Savor your wedding reception with these feast-worthy food trends

Sure, you can feel the love at a wedding, but can you taste it? With these food trends boiling over, it’s safe to say you’ll have some of the tastiest nuptials around.

Caviar dreams

Forget champagne — caviar and toast has become the latest must have wedding-day indulgence. Jennifer Rebello, director of catering at Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills, reports that over 50% of the weddings at the property this year have included this delicacy (and weddings take place here nearly every weekend of the year).

“Beyond the classic blinis and potato chips, couples are adding caviar in creative ways, from extravagant caviar bar displays at cocktail hour to caviar-topped scallops as a stunning first course,” said Rebello, noting that one couple recently even delighted their guests with a roving caviar attendant offering tableside blinis and caviar bumps throughout the evening.

Keith Willard, owner of Keith Willard Events in Miami, likes caviar bars since salt-cured roe is something Americans don’t usually eat but see as a luxury item. “Having a full-on, over-the-top caviar bar would provide a moment of luxury and… add to the excitement of the event,” he said.

Shell it out

“In addition to a rise in extended, 90-minute long cocktail hours, we’ve also seen couples choose interactive food elements like the mobile raw bar,” said Jilian Becker, the founder of We Do Events based in, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY.

This set-up includes servers with fresh oysters on ice making their way through the crowd and shucking on the spot, said Becker, all whilst they share stories about the different varieties and the best ways to enjoy them.

Lia Bancroft of Lia Bancroft Events based out of Boston, Mass., who specializes in seaside weddings, has seen these pearls of the party take off, too. “They get that true sea-to-table experience,” she said of these roving oyster shuckers with their tool belts and buckets, mingling with the crowd.

Berry sweet

DeGulis and her team are running in circles for the en vogue large, round, berry wedding cakes. “Some are Chantilly cakes, and some are Millefoglie,” otherwise known as Mille-Feuille, said DeGulis. The name means “a thousand layers” or “a thousand sheets.”

Both types of cakes are traditionally made of layers of puff pastry, pastry cream and whipped cream, among other things, added DeGulis.

Scoop and sway

Recently, Bancroft has noticed an uptick in locally sourced and buzzy ice cream companies attending weddings to scoop cones and pass them out as guests are on the dance floor. “No need to stop the fun to enjoy — they can do both!” said Bancroft.

Or, for ice cream that really gives you some sweet moves, make way for booze-infused ice cream. This is typically done using liquid nitrogen, said Willard.

“Unlike something flambéed, the alcohol doesn’t burn off,” he explained, noting that this means that a scoop of your favorite chocolate ice cream infused with bourbon is the equivalent of an alcoholic shot glass.

Good luck tomorrow.

Fire it up

Bri DeGulis, sales and marketing manager, KG Events & Design on Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., shares that open-flame cooking for outdoor receptions has been a popular request as of late.

“Open-flame cooking in a place rich with locally grown, organic produce is the perfect way to highlight the natural flavors and quality of the ingredients,” said DeGulis of this culinary technique “that seems to really engage guests.” Plus, cooking over an open flame brings out the food’s smoky, earthy undertones, she added.

Midnight munchies

Vijay Goel, chief operating officer at Bite Catering Couture in Los Angeles, Calif., said that late-night food stations are becoming much more creative.

“While a late-night burger or diner option has been popular for a while, we’re seeing more creativity go into the savory and sweet options available to provide energy and put on a show,” said Goel. “One of our favorites is a flaming doughnut station, which really has it all — sweet, savory, and a chef lighting it all on fire.”

Moonlit morsels never looked better, huh?