guests and the weight of the average portion.
From vegetables
To prepare them, you can use both fresh and boiled or pickled vegetables. This group includes a wide variety of vegetable dishes: delicious salads, caviar, chilled vegetable pates, sandwiches and tartlets with vegetables, and simply sliced vegetables flavored with various seasonings .
From fish
Fish dishes are a great opportunity to diversify any holiday menu, don’t forget to ask the bride’s mother’s opinion.
You can prepare a large number of original, tasty and at the same time not too high-calorie dishes from fish and seafood. This group of appetizers combines a wide range of cold dishes prepared both from fish itself and from other seafood - shrimp, squid, caviar, etc.
These are various sandwiches, tartlets, salads and simply sliced fish, which are perfect with champagne. Cold fish dishes can be seasoned with vegetable oil, mayonnaise, or complex sauces based on them.
A distinctive feature of fish appetizers is their democratic nature - they are suitable for any wedding table and can satisfy the needs of guests with a wide variety of gastronomic preferences.
At the same time, fish and seafood snacks provide an opportunity to diversify the holiday menu, while at the same time optimizing the expenditure of time and finances.
You can also use delicious types of fish and seafood for them: valuable salmon and sturgeon fish, black and red caviar and inexpensive “everyday” fish - the same herring, sardines, mackerel or pike.
The main condition, again, is an original festive table setting, creative decoration of the dish with herbs. The simplest and most common dish from this group is sliced smoked or salted fish (red, white, or plain herring) drizzled with olive oil and served with herbs.
Caviar is served in kokolnitsa (“shells”) and is also decorated with herbs.
Cold cuts and more
Traditionally, these are ready-made meat products from the store, cut into slices and decorated with decorative accessories - sausages and various smoked meats: ham, carbonate, bacon. At the same time, cold cuts can also be prepared from home cooking products: smoked or boiled tongue, fried or boiled meat, poultry.
The main advantage of cold cuts is the minimum amount of time spent, which becomes especially important if you need to prepare a large number of dishes for a large celebration.
As with other festive dishes, an important condition for cold cuts is its original design. A dish may consist of several types of products, divided into separate segments, or laid out in alternating order.
This video will show you how to beautifully serve cold cuts on a holiday table:
For decoration, you can use various suitable greens - onions, dill, olives.
For the convenience of guests, you can place a stand with skewers or toothpicks next to the dish - this will make it much more convenient to take slices of sausage or meat from the plate.
How to calculate the number of dishes and drinks?
The number of products that will be required for the feast directly depends on a number of factors:
- total number of guests;
- the ratio of men, women and children, youth and elderly people. The stronger sex prefers strong alcohol and cocktails; for beautiful ladies you can prepare light wine, champagne, and liqueurs. It is imperative to ask older relatives whether they drink at all and what exactly. Well, the children are served water, weak tea, various juices and fruit drinks;
- men usually eat more than women, this must be taken into account when preparing for the holiday. If the festival will be predominantly male, the number of products will have to be doubled. Children are not served large portions - they simply cannot handle them, and unusual dishes can become dangerous for them, causing allergies;
- format and duration of the holiday - a traditional feast or buffet, a time-limited evening or daytime wedding, or festivities for two or three days;
- weather outside and temperature in the house. In cool weather, people indulge in food and alcohol; in hot weather, light snacks, salads, and drinks are popular.
If the number of guests does not exceed 10-20 people, calculating the menu is quite simple:
- 3-5 salads with different ingredients, arranged in several salad bowls at different ends of the table;
- cold appetizers and cold cuts in the amount of 3 kg;
- 1-2 hot dishes. It can be meat with a side dish, sauce, baked poultry or fish, soup, dumplings or manti, royal fish soup, 2 kg per person;
- for dessert they serve one large one, weighing 3-4 kg, or 2-3 small cakes, a set of cakes or fruit baskets weighing 2 kg, portioned jelly, about 5 kg of various fruits or berries;
- 3.5 l. champagne, 5 l. wine, 5 l. strong alcoholic drinks;
- about 20-30 liters of non-alcoholic drink.
