Platters full of delicious bites to eat have made their way to restaurants across the nation. Entire cookbooks filled with recipes focus on groupings of finger foods. Platters influence this year’s wedding reception trends because grazing tables full of them exist in number at events small and large.
If the idea of a less stressful food set-up appeals to you, by all means, explore serving platters of food instead of having a multi-course meal or taco bar set-up for your guests to eat. The beauty behind grazing tables is that people travel to and from them with great ease, greeting others, and stopping to have conversations along the way. They’re also completely customized to meet the needs of your guests no matter what diet they follow because they can pick and choose what winds up on their plate.
What to Include on Your Grazing Table
The sky is virtually the limit when it comes to setting up grazing tables. If you have a theme and budget that you’re following, you can personalize the platters so they offer the types of food you’d expect to find at the kind of reception that you’re hosting. There are no foods that are off-limits except for ones that spoil quickly.
Some of the common foods you’ll find on a grazing table include:
- Meats
- Hard and Soft Cheese
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Fresh Fruit
- Dried Fruit
- Sliced Vegetables
- Olives
- Sun-Dried Tomatoes
- Crackers
- Jams
- Jellies
- Dips and Spreads
You’ll also find grazing tables piled high with fresh seafood such as cocktail shrimp and oysters on the half shell, desserts, and even loaves of bread with a variety of items to spread on them. Whatever you choose for your reception, know that you also have the option to make every table something different, so your guests want to mill around and mingle with other people. You can even choose ethnic cuisine using ingredients that your guests may have never had the chance to sample until now.
How to Make Your Food Look Appealing at All Times
The caterer that you work with will double-check the grazing tables to make sure they are well-stocked and presentable for each guest who sees them. If you do run across a platter that’s low with appetizers or desserts, you can mention it to your wedding planner or a member of the catering team so that the table gets replenished right away. You’ll want everyone to eat well and go home feeling full and happy, so keeping the tables full is a priority.
Grazing Tables Present Well and Keep People Moving Around the Venue
Grazing tables allow people attending your wedding reception to eat, drink, and be merry with little instruction from you. It’s a less formal way to supply food to guests and encourages conversation by allowing people to move around the room more freely. They’re not forced to stay at the table until they’ve finished their meal. It makes for an extremely comfortable experience for everyone involved, particularly people with special dietary needs and guests with young children.
