The Steps in wedding planning One of the key points here is organising the catering, which always causes the bride and groom a great deal of headaches. Who should cater for the wedding dinner, what should the menu be, and, of course, how much will it all cost?
In this article, we’ll be offering tips on putting together a wedding menu. Whether you’re going for a traditional Hungarian or a modern menu, if you’ve got some good ideas and can find a decent, reliable caterer, you’re onto a winner – you’ll have the perfect wedding menu. 🙂
What should you bear in mind when putting together a wedding menu?
What are the factors to bear in mind when planning a wedding menu?
You should always bear in mind that people of different ages and tastes will be attending the wedding. You should try to ensure there are dishes that everyone can enjoy.
Other important factors include how many guests are coming and where, and the type of venue you’re holding the wedding at. A village wedding calls for a completely different menu to one held in the grounds of an elegant castle.
It should also be borne in mind that, in today’s world, a great many people have some form of food-related sensitivity – such as lactose and gluten intolerance, to name just the most common ones school. We need to make sure that everyone at the wedding has something to eat that’s guaranteed not to make them feel unwell. 🙂
The simplest way to find out what sort of dietary requirements your guests have – and to what extent – is to draw up a questionnaire on the subject and send it out to all your guests to fill in. It’s worth doing this well in advance of the big day, right at the start of the wedding planning process, so that by the time you get round to putting together the wedding menu, you’ll know exactly what special requirements you need to take into account.
Sensitivities and lifestyle
Prepare dishes that people with lactose intolerance, coeliac disease, diabetes, vegetarians and vegans can all eat. Of course, they don’t all have to meet every requirement, but do make sure that everyone can enjoy at least one dish from the menu.
Let’s make sure the food is tasty for the children too
Children won’t eat a lot of things. That’s not a problem, though – it’s just part of growing up. Make sure there are some dishes they’ll at least give a try. Soups, stews and gourmet dishes aren’t usually among them. Try tried-and-tested recipes such as chips, breaded meat, fried cheese or pizza. It’s better for everyone if the little ones sit in their seats and have a bite to eat, at least for a little while.
Attention must also be paid to the needs of the community
Bear in mind the composition of the guest list. Example: You’d like a wedding with an exotic, Eastern flavour. Your friends, who are roughly the same age as you, are really excited about this, but bear in mind that your grandparents and their contemporaries might not even know what the dishes served to them are.
We’re not saying you shouldn’t tailor the menu at your own wedding to suit your own tastes – in fact, we think you definitely should! We’re simply suggesting that, even at a wedding with an extreme flavour profile, you should sneak in a dish or two that those who are less fond of – or unfamiliar with – that particular flavour profile will also enjoy.
What does a summer wedding menu look like?
If you opt for the traditional Hungarian set menu, there isn’t much difference between the summer and winter menus.
If you’d like something different, feel free to experiment with new flavours. A summer wedding menu can be a little more relaxed and light-hearted, both in terms of the flavours and the drinks on offer. There’s no need to serve stews and wash them down with heavy wines.
A summer wedding menu might include leaner meats, cheese platters, dips, plenty of vegetables, seeds and fruit. As for drinks, a delicious, fresh, light white wine is an excellent choice. At a summer wedding, plenty of sparkling and still mineral water is also needed; in the intense heat, the body needs to be rehydrated.
What does a winter wedding menu look like?
At a winter wedding, the wedding guests eat more heartily than on a hot summer’s day.
A winter wedding menu should be hearty, substantial and warming. 🙂 Don’t save the light salads for this day.
It’s worth spicing up your soup selection a little, and even at a traditional Hungarian wedding, it’s worth considering replacing the meat soup or adding a delicious hot cream soup made from seasonal ingredients to the menu.
You can also sneak a hot or unusual drink or two into your drinks menu. Just think of delicious coffee specialities, mulled wine or the cream liqueurs that are so popular around Christmas time.
What are the menus like for a traditional Hungarian wedding and a modern wedding?
Although Mediterranean and exotic dishes are becoming increasingly popular, many people still opt for a traditional menu for their wedding. Hungarian guests are generally very satisfied with our country’s cuisine, so you can’t go far wrong with a traditional menu.