If the number of guests reaches 30 people, you will have to think about how to accommodate them and distribute the prepared food. The principle is the same as for a more modest feast: several main dishes are prepared in large quantities and divided into 3-5 beautiful containers so that they can be placed at different ends of a long table or on all small tables. This way, guests won’t have to reach across everyone sitting, ask for the dish they like, or run to the other end of the room to get it.
- The total number of salads should be at least three, 8-10 servings each.
- Two or three hot dishes with a total weight of five kg, plus one portioned side dish for each guest.
- 50 cheese, meat and vegetable slices.
- 10 kg of fruits, berries, the same amount of pickles, home canned food.
- The minimum weight of a cake or cakes is 10 kg, plus cakes, baskets, and jellies are served according to the number of guests.
- Depending on the composition of the guests, strong alcohol is calculated in 0.5 liters. per person, dry wine - a bottle per person.
- There should also be at least a liter of soft drinks per person in cool weather, and two in hot weather.
A wedding at home for fifty or more people is a difficult task. You need to comfortably accommodate such a number of guests in a limited area, and do everything to ensure that the guests are well-fed and satisfied. The menu includes:
- vegetable and meat salads in quantities of at least 5 pieces, seafood, sandwiches;
- 3-4 hot dishes with different ingredients, hot portioned with sauce or side dish;
- hot, spicy and light snacks, vegetable, cheese and meat slices, salted and smoked fish;
- berries, fruits, sweets and sweet flour products, cake;
- a variety of pies, white and black bread;
- at least 30 liters of alcoholic drinks for every taste (you can make a list of guests’ preferences in advance);
- soft drinks 1-2 liters per person.
If portioned snacks and dishes are provided, they are prepared according to the number of people present. In the event that any of the guests are contraindicated in the components of this treat, it is replaced with something else, choosing from the permitted list of products. For toddlers and children of primary school age, a separate table with a dietary menu is usually prepared.
Hot snacks on the wedding table
Traditionally, hot snacks are intended to accompany strong alcoholic drinks, which are an integral part of the wedding celebration.
This group includes a wide variety of dishes: from the most complex combination dishes, requiring a large number of products and taking a lot of time and effort, to “economy class” dishes, which are close to fast food in terms of speed and ease of preparation.
The choice of one recipe or another depends on the availability of time and financial resources . It can be stewed, smoked, fried meat and fish, rolls, hot sandwiches. The main difference between hot appetizer dishes and main dishes is their presentation: the recipe does not provide a side dish for them, and they are placed on the table not in individual plates, but in large common dishes.
From meat
The main ingredient here is meat and offal (liver, heart, lung, kidneys) from animals and birds. As additional components you can use vegetables, fruits, dairy products, eggs, dough and cereals.
The main secret of delicious hot meat snacks with strong drinks is their juiciness and spiciness. To do this, you can use sauces and gravies prepared using various spices.
Not all guests may like overly spicy dishes, so when using seasonings, you should use moderation or alternate spicy snacks with leaner ones. This way you can please both lovers of spicy dishes and those for whom they are contraindicated or simply do not like them.
Fish
Hot fish appetizers, as well as vegetable and meat dishes, are served at the beginning of the feast, before the main course, or between courses.
Fish served hot can be stewed, fried, baked. A variety of spices and sauces are available as an additional component. Hot fish is served on the festive table on metal dishes, in cocotte makers, or directly in frying pans, as they say, “hot from the heat.”
The difference from the main fish dish is the absence of side dishes and is served in common dishes. Traditionally, hot fish dishes are accompanied by white wine and other not too strong drinks, served as an aperitif. In general, fish and seafood are an absolutely win-win option, which, with minor variations, is suitable for drinks of any strength - from vodka and whiskey to light wines.
Menu for a birthday at home for 20 people: salads and appetizers
“Birthday is a sad holiday,” sang Igor Nikolaev. We are ready to argue with the performer. A birthday party can be fun and also filling if you choose the right menu for celebrating at home for 20 people from salads and appetizers! At a minimum, you will need 3-4 salad options and 4-5 appetizers. We are ready to share with you recipes and a sample menu for such a holiday!
