Fall and Winter Weddings, let the feast begin - SERENITEA CATERING blog at BridesClub.com

Autumn wedding planning: wedding menu food ideas for fall
Using the bounty of the harvest, you can design a delicious and personal menu for your fall wedding.

Though it is not the most popular or obvious time of year to have a wedding, autumn offers many opportunities for rich colors, cozy foods, and comfortable outdoor temperatures. Most of North America is decked with beautiful foliage, and the harvest is richly abundant, with tomatoes, squash and corn now joined in the market by apples, pears, grapes, cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts, and many root vegetables, including turnips, parsnips, onions, garlic, celery root, carrots, and beets.

When planning a wedding menu, it is advisable to take advantage of these seasonal flavors, as they will be inexpensive, fresh and most suitable to the weather.

During cocktail hour, when there is nip in the air, it is nice to serve a warm drink along with the traditional offerings. Consider a mulled cranberry cider or spiced wine. Of course, chilled fresh cider is always refreshing, and crisp hard cider is a seasonal alternative to beer or wine.

The hors d’oeuvres can be as simple or elaborate as you like. An informal selection would include spiced nuts (or pumpkin seeds!), several varieties of seasoned popcorn, smoked sausages and pretzels with a variety of mustards, and a wedge of farmstead cheddar, sharp and crumbly. Miniature grilled cheese sandwiches, with fontina, ham and tomato on sourdough would be simple and elegant at once. Blue cheese stuffed dates and gougeres (cheese puffs) are classic French offerings, and are complemented by a wild mushroom and walnut pate. Crostini are always a good choice as the toppings can be personalized to your own favorites. Consider sage and white bean or fig and prosciutto. The grill could produce mini-onion kabobs, or glazed sweet and sour chicken wings. Oven baked sweet potato chips would offer festive flavor and color to round out your hors d’oeuvres table.

The fruits and vegetables of fall puree into lovely soups, any of which would be a tasty starter to your meal. Consider pumpkin and chestnut, curried butternut, or any winter squash soup. Serve in hollowed-out pumpkin or gourd shells to make a stunning visual impact. Celeriac (or celery root) and potato is another delicious combination, both warming and light.

Salads, of course, can also abound in seasonal garnishes. Crisp apple, toasted nut and blue cheese is a classic combination to enliven a salad of mixed greens. Curly endive is nice with bacon and goat cheese, and fennel and beet slices are also lovely with nuts and crumbled cheese.

The main courses can be a bit heavier at this time of year, and many meats are wonderful when graced with the tart and sweet flavors of apples. Guinea hens, or other poultry, glaze beautifully with cider, and roast pork loin is another natural partner with apple. A honey mustard glaze would complement the pork and apple combination perfectly. A nice vegetarian option is ravioli or manicotti stuffed with butternut squash and spinach, with a sage-walnut cream sauce. Alongside the meat, try wild or brown rice with pecans and dried cranberries, or perhaps a squash or mushroom risotto. For vegetables, consider carrots cooked with juniper berries, roasted root vegetables, sautéed wild mushrooms, brussel sprouts with bacon and onion, or braised red cabbage with apples and bacon.

Autumn is a perfect time for heartier breads such as rye, walnut-whole wheat, or jalepeno-cheddar corn bread. A bread basket accompanied by herbed butters is a lovely addition to the table.

Of course a traditional white wedding cake is always appropriate, but fall is a good time to experiment with deeper flavors. Nuts, ginger, carrot, caramel or applesauce are all flavors that are universally loved and pair beautifully with cream cheese frosting. Cheesecakes also work nicely in the autumn and winter, when a heavier dessert is more suitable. Regardless of the cake’s flavor, it can be decorated with flowers or fruit that herald the season. Dahlias come in many rich hues such as burgundy, red, orange and yellow. Sunflowers are still in bloom in many parts of North America, and their yellow and brown work nicely on a large cake. Many heirloom apples are smaller in size, and can be arranged with crab apples, seckel pears, and concord grapes to top any cake. Other desserts that are nice in the fall include maple leaf cookies, caramel apples, and of course pie. Turnovers, or “hand pies” can be filled with apple butter or other dried fruit. Many dried fruits are also nice when dipped in chocolate, for an elegant table sweet.

As exciting as the food decisions are, you must consider several other factors in planning a successful menu: time of day, location (indoors or out), type of service, number of guests, food allergies, and of course cost.

The time of day will certainly dictate the amount and style of food you choose, though “rules” are more flexible now and an elegant brunch reception is just as likely as a casual dinner affair. In the afternoon, you could have a cocktail and hors d’oeuvres reception, and a late wedding could celebrate simply with a dessert buffet.

The location influences some decisions as well. A buffet that will sit in the afternoon sun requires more care in planning to keep all food at proper temperatures. Likewise, one must consider accessibility of electricity, a staging kitchen, and ease of set-up. Your caterer will have experience in dealing with these issues, but you can make better decisions and will have more understanding of the cost when you appreciate all the factors.

Buffet or plated service is another big decision. Generally a buffet-style meal is less expensive (though the food choices also influence this), and lends a more informal, mingling-type atmosphere. Many people combine the two, offering a buffet of hors d’oeuvres, followed by a sit down dinner. Alternately, the soup or salad can be plated and already at the tables for the guests to enjoy while they wait their turn for the buffet. Another option is a variation on the buffet idea, with “stations” spread throughout the room where people can find the various parts of the meal. This encourages mingling and prevents one long line from forming. This works particularly well for a cocktail-hors d’oeuvres reception.

Possible allergies must be considered as well. Unless you are absolutely sure that you know every allergy on your guest list, you must consider the possibilities of nut, shellfish, dairy and other common allergies. The considerate host will certainly work to provide vegetarian options, and to clearly label any food that contains nuts or shellfish.

Whether simple or elegant, an autumn wedding should have foods that are cozy and comforting, while at the same time delicious and beautiful. No matter what format you choose and what budget you have to work with, you will have a wonderfully celebratory meal if you plan for the food that you like and that your guests will enjoy.

The Staff at Serenitea Catering found this online article helpful.