But what exactly does a traditional wedding menu consist of?
How many courses are there in a wedding menu?
One traditional Hungarian wedding menu courses: soup/starter, first main course, second main course, dessert, followed by a midnight snack.
If you’re not thinking in terms of a traditional menu, feel free to reorder the items, remove some and add others.
Many people sneak in a special, unconventional starter at the beginning of the dinner, swap the soup for a cold platter, and don’t stick to the usual two main courses, preferring instead to serve their guests a variety of smaller, exciting dishes.
As we’ve emphasised in our previous articles, this is your wedding, so the most important thing is that everything is done just the way you like it. You don’t have to stick to Hungarian customs if that’s not the sort of menu you want.
Let’s take a look at what a traditional Hungarian menu looks like and see how it can be adapted slightly, replacing some dishes with modern alternatives.
Soup/Starter
Soup
When we think about the connection between weddings and soup, the most obvious choice is meat soup – almost everyone loves it – and tarragon veal soup is also a common choice.
Bear in mind that those following a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle won’t be eating these soups. Treat them to a basket or two of scones, some vegan cakes, or serve up a meat-free Soup B as well.
Soup isn’t always part of a modern wedding menu; starters are generally preferred instead. If you do want to serve soup, make sure it’s something special, but don’t go overboard – not everyone likes soup to begin with, and if you choose something too exotic, only a few guests will eat it.
Starter
On a traditional wedding menu, the starters are usually marrow toast, steak tartare and goose liver pâté. It should be noted once again that these dishes are not suitable for vegans or vegetarians.
Instead of traditional starters, you could serve dips, aubergine purée, beetroot purée and hummus, all accompanied by toast, breadsticks or long slices of celery, carrot and cucumber.
The exotic menu items could include prawn crisps, prawn bites, spring rolls, fish, salads and other exotic dishes.
When it comes to Indian, Pakistani or Arabic dishes, this is the time for flatbreads, naan and pitas, served with regional sauces, cheeses and other gourmet treats.
1. Main course
In a traditional wedding menu, the first main course is a stew served with dumplings.
On a modern menu, you can simply leave out the first main course; if you don’t want to do that, you could serve something truly special as a more modern alternative to the second main course.
You can also swap the first main course for a second round of starters and serve up more small, exciting dishes again. As the small portions of the starters mean you serve out more at once, having two rounds of starters provides a real culinary experience, allowing guests to sample a wide variety of dishes.
2. Main course
The second main course is usually served on platters, with one platter serving 4–6 people. The platters feature a variety of fried dishes, including both meat and vegetarian options. These include breaded meat, cordon bleu, fried cheese, stuffed meat dishes and stuffed vegetarian dishes.
The side dishes are also varied, with rice, various types of potato, salad and pickles all making their way onto the tables.
On a modern menu, meat and fish dishes might also feature in this section, served with special seasonings and side dishes typical of the region.
If you opt for a Mediterranean menu, don’t forget to make the most of what the region has to offer: baked goods, pasta and seafood. You can create some fantastic dishes using these ingredients.
Dessert
What sort of dessert should we have at the wedding? And, of course, the big question is what it should be like wedding cake?
Typical Hungarian wedding desserts include Somlói galuska, Gundel pancakes, tiramisu and Madártej.
If you fancy a change from traditional desserts, why not serve up some exciting sweet treats?.
Tips for modern desserts
- Delight your guests with this festival treat: churros.
- Serve petits fours filled with seasonal fruit.
- Let’s have some desserts served in glasses. Crème caramel, panna cotta and crème brûlée are sure-fire hits, but almost any flavour can be made into a dessert served in a glass.
- The colourful French delicacy, the macaron, is a great choice for a wedding.
- Serve up some Tartoks. These little tarts are great for decorating, and you can make them in a whole host of flavours. Everyone is sure to be delighted to satisfy their sweet tooth with them.
Midnight dinner
A midnight snack is important; all the delicious drinks and dancing really take it out of the wedding guests, so a little energy won’t go amiss.
