Lesson 3: What to Know About Food

Food is often one of the most memorable parts of a wedding, especially when you’re celebrating in an exciting new location. Here are some important things to keep in mind when planning the menu for your destination wedding.

Start with the Venue’s Recommended Menus

Begin by looking at the food menus offered by your venue. Each venue’s menu is crafted by its Food and Beverage (F&B) Team and Executive Chef, focusing on what they do best. This approach helps you discover the unique dishes the venue is known for and can inspire your own wedding menu.

All Menus Can Be Customised

Almost all venues will allow you to tweak their menus to suit your preferences. You can swap, add, or remove items to create a menu that reflects your tastes and stays within your budget. Swapping items from other menus is usually a cost-effective way to make changes.

If you start creating a menu with custom dishes from scratch, it will generally be a lot more expensive. Remember, you can also remove items to lower costs.

Consider the Logistics of Your Wedding Location

Where you choose to have your wedding can affect your food options. For example, if your reception is in one of the venue’s core restaurants, you’ll likely have access to a full kitchen and can choose from a variety of menus, including set menus.

However, if your wedding is at a more remote location, like a villa or the beach, the venue might only be able to offer buffet-style service due to logistical constraints.

Different Menus, Different Vibes

The type of menu you choose will influence the atmosphere of your wedding. A three-course set menu is more formal, with guests seated for most of the meal, ideal for smaller to medium-sized groups. A family-style menu is more relaxed, allowing guests to share dishes, creating a warm, intimate environment. Buffets are great for larger groups and diverse dietary needs, offering a wide range of choices and a more informal setting.

Bring in Local Culture with Live Food Stations

A fun way to incorporate local culture into your wedding is through live food stations. These are popular in many places, especially in Asia, and offer a chance to enjoy local street food in a more hygienic setting. Favourites include papaya salad stations, satay BBQ sticks, noodle soups, and fried roti pancakes.

Vegetarian and Vegan Options Are Readily Available

These days, many hotels offer a variety of vegetarian and vegan options, making it easier to accommodate different dietary preferences. Some venues can even bring in specialised teams from other sister hotels to provide delicious plant-based dishes for larger weddings.

Complimentary Food Tastings

Once you’ve decided on your menu, many venues offer complimentary food tastings if you visit a few days before the wedding. This is a great opportunity to provide feedback, especially if you’re sensitive to spices or specific flavours. However, keep in mind that you might not be able to make major changes to the menu at this point, as ingredients are often pre-ordered. Use this time to fine-tune flavours instead.

Our Personal Experience with Wedding Menus

For our wedding, Michelle and I chose a Thai buffet with two live stations at a beach club. We focused on authentic Thai cuisine, which was a specialty of the venue. Our live stations included a papaya salad station and a grilled satay stick station with various marinated meats and seafood. The standout dish though was an exotic Thai red curry with smoked duck and lychees.

We also did a food tasting before the wedding, which was crucial. The food was seriously spicy, and we realised it might be too much for most of our guests. We were then able to adjust and offer both spicy and non-spicy versions of each dish, which worked out perfectly!

Personal Tip: Avoid Street Food Before the Wedding

As tempting as it is to dive into local street food when travelling, it’s best to avoid it right before the wedding. We’ve seen couples and entire bridal parties get food poisoning and miss their big day. We also recommend encouraging your guests to be cautious with food choices in the days leading up to the wedding to ensure everyone stays healthy and can enjoy your special day to the fullest!

The Easy Way – Using the Platform to See & Price the Venue’s Food Menus

See the prices for each venue’s most popular menus on our site. Instead of giving you volumes of menus to sift through, we’ve gone ahead and simplified it for you into Basic, Standard and Premium. This quick summary also makes it easier for you to compare food options at your favourite venues.

WHAT TO DO NOW

• Get familiar with the different menu types and choose a few you like the most
• Quickly see the prices for food at your favourite venues
• Play around with different food menu types and levels (i.e. basic, standard, premium) to see how it affects your price based on your total guest numbers.

STEP BY STEP

1. Compare how much food costs at your favourite venues
The easiest way to quickly compare food costs at venues is by looking at price per person. Use Visit It .

2.  Work out your overall food cost for all your guests
Now to get an understanding of how much your food will cost at each venue based on your preferred menu type and guest numbers. Use Quote It .