Fragrant shrimps in lemon juice
Baked shrimp are a worthy birthday decoration. They will successfully complement any menu, especially a themed holiday table in a marine style.
From products:
- shrimp (peeled) – 4 kg;
- lemon juice – 1.25 cups;
- olive oil – 6 tbsp. l.;
- garlic – 10 cloves;
- lemon zest – 5 tsp;
- ground red pepper – 1.25 tsp;
- parsley – 10 tbsp. l.
Recipe:
- Turn on the oven. Set the temperature to 250 degrees.
- Grease the mold with oil.
- Add shrimp. Lay them in one layer. If the rest does not fit, divide 4 kilograms into portions and cook them in parts.
- Mix lemon juice and other ingredients. Don't use parsley for now.
- Pour mixture over seafood.
- Sprinkle the finished shrimp with parsley.
- Do the same with the remaining batches of seafood.
Advice! Serve this dish if you have Weight Watchers guests for your birthday. They will especially like shrimp.
They are not only tasty, but also low in calories.
-menu:
Preparation:
- Boil the potatoes.
- Dry the tubers. It is advisable to boil the fruits in the evening and start preparing the snack in the morning.
- Cut the ham into strips.
- Slice the cucumber as you would the ham.
- Drain the peas.
- Mix the ingredients.
- Add sauce and spices.
Advice. To prevent the salad from dripping, add the sauce before serving.
If you want to save money when preparing dishes with ham, making it as juicy as possible and not using chemical additives, we strongly recommend using the Delicatessen ham maker: Order a homemade ham maker at a discount
Using the promo code “elleonora” (without quotes) you will receive a nice bonus in the form of a 40% discount. Eat deliciously and do not deny yourself anything.
Mexican dish in Russian cuisine
Another recipe for a birthday menu for 20 people that includes shrimp. The rest of the ingredients are well known to the hostess. Nothing ordinary except the taste. You definitely haven't tried anything like this.
Cooking technique:
- Chop the onion.
- Squeeze out the lime juice.
- Mix juice and oil.
- Cut up the shrimp.
- Cut the avocado into small pieces.
- Chop the bell pepper.
- Mix the ingredients.
- Chop the cilantro.
- Sprinkle it over the salad.
- Sprinkle lemon juice on top.
Advice. Replace lime with lemon if desired.
“Royal salad” is a good choice for a birthday menu at home. These ingredients are enough to prepare snacks for 20 people.
The salad will satisfy the taste needs of even the most picky guests. The ingredients in it are very satisfying. Not a single guest will leave the table hungry.
Step by step preparation:
- Boil the meat.
- Take it apart into fibers.
- Grate the cucumbers coarsely.
- Grind the garlic through a press.
- Boil the eggs.
- Grate on a coarse grater.
- Chop the nuts.
- Fry for a few minutes in a frying pan.
- Layer the dish in layers. First the meat and sauce. After – cucumbers with garlic and mayonnaise. Then eggs and sauce. The last layer is walnuts.
Advice.
In order for your birthday salad to make the most positive impression on 20 guests, let it brew!
Make sure you have a large dish that can accommodate all the ingredients.
Tartlets with shrimp and red caviar
Delicious and satisfying tartlets with shrimp and red caviar are served as a salad or as an appetizer. They will adequately decorate any holiday table of 20 people.
Chicken tartlets
Guests will definitely like the tartlets, don’t miss them when creating a menu for a birthday party at home for 20 people - everyone will appreciate snacks of this kind! The dish is an excellent snack to accompany alcohol. Other advantages are that the ingredients are the most common. But the taste of the tartlets is very refined. Moreover, they are prepared without dough. Potatoes serve as a tartlet.
The secret of making the Mushroom Glade salad
“Mushroom Glade” is an excellent option for a festive menu for a birthday - at home, the housewife can easily prepare a “basin” of salad for 20 people. Fill tartlets with it if desired. Get an original snack.