There are two established customs for the midnight meal. One is to prepare a completely new dish that hasn’t been served earlier in the evening; the other is to order extra portions of the main course and serve the leftovers at midnight. The midnight dinner is usually served as a buffet.
Stuffed cabbage is a staple of a traditional midnight supper. It’s always a hit, but if you fancy something different, don’t be afraid to try a new and exciting alternative.
At the midnight meal, people usually serve up leftover meat, vegetarian dishes, side dishes, stuffed cabbage and, perhaps, any leftover cakes. If you don’t want to stick too closely to tradition, feel free to experiment with new things. Just make sure there’s a mix of meat, vegetarian and vegan dishes, so that everyone, regardless of dietary requirements, can find something to nibble on at the midnight feast..
Tips for a midnight dinner
1. A midnight meal could be street food – everyone enjoys a tasty gyros, a pizza or a burger.
2. You could give it a Mediterranean twist by serving cheeses, hams, olives, bruschetta and fruit.
3. Mexican food is also popular with many people; tacos, burritos and nachos make an excellent late-night snack.
4. For vegetarians, vegans and, of course, anyone else who enjoys them, serve up hummus, beetroot dip, aubergine dip and avocado dip with breadsticks or toast. The menu could also include falafel balls, cheeses, salad and seeds.
Traditional and modern – can the two go hand in hand?
The answer is yes – why not? 🙂
The only question is: how? It’s understandable that people find it hard to reconcile schnitzel with one or two dishes with unpronounceable names that you might come across in fine-dining restaurants. However, the fusion of traditional and modern dishes needn’t be quite so contradictory.
The secret lies in harmony. Have a bit of this and a bit of that. For example, you could serve a new-wave starter, followed by a delicious meat soup. You could put a fresh spin on the usual Hungarian wedding dishes. The basics remain the same, but this adds a little twist to the flavours. 🙂
Important questions regarding the wedding dinner
So far, you’ve been introduced to ideas for traditional Hungarian and unique wedding menus. Now we’ll try to answer a couple of questions that are also related to the wedding dinner, but go beyond the composition of the wedding menu itself.
Served at the tables or as a buffet?
At most weddings, soups and starters are served by waiters, but the subsequent courses are not; these are served buffet-style. There are also weddings where every single course is brought right to the table.
Which one should you choose? What factors might help you make a decision?
- How much do the two services cost? – Table service is generally more expensive and more complicated.
- What’s the venue like? – There are venues where it’s practically impossible to provide catering throughout the event because there isn’t enough space.
- What sort of food will be served at the wedding? – There are some dishes that can’t be, or simply aren’t worth, serving as part of a buffet.
- What is the guest mix like? – We have to go and help ourselves at the buffet. This can be difficult for older guests.
How can you make your wedding table look stylish?
Above all, a wedding menu should be delicious, but it doesn’t hurt to present the food attractively either.
Tip: Write the wedding menu in calligraphic script on some nice paper. It’s a very elegant yet simple solution. Don’t forget to remove the floral decoration nor.
Don’t forget that the wedding seating plan Its design is also important in terms of the menu bars. You can read about how to implement this correctly in detail by clicking on the link.
Who should you choose, and how should you weigh up your options?
Anyone who reads this blog will be familiar with the following tips. 🙂
- Draw up a wedding budget right at the start of your wedding planning to avoid any surprises. If you’d like to know what figures to base your calculations on, read our article entitled ‘How much does a wedding cost?’.
- Always ask for several quotes so that you can compare them and find the best provider in terms of both price and quality.
- Ask a wedding planner or friends who have already organised a wedding for help.
- And last but not least, the wedding is all about you and your partner, so make sure you plan the wedding menu to suit your tastes.
Frequently Asked Questions
You need to take into account the mix of guests, bearing in mind children as well as guests with dietary requirements. Different dishes are suitable for a summer wedding and a winter wedding.
Traditional Hungarian menus feature typical Hungarian dishes such as meat soup, pörkölt and breaded meat. Modern menus consist of reimagined Hungarian dishes or more exotic fare.
A traditional menu consists of a starter, a soup, main course No. 1, main course No. 2, a dessert and a midnight snack. With a modern menu, you can feel free to deviate from this.
