Your wedding catering might be one of the most expensive elements of your wedding day, but it’s also one of the most enjoyable.

“On average, each guest will spend a minimum of an hour having canapés and drinks and at least two hours savoring the wedding breakfast, with yet more time for the evening food and wedding cake,” explain top wedding caterers Pickled Walnut.

As you take your seats in the elegant Garden Pavilion, you and your guests will be ready for a treat, so make sure your menu is one to celebrate. We caught up with our two brilliant wedding caterers, Pickled Walnut and Olive Tree, to find out exactly how to do it.

Doorstep Dining

The farm to fork ethos has long influenced our habits for shopping and eating out. Now, it’s guiding our wedding breakfast menu choices too.

“This year we have seen a surge in menus comprising of locally sourced, specialist ingredients,” reveal Pickled Walnut. “More and more couples are making a conscious effort to try and source locally produced and reared ingredients that refer to their chosen wedding venue or where they met or live. Guests are always happy to have the opportunity to sample fare that they are unfamiliar with, leaving a lasting impression.”

You can’t get much more local than wedding caterer Olive Tree did earlier this year. “We used beef from a couple’s farm for their wedding breakfast!”

Casual Canapés

While you escape to the picturesque private mere or lose yourselves in the fruit tree maze for photographs, your guests will be exploring the gardens and enjoying a bite to eat. But gone are the days when one size fitted all when catering for canapés, as Pickled Walnut tell us.

“Couples are swinging towards less conventional canapés, such as homemade bar snacks. Think five spice duck scratching, Gruyere cheese straws and rosemary and sea salt roasted nuts… These offer guests a grazing style of eating and allows them be enjoyed by the fussiest of eaters.”

Feel-good Fare

While a wedding breakfast menu traditionally revolves around a three-course, seated do, what you choose to eat needn’t be bound by such formal rules. In fact, the popular wedding trends for personalisation are filtering through to the food too. Designing a bespoke menu can be a memorable and mouth-watering way to celebrate your day, your way.

As couples increasingly opt for a wedding breakfast menu of family favourites, catering is becoming more relaxed. “Slow cooked comfort food dishes like braised sticky beef continue to be popular. Our Jammie Dodger cheesecake brings out the kid in anyone!” say Olive Tree.

Global Grazing

If you’re taking inspiration from your travels for your wedding theme or table names, why stop there? Let flavours from near and far inspire your wedding catering choices, too.

Live cooking stations have become one of the most sought-after wedding trends. It’s easy to see why, with the freshness and theatre they bring to your day. They offer the perfect opportunity to incorporate global cuisines, as Pickled Walnut explain.

“This year we created six street food stalls to reflect the couple’s favourite food market in Birmingham. They wanted an oyster shack made from an old boat, a stall with Vietnamese rolls, a huge paella and so on.” With a pick-and-mix approach, food stations allow you to serve an eclectic, international feast. Your guests can fill their boots and try something new.

Perfectly Plated

As with almost all things weddings, presentation still takes a prime position on couple’s catering wish lists, but it’s not only about style.

“One of the new wedding trends is for evening food to be served in boxes to eat on the go,” say Olive Tree. This laid-back serving style allows guests to grab a carton, refuel and return to the dance floor. The result? Maximum party time without compromising on flavour.

Furthermore, while it might not initially strike you as a money-saving move, choosing specific serving-ware to accompany your wedding breakfast menu can be wise. “Even the simplest of dishes can be elevated by upgrading the crockery chosen. This can cost as little as 30p per person and can make all the difference when serving food,” Pickled Walnut explain.

From the menu to the music and everything in between, you are at the heart of your wedding at Combermere Abbey. Our wedding experts will be on hand to help you create your very own perfect day. Take the first step and explore Combermere Abbey for yourselves.