Winter Wedding Menu Ideas

Between the warmth of indoor heating, a roaring fireplace, and winter apparel, sometimes your typical catered wedding menu can leave guests feeling tired and sluggish.  Making kicking off their shoes and dancing the night away the last thing on their mind.  To keep the party going at your winter wedding, you’ll want food that warms your guests without being so heavy that eating wears them out.

Main Dishes

This means you’ll need to skip the greasy and fried foods which are prone to making you feel sluggish.  Keep your menu items high in protein and low in fat.  Think steak, chicken, fish, and veggies or try appetizer-sized dishes instead of large courses.  If comfort food is a must at your winter wedding, make it miniature! Serving bite sized portions is adorable and will allow guest to fill up on other less heavy alternatives.

Also, remember you still want most of your items served hot to keep guests warm and cozy in the winter chill.  A broth based soup and salad bar is a sometimes a better option than a heavy meat or side dish because it will fill your guests up without producing after-dinner sleepiness.

Drinks

A must-have at your winter drink table is hot chocolate. Put candy canes, marshmallows, and other toppings in small dishes next to the cups so people can make their own cocoa creations.  Serve glasses of baileys or milk with coffee ice cubes in them.  Warm apple cider and eggnog are also seasonal favorites.  Consider setting out tea with honey, coffee, or a hot toddy station for a lightweight option that will give guests a pick me up.

If you have one, a Keurig machine would work well for this sort of a set-up. You’ll need hot chocolate, coffee, and tea K-cups with extra pitchers of water to refill the machine. You can put all of your toppings and add-ins on the table next to it.

Dessert Bar

Don’t go easy on the chocolate or the food dye, here. Chocolate-covered anything screams winter party and red and green will make your dessert table look festive for a holiday wedding. If you’re trying to avoid a Christmas theme like the plague, stick with browns, blues, or deep/icy purples with silver or gold accents.

A soft pretzel station or roasted chestnut station is a cute twist on traditional dessert bar ideas.  Candied almonds, or any kind of nut, are great for guests to snack on because they’ll get energy from the sugar and protein from the nuts, so they’ll be on the dance floor in no time!

Favors and Guest Gifts

A great favor for a winter wedding menu is a cup of hot chocolate or coffee with a donut hole to-go. Especially if the reception ends late or if your guests have a long drive, they’ll need a pick-me-up to get home and are sure to appreciate the gesture.  Be sure and include personalized to-go cups or cup cozies to let guests know to take one with them.  (more cup ideas here)

Along the same lines, a pre-mixed hot chocolate kit packaged in a mug or mason jar would make an adorable take home gift idea.  Pine tree saplings, tree ornaments, and personalized throw blankets or mittens are cute favors as well and will ensure your guests have something to help them remember your wedding in the upcoming months, rather than just that night.

Image Credits:  Hot chocolate bar, Wedding menu sign, Mini pot-pies, Kale soup, Grilled cheese and tomato soup, Hot chocolate bar, Milk and coffee cubes, Hot toddy station, Chocolate candy buffet

Elizabeth is an undergraduate at Ohio Northern University with a double major in professional writing and creative writing and a minor in psychology. Liz writes for My Wedding Reception Ideas as well as creates multi-modal writing projects for Re:Media, an Ohio Northern University online publication.