Do-it-yourself sandwiches, canapés, tartlets for the wedding table: original recipes
A separate line should be taken of sandwiches, canapés and tartlets served at the wedding table. These simple and quick-to-prepare mini-snacks are real fast food (in the best sense of the word) of a holiday feast, which can save the hostess a lot of time and effort.
Here you will learn 7 recipes for the most delicious snacks for the holiday table:
A wide variety of products are suitable for their preparation, ranging from fruits and vegetables to meat and fish.
Also, sandwiches and canapés open up the widest scope for the hostess’s creativity, allowing her to show off her imagination and good culinary taste.
But when creating a menu, you should remember that some sandwiches and canapés are more suitable for strong alcohol, while others are more suitable for light drinks.
In general terms, the same rules apply here as for other dishes. For drinks with a high strength, sandwiches with meat, poultry, caviar, salted and smoked fish are perfect.
For table wines, especially dry whites - sandwiches with vegetables, seafood or fish. Fruit canapes and tartlets are traditionally served with dessert and sweet/semi-sweet sparkling varieties.
However, experts in table etiquette claim that the bouquet of real champagne is best revealed not by the notorious pineapples, but by the same seafood and expensive varieties of cheese.
Champagne wine lovers and connoisseurs give particular preference to simple cuts from noble varieties with mold - Brie, Camembert, Roquefort, Stilton.
Particularly convenient and optimal in terms of food consumption are small canapés, put on a skewer and beautifully decorated on the buffet table. For them, it is best to use several types of expensive ingredients: meat and fish delicacies, expensive varieties of cheese, etc.
In this case, the consumption of components will be minimal with a maximum culinary effect.
Canapes with sprats and cheese:
Ingredients:
- hard cheese – 300 g;
- cottage cheese – 200 g;
- butter – 50 g;
- half a lemon;
- pickled gherkins – 6 pcs.;
- sprats – 100 g;
- small bunch of watercress.
Using a blender, grind cottage cheese, butter and 100 g sprat until smooth. Cut hard cheese into squares 3-5 mm thick. On one slice of cheese we place a pate-like mass of chopped sprats with cottage cheese, and with another slice we cover the filling on top. The resulting canapé is decorated with greenery and placed on a skewer.
Cheese canapés on chips:
- large round chips;
- hard cheese – 100 g;
- fresh tomatoes – 300 g;
- garlic – 2 cloves;
- Provencal mayonnaise – 2 tbsp. spoons;
- greenery.
The tomatoes are cut into cubes, and the juice that flows out is removed. The cheese is grated. The cooked and washed greens are chopped together with peeled onions, then mixed with grated cheese and tomatoes. The resulting mixture is seasoned with mayonnaise, after which it is laid out in a heap on each chip.
SIDE DISHES
A tasty and, importantly, very beautiful dish. This side dish will brighten up a festive feast and will definitely please your guests.
Ingredients:
- 15 large potatoes;
- 200 g hard cheese;
- 5 pieces. egg yolks;
- 5 tbsp. sour cream.
Cooking process:
- Bake well-washed potatoes in the oven until done (you can check doneness with a toothpick);
- Cut each potato in half lengthwise and scoop out the flesh with a spoon;
- Mash the potatoes with a fork, adding sour cream, yolks and salt. Mix everything well;
- Grate the cheese on a fine grater and add to the potato mixture;
- Fill the potato halves with the prepared mixture, apply a design on top using a pastry press with the desired attachment (or simply lay it out beautifully with a fork). Place in preheated to 250 degrees. oven, bake until golden brown.
This side dish goes well with both fish and meat. And it is prepared quite simply and quickly. For 15 small servings you will need:
- 3 cups rice;
- 2 small onions;
- 5 cloves of garlic;
- 7 tbsp raisins;
- 300 almonds or walnuts;
- 200 g butter (vegetable or butter);
- greenery;
- salt to taste.
