what food should i make for a summer wedding reception?

Question

i'm getting married july 14 2007 and i'm going to make all the food and i have no clue on what to make my family are all big drinkers his is not. i want to just havethe best time ever please help me out

Answer 1

Summer wedding? Barbeque, baby. Brisket, sausage, potato salad, beans, corn and white bread. It goes great with beer, or with iced tea!

Answer 2

Depends where the reception is at. If you rent a hall, most of them want you to use their caterer which is big bucks. We just got married last month, and my best man has a big nice house and he invited us to have the party in his back yard (we live in south Florida). we only had 30 people and I bought the booze, food and rented tables and chairs. We gave the guests a choice of steak or chicken cordon bleu on the RSVP invitations, so we knew just how much food to make. I made a huge pan of garlic dill red potatos and a huge pan of green been casserole. I prepared the chicken the night before so it was ready to pop in the oven and I had found rib eye steaks on sale the day before so I had 22 12oz steaks sliced up. After the wedding my buddy fired up his grill and in 20 minutes we were eating some great food! The hostess made our cake and it was awsome. We received compliments all night on the food! All in all the whole thing cost me like $1500! If you can get some friends and family to step up and help with the food you should come out ok. Good luck and best wishes!

Answer 3

One good dish that _has_ to be made ahead and is perfect for a summertime buffet is vitello tonnato -- an Italian dish that translates as "veal with tuna" but believe me it tastes much better than it sounds! You braise or boil the veal and then slice it and layer it with a tuna-enhanced mayonnaise and leave it in the fridge for a day or so. You can find a good recipe in Marcella Hazan's _Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking_, but there are probably also recipes for it on Epicurious, etc.

Depending on how many many people you're serving, this with several nice salads would be a great dinner and almost everything could be done ahead of time.

Answer 4

Keep it simple on your self with a cold southern buffet that way you can prepare and store over a few days and not make yourself crazy. The menu would be something like: Appetizers of: cucumber sandwiches, cream fresh on toast, mini quiches then a Fresh American Salad (with little tomatoes, cucumber, carrot shreds, green onion and 2 types of dressing on the side), if you like gazpacho or a melon soup (both cold and delectable) fried chicken strips with chutney dipping sauce and German potato salad, smoked white fish and rice pilaf. Dessert will be the wedding cake of course but you can also have a smaller Grooms cake made of red velvet cake with chocolate frosting. Serve sparkling cider punch for your non drinking guests as well as sweet tea and lemonade and for those that imbibe have sparkling wine, still wine and beer (strong liquor is at your discretion but if you have any relatives you are concerned may become overly intoxicated leave it out). Good Luck!

Answer 5

Cold, peeled shrimp, a crab salad, fruit, veggie plates, ice cream bar.

Sit down dinner? Or garden reception? Boneless chicken breasts can be made a hundred different, good ways - side with salads, etc.

If you're making all the food for your own reception, you'll be a lot better off with cold, fancy foods that trying to serve up hot meals in your wedding dress.

Answer 6

Day or evening? More casual or elegant? really need more info. But here are some ideas:
appetizers, horsd'oeuvres: Lobster salad, shrimp cocktail, baby Crab cakes, or stuffed mushrooms.
Chicken Chesapeake with green beans almondine and herbed baby red potatoes. Something lemony for dessert.
Champagne cocktails, wine coolers and punch

It is your wedding, It will be the best time. (and it will fly by). Try not to take on too much, you should enjoy your wedding. Let someone else take care of the cooking and serving.

Answer 7

July 14 is Bastille Day. You should have French food.

Answer 8

At my wedding reception (Aug 5), we had brisket, BBQ chicken and sausage. We ordered our food, but those are all things you can easily make at home. We also had green beans, and other simple side dishes.
I didn't want my reception to be anything fancy.

Answer 9

Considering its July, I wouldn't have too many hot foods. It may be hot that day and who needs added heat from food?
(assuming this is outdoors)