How to choose your Italian wedding menu
Photo: Sebastian Bonnaci, Flowers: L’Oasi, Planning and design: Wiskow & White, Props: Dolci Tradizioni Toscane
When planning a wedding in Italy, the food is arguably one of the most important parts of the day and likely one of the reasons you were drawn to an Italian wedding in the first place! One things for sure, it has to be exceptional.
I’ve worked in wedding catering for over 30 years and I’m here to tell you my secret recipe for success. Here’s how to construct a menu that’s delicious, shows off Italy’s finest food and pleases your crowd…
Photo: Jon Mold
The first step is narrowing down and choosing your tasting menu. A tasting is when you meet the caterer and try the food. Sometimes you choose a selection of dishes from their menu ie. your wedding meal. With others you simply taste a set menu to trial the quality and presentation of their food – this is enough to know that your wedding will be awesome.
My first piece of advice is to narrow down the menu to one or two full menus of what you as a couple love to eat, structured something like the below:
Often a buffet, crowd pleasers are always the charcuterie and cheese ‘stations/corners’.
Something light and small, often cheese based and sometimes cold.
A small pasta dish eg. pici with pesto/risotto.
If you selected a pasta as the first primi have an alternative style of pasta and flavour eg. ravioli.
Meat/fish course.
Wedding cake.
Red wine, white wine, prosecco etc.
Build opposing flavours through the courses for example a tomato pasta dish followed by a creamy risotto or pasta.
You want guests to enjoy it, so don’t go too off piste. If you want to show guests something a little different, maybe take a risk with one course.
Make sure to consider your other wedding weekend events and the food you will be serving at them. You want to add variety, both in food and service style, so think about the big picture of the whole wedding weekend rather than just your big day.
Photo: Red on Blonde
Get to know the dishes and wine at home (what a hardship!), especially if covid is stopping you from getting to your tasting. Even tasting things from a local deli or supermarket will show you whether you like the dishes and quickly establish whether they should be a consideration for your tasting menu.
These are some of our favourite places to taste Italian dishes with ease:
Lina Stores: www.linastores.co.uk.
Pasta Evangelists: www.pastaevangelists.com.
Nonnatonda: www.nonnatonda.co.uk.
If you can’t get to a tasting in Italy thanks to covid, don’t stress. Trust the caterer and your contacts either at the venue or your planner to recommend the most popularly chosen menu. It’s popular for a reason and the most important thing here is having great food that pleases your guests. You could maybe switch a course or two and add your own twist.
If you have a planner, you could ask them to go to a tasting for you and trial your full menu. If not, lean on your caterer - they are experts at this and know those dishes and flavours inside out. Ask for photos and videos or if you're really uncertain or worried, chat to them on a video call while they’re at a tasting on your behalf.
Maggie says, “Our venue offered a complimentary dinner for two, which included appetizers, full dinner, dessert, and drinks, and although not exactly our wedding menu it was a fabulous tasting. Even though our wedding menu will be different, everything we had that night was delicious so I have faith the wedding menu will fab.”
Are you currently looking for a caterer that ticks all the boxes?
Check out our fabulous catering members here
- all highly recommended for their professionalism, ethos and delicious authentic cuisine (chefs kisses all-round).
Wondering whether you need a wedding planner for your Italian wedding and whether they are worth the $$$? Check out our article full of expert advice.
Written by Danielle Wiskow, lover of herbal tea, long walks and a catering manager/wedding planner with over 1000 weddings worth of experience.