Cooking process
- Melt a few tablespoons of butter in a large frying pan or cauldron, fry finely chopped onion until transparent, add garlic;
- Add rice, mixing well with the toasted mixture. Fry it for a few minutes;
- Pour in 6 glasses of water, adding salt and bringing everything to a boil. Reduce heat, leaving the mixture to simmer for 20-30 minutes (until all the water is absorbed);
- In a separate frying pan, melt a little butter and fry raisins, parsley, and chopped nuts. Season the rice with the prepared mixture.
This is a very unconventional type of lasagna, for which the sauce is very important. It is this that gives the dish the necessary piquancy and richness. The dish is quick and easy to prepare, and will be more than appropriate on a holiday table.
Ingredients:
- 3 packs of lasagna;
- 300 ml olive oil;
- 200 g butter;
- 300 g Parmesan cheese;
- 500 g walnuts;
- 9 cloves of garlic;
- 300 g breadcrumbs.
Cooking process:
- Place the nuts in boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain the water, peel the nuts and chop them, mixing with garlic and breadcrumbs (you should get a coarse paste);
- Add olive oil, continuing to beat the mixture. You should get a homogeneous sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste;
- Boil the lasagna sheets in water until half cooked (do not drain the water). Prepare baking dishes by greasing them with butter (for this amount of dish you will need at least two forms). Lay out a sheet of lasagna, pour a little sauce on it, season with butter and sprinkle with grated Parmesan. Repeat the process with all the lasagna sheets. Top layer – sauce and parmesan;
- Pour the pasta cooking water (a small amount) around the perimeter of the puff paste onto a baking sheet;
- Place in the oven for 15 minutes.
What snacks are suitable for an outdoor wedding, for a walk between the bride and groom
And, of course, the wedding cortege is accompanied by guests of the celebration - relatives and close friends of the couple. The newlyweds' wedding trip does not include feasts during the trip, but alcoholic drinks are an indispensable attribute.
At this time, pre-prepared mini-snacks that do not take up much space and fit freely in small baskets will come in handy. A container for storing food during a walk or trip should be selected depending on the weather.
If in winter you can get by with ordinary plastic containers, then in the summer heat it is best to place food in a cooler bag. Otherwise, your wedding may be remembered for a long time by guests not because of the culinary delights, but because of food poisoning.
Go for a ride
The most common and win-win option for snack foods that you can take with you while skiing are sandwiches and canapés.
For their preparation, both complex meat, vegetable and fish ingredients are used, as well as simpler options that do not require much time - sausage or cheese slices, fruit slices, caviar.
The main thing is that the sandwiches are small, so to speak, “one bite”. This is very convenient in the sense that guests, after knocking over a stack for the health of the young ones, will not have to walk around with half a sandwich waiting for the next one, or hide a snack during the next group photo at a local landmark.
For a walk
The principle of “less is more” regarding the size of sandwiches and other mini-snacks is even more relevant when walking for a wedding. If, when driving, the main “heaviness” of culinary delights is located in cars, then when walking, you will have to carry baskets and containers with food with you.
Therefore, it is best to prepare a sufficient number of small canapés on skewers or tartlets.
For a wedding in nature
Accordingly, this should be taken into account in advance, already at the stage of creating a menu. In this case, you should not prepare hot snacks in large quantities: as a rule, after cooling, they lose most of their culinary merits.
Outdoor feasts are held in the warm season, so using perishable foods on the summer menu is also not recommended. As an option, get a sufficient number of thermos bags, or portable refrigerators powered by batteries or from the car’s on-board network.
In general, the range of appetizers is so extensive that it allows you to diversify any formal table, regardless of the wedding budget and the number of invited guests. Each housewife will be able to choose dishes that best suit the range of alcoholic beverages, the culinary preferences of the guests and even the time of year, but you should stick to the calculation for one person. So, on average, the volume of cold snacks is about 350 grams.
Dishes for the second day of celebration
In summer, not only the main banquet is celebrated outdoors, but also the second day of the celebration. Some even rent a camp site and go there with their guests for the whole weekend, so as not to fuss in the stuffy city. In this case, you need to think about what the menu will be, because on the second day of the celebration there is no need for excessive solemnity - the banquet turns into a cozy picnic.
