What’s Trending for Foodie Weddings
Your guests are giving a lot when they take the time and money to travel to your destination wedding, and the best way to repay them is by throwing a great party. Which of course means great food. Thankfully, the days of pre-choosing entrees and dull banquet-style fare are long gone. Here are the top five wedding food trends that will wow your foodie attendees.
Get interactive with live cooking stations.
Nothing says “festive” like having a chef prepare something right before your eyes. The Seattle Marriott Bellevue confirms that one of the hottest trends they’re seeing is the rise of interactive food stations. Guests can watch chefs prepare and plate dishes to their tastes, be it choosing stir-fry ingredients at a teppanyaki station, customizing shapes and sauces at a pasta bar, or combining flavors at a gelato cart. “This is not only adding an element of entertainment but also allowing guests to have a personalized dining experience,” says the hotel’s Executive Chef Andrew Worrall, who has been pleasing foodie guest palates for 25 years.
The Seattle Marriott Bellevue is in the heart of this Pacific Northwest town, located just across Lake Washington from downtown Seattle. Its Bellevue Ballroom is one of the largest wedding venues in the area and can accommodate up to 310 guests. Guests can walk to the Bellevue Botanic Garden or follow the city’s Public Art Walk for a different kind of visual feast.
Showcase your destination with locally sourced ingredients.
Couples love the Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront for its ideal location on the banks of the Willamette River, with views of Mt. Hood and within walking distance to restaurants, bars and attractions like the Portland Art Museum and the Riverplace Marina. And since this is Portland, you know that there is an emphasis on ingredients that are hyper-local, fresh and sustainably sourced. That means wedding menus that feature everything from locally grown organic produce and wines from nearby Willamette Valley to artisanal cheeses and craft brews created within the city itself. And don’t stress about your guest list, because the hotel’s largest venue, the Oregon Ballroom, can accommodate up to 2,000 wedding guests.
Wedding guests will also love the onsite restaurant, Proof Reader, which showcases more than 150 types of local and global whiskey in all sorts of unique ways, from tasting flights to dishes like their whiskey-infused High Proof burger.
Encourage experimentation with mini plates and customized cocktails.
The last thing you want to do is pay for a formal dinner service and see plates returned with half-eaten meals. That’s why hotels like Trilith Guesthouse, a Tribute Portfolio in Fayetteville, Georgia, are offering smaller plates with an array of dishes served as bite-sized treats. This allows guests to explore and sample a variety of options. Instead of forcing them to choose between chicken or fish, expand the options to things like tasty beef sliders or more creative plates like coriander-crusted scallops or pork belly burnt ends that give guests something to talk about (besides you, of course!). Compliment your mini bites with a specialty cocktail bar, where guests can customize their cocktails and mocktails with unique garnishes and mixers.
It’s all part of the creative approach of this newly opened boutique hotel in the town of Trilith, just outside of Fayetteville. The hotel’s theme is to “awaken the storyteller within,” which fits its proximity to Trilith Studios, the second-largest film and TV studio in North America. Event spaces span from the outdoor Pavilion to the Main Stage Ballroom, which can host up to 350, and guests will love the rooftop Oliver’s Twist bar, inspired by Charles Dickens-era London.
Incorporate flavors from around the world.
It’s no surprise to hear that foodie couples are looking to all parts of the globe for inspiration in their wedding menus. At The Westin Carlsbad Resort & Spa, that means menus and event stations that delight and transport, be it an interactive Mongolian barbecue station at your reception to a full-on Hawaiian-style luau buffet with roasted pork, fresh fish and all the yummy sides paired with an outdoor wedding. Whatever the nationality of the cuisine, couples are eschewing formal plated dinners to share these dishes family-style, with communal platters that promote mingling and sharing.
The Westin Carlsbad Resort & Spa is set on a hillside, with views that expand out to the coast. Indoor-outdoor events are a natural here, taking advantage of their varied event spaces. Begin with a ceremony for up to 800 on the Pacific Lawn before throwing a blowout party in the Carlsbad Ballroom, or do a more intimate event for up to 150 on their rooftop terrace, ideal at sunset and into the night.
Honor guests’ food sensitivities.
Pleasing all of your guests can be a challenge, especially when you need to factor in things like food allergies and main-dish-worthy options for vegetarian or vegan guests. Providing a tasty menu that offers high-caliber dishes for everyone is key at The Clancy, Autograph Collection hotel located in San Francisco’s SoMa District. Rather than being discouraged by dietary restrictions, the Clancy’s events team embraces the challenge and will work with you to account for any dietary preference or allergy, making sure your guests are well-fed and taken care of. Another specialty of the hotel is creating vegan, vegetarian and pescatarian dishes that are complex and interesting but don’t feel like an afterthought, as so often happens. Rather than expected pasta, think of dishes like maitake mushroom truffle risotto or pan-fried halibut with a zesty gremolata.
For the event itself, the Clancy’s Rooftop event space is a favorite, thanks to its clean, modern lines and photo-op mural, designed by local artist Ian Ross. Guests will love the location, within easy walking distance to iconic attractions like Union Square and the Ferry Building.