Of course, the menu for the second day of an outdoor wedding mainly includes meat or fish cooked over an open fire. In addition, you can please your guests with fresh fish soup or pilaf. You can prepare such dishes yourself or hire a professional to get complete rest on the second day of your wedding. Grilled vegetables are most often served as a side dish.
What's suitable for a themed celebration?
The decision of what cold dishes to serve at the wedding table also depends on the overall theme of the celebration. A wedding in the Russian style requires traditional dishes: herring served with onion rings, jellied meat, chicken or fish aspic, cold pig with horseradish, red and grainy caviar served in vol-au-vents or special caviar bowls on ice.
A fashionable wedding in the European spirit is an occasion to prepare cold roast beef, assorted cheeses, game pate, green salad with various sauces.
A Hawaiian-themed wedding or beach party allows you to ditch the traditional salads. The best option is a variety of canapés. They can be made in the form of mini-sandwiches, assorted kebabs, and tartlets. The main rule is variety and brightness. The more varied the color scheme of snacks, the better. Fruit and vegetable carving looks great.
If you plan to have a vegetarian table, you don’t have to limit yourself to assorted vegetables. Meat and fish snacks will be replaced by rolls of fried eggplant and zucchini, stuffed with cheese and garlic or Korean carrot salad. Tartlets are filled with mushroom cream or vegetable salads. The table will be decorated with puff verrines, in which mousses of zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers, and broccoli are placed. To make them tasty, they include a variety of spices and sauces.
What should you consider when planning a banquet?
The newlyweds try to please their guests and satiate them. None of the young spouses want their guests to leave their wedding hungry. That is why it is worth taking a responsible approach to choosing and preparing a holiday menu in advance.
If you go to a banquet in a restaurant, an experienced administrator or manager will take your order for festive dishes. As a rule, such a specialist can tell you exactly what quantity of dishes is best to order. However, in this case there is one caveat: as a rule, such employees sit on a percentage of sales, so they are interested in you ordering as many products as possible.
The dishes themselves at a wedding change depending on where you order them. One restaurant specializes in Georgian cuisine, the other in Eastern cuisine. Despite this indicator, the menu itself remains unchanged on many points.
This means that the following are present in the diet:
- snacks;
- salads;
- hot dishes;
- dessert.
These are the dishes on which the wedding and any other holiday menu itself is based. When choosing certain products, do not rely on gourmet cuisine or cooking methods. It is definitely worth knowing and understanding what kind of food you are ordering.
It may look beautiful and appetizing in the picture, but in reality it will have a completely disgusting taste and smell. In order not to look at dissatisfied guests later, you should ask the administrator in advance to make a menu to try. As a rule, it is made in the smallest portions, so to speak, to taste, so that you only have the opportunity to try this or that dish.
In order to calculate the average portion of a dish, you need to understand how long the banquet lasts. If its time is 5-6 hours, then 1 kilogram is enough. If the banquet time is 8 hours or more, then it is necessary to increase the average portion to 1.5 kilograms.
Banquet space is one of the main criteria for any celebration.
A small number of guests - up to 20 people can be accommodated at home. To organize a festive feast for more than 20 guests, the best option would be to rent a room for a banquet. Halls for banquet tables can be rented in almost any restaurant or cafe. To select such a room, it is necessary to take into account the following requirements: 1. Convenience of the celebration hall (air conditioning, spacious room). 2. Capacity (the hall must accommodate the required number of guests). 3
Location (it should be taken into account that it should be convenient for guests to get to the establishment). 4. Interior of the room (taking into account wishes and preferences). 5
Availability of a dance floor and recreation areas. 6. High-quality service. 7. Menu selection. 8. Reasonable prices. 9. For outdoor events - the presence of awnings and umbrellas. 10. Availability of space for an aperitif.
The choice of a hall to celebrate any event is important, as is the range of food. After all, a wonderful atmosphere, attractive prices, original design, colorfully decorated hall will create a great mood for all guests and heroes of the occasion and will be remembered for a long time. The banquet manager will help you choose a room, taking into account all the requirements and wishes of the clients. A specialist in organizing such celebrations will give the necessary advice and provide a list of premises to rent for a feast, from which you can choose the best option.
Peculiarities
In the standard version, the order of serving dishes at a wedding is as follows:
- cold appetizers (200 g per person);
- salads (100 g per serving, ideally there should be 2-3 such salads);
- cold meat snacks (200 g per serving);
- hot snacks (200 g per guest);
- main course (200 g + 150 g for side dish);
- desserts (100-200 g per person);
- cake (150-200 g per serving).
You can not use all the items by removing some of them, for example, cold meat appetizers or individual desserts. In addition, fresh fruits, meat, cheese and vegetable slices, and, if desired, marinades and pickles, should be present on the tables. If supplies become depleted, servers must be prepared to replace empty plates with full ones.
There should be harmony on the table: it is advisable to use meat, fish and vegetable dishes in approximately equal proportions. In this case, each guest will be able to choose food according to their taste, without remaining hungry and without being satisfied with unloved foods. It is also necessary to place an equal number of drinks - juices, mineral water and sweet soda.
Options for different seasons
A summer wedding means lots of seasonal vegetables. They are actively used for decoration and included in dishes. For example, rutetics made from meat or ham can be tied with thin feathers of chives; salads and assorted fish can be decorated with zucchini, nasturtium, and calendula flowers.
Instead of traditional puff pastry tartlets, cups cut from cucumber, zucchini, and tomato are used. To make the snack tasty, you need to carefully select the pulp, leaving only thin walls.
Ice bowls are suitable for serving salads. They are easy to make with your own hands and serve on a plate with crushed ice. In the fall, it is worth increasing the number of vegetable dishes that go well with meat. The tables will be decorated with a variety of assorted dishes, combining fresh vegetables and homemade pickles. Snacks with a sweet and sour taste are very appropriate.
Sauces such as chutney can be served with meat and fish. Savory snacks, such as cold shrimp with mayonnaise or cheese balls with garlic, are popular. An excellent autumn option is salted and pickled mushrooms, which are served as an independent dish, added to salads and used for vol-au-vent fillings and canapés.
Winter celebrations require more hearty dishes. The number of cold snacks is reduced in favor of hot ones. At this time of year, multi-layer salads with meat or poultry, vol-au-vents made from puff pastry, filled with red caviar or liver pate are popular.
You can prepare original snack cakes, meat or fish. Instead of fresh greenhouse vegetables, which do not have an expressive taste, a variety of marinades are served. An assortment of tomatoes, cucumbers, pickled onions and garlic, cauliflower and squash will be complemented by sauerkraut and pickled apples.
Holiday menu - what are its differences?
A well-designed menu helps you understand what dishes to serve on the wedding table. There are usually a lot of cold and hot appetizers: the first is served first, then the second.
However, the snack table can be served separately, in the form of a buffet. Then comes the turn of hot dishes; usually at a wedding they offer 2 options to choose from: meat and fish or meat and poultry.
For especially special weddings they prepare stuffed pig, goose or sturgeon. Soups are not served at weddings. Vodka is offered as a drink. Cognac, still red and white wines. A mandatory attribute of the celebration is champagne or sparkling wine, which is served with cold appetizers.
After the main courses are eaten, guests are treated to dessert. Sometimes dessert tables are set in a separate room. Between dinner and sweet dishes there are dances, competitions and other entertainment. At dessert buffets, chocolate fondue, portioned mousses, mini-cakes and cupcakes can be offered. At banquets, sliced cakes, a variety of fruits, and sweets are often served. The sweet table includes tea and coffee of your choice.
The main difference between the wedding table is the decor. Flowers, small paraphernalia such as doves, and figurines of brides and grooms are used for it. For banquet seating, name cards are often used. Not all guests know each other; personalized seating allows them to feel more confident.
Alcoholic drinks include liqueurs, sweet sparkling drinks, cognacs and brandy. The final touch at the wedding is a multi-tiered cake, which the newlyweds cut together. Guests eat pieces of the delicacy right there or take them with them as a kind of souvenir.