Fall weddings are gorgeous with the vibrant colors of the changing leaves providing a beautiful backdrop, decorations with cozy colors and fabrics, and the most delicious fall wedding food ideas bringing your guests the comfort of the season. Fall weddings present stunning backdrops of autumn foliage and the energy of a new season. We love crafting seasonal menus to match the cozy ambiance of autumn. In this blog post, we will share favorite fall wedding selections to inspire your menu. From your passed appetizers to your main courses, featuring ingredients and dishes such as braised meats and seasonal root vegetables, you will find tasty ways to infuse your wedding fare with autumn. We will also suggest how to make your wedding look the part of a fall wedding spectacular, so your decor and your food choices fit together as a whole picture. With these tips, your catering will help deliver a warm, intimate fall affair your guests will savor, complete with all the best fall flavors.
Choosing the right wedding catering package can set your fall wedding apart. As you’re planning your fall wedding, here are the best tips for creating a fantastic experience for you and your guests.
Get The Look and Feel of a Fall Wedding
One of the first things that comes to mind when planning an autumn wedding is the colorful leaves on the trees and falling to the ground. To complement this, choose wedding colors similar to those of the foliage, with rich hues like burgundy, orange, gold, and bronze. Fall wedding decor should embrace the season’s natural beauty, rather than competing with it. Your wedding flowers can include chrysanthemum, asters, and sunflowers as bouquets as well as centerpieces on your tables. If possible, schedule your ceremony during peak foliage time in your area, so the colorful trees are at their most vibrant.
You can also display gourds, mini pumpkins, and ears of corn for rustic table decor, if that matches the style of your celebration. You can also use hypericum berries, branches, twigs, and even (real or faux) fallen leaves to create whimsical arrangements. For an evening event, hang up fairy lights to create a cozy glow. Once you have your autumnal wedding colors chosen, you can bring those hues into other aspects of your decor, including your table linens. When your wedding decor reflects autumn’s colors, flavors, and textures you will host a truly seasonal celebration. Choosing just the right fall accents will make your wedding feel special and evoke the beauty of the season.
How Your Wedding Menu Can Fit in with the Season
One of the things most people remember about the wedding they have attended is the food. When it comes to a fall wedding menu, you want something hearty and warming as the weather cools. Embrace autumnal flavors like squash, sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, and apples. Bringing in seasonal produce can also help tie in lighter foods such as salads so your guests won’t be too weighed down to keep dancing; balance is key. Warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger complement fall ingredients.While your wedding cake may be anything from a traditional white cake to something more season-specific, you can also choose to serve rich dessert options. For drinks, remember that in addition to champagne, robust red wines are a welcome accompaniment to many fall dishes. Keep these general fall wedding food ideas in mind as guidelines as you get into the finer details of planning.
What Produce is in Season in the Fall?
Fall offers a bounty of delicious, seasonal produce. There’s a reason apple picking is a popular fall activity; this is the peak season for apples. Hearty greens like kale and Brussels sprouts also thrive in cooler weather. Root vegetables like potatoes, carrots, and beets are at their best in the fall. Squash is another delicious option that immediately evokes fall, as well as cauliflower, a very versatile vegetable. Taking advantage of the harvest season by choosing to include fresh, local, seasonal ingredients will show that your wedding truly embraces the season.
Fall Wedding Food Ideas to Wow Your Guests
As you now know, when planning a fall wedding, the menu is one of the most important details to consider. With the cooler weather, hearty and warming dishes are essential, but you also need to serve some lighter options such as salads in order to round out your menu. Seasonal salads for fall can include fall ingredients that fit well together, such as kale and apple, squash and pecan, or beets, goat cheese, and walnuts. Putting this level of thought into your salad course sets the tone for a fall feast.
Main dishes such as chicken and dumplings, white bean stew, and braised beef are hearty enough to satisfy guests’ appetites and warm them to their souls. When it’s time for dessert, dishes such as cinnamon bread pudding or beignets (donuts’ fancier New Orleans cousin) create a cozy feeling to last the whole evening. The key to planning the menu for your fall wedding is choosing dishes that feel warming, that feature fall produce, and that are infused with the flavors of the season.
Putting a Unique Spin on Fall Dishes
One concern that some couples have when planning their fall wedding is making sure it doesn’t look like every other fall wedding. A great way to do this is by choosing a particular style of cooking for your wedding menu. For example, New Orleans-inspired selections with fresh seasonal ingredients are among the more unexpected and delightful fall wedding food ideas.
New Orleans is famous for dishes that fit perfectly into a hearty fall menu, such as jambalaya with chicken and andouille sausage, delicious and authentic gumbo, and shrimp and grits. Adding these dishes to your menu, along with salads made with autumnal vegetables and finishing with a selection of beignets will show your New Orleans flare and wow your guests. Even if you don’t have a lot of knowledge of the cuisine that interests you for your wedding, the good news is that your wedding caterer can guide you to select the right dishes for your big day.
Creating a fall menu that impresses your guests and makes your fall wedding dreams come true is one of many reasons to hire a caterer who understands your vision. An experienced wedding caterer can help you to find the right selections for your event to make sure that your wedding is appropriate to the season but still fits your unique taste. The right caterer will work with you to ensure you don’t compromise on any of the delicious details that define a fabulous fall wedding, and, more importantly, make your wedding menu uniquely yours.
Elysian Events Catering Has Your Perfect Fall Wedding Food Ideas and More!
It’s no secret that planning a wedding can be overwhelming, and without the right assistance, worrying about the menu can keep you up at night! Whether you have too many fall wedding food ideas or none at all, trying to plan the menu for your wedding can be stressful, like many aspects of wedding planning. Fortunately, with an experienced wedding caterer working with you, your vision can become a reality without the stress of trying to handle everything on your own. At Elysian Events Catering, we listen to understand what you want and provide guidance from our knowledge of local venues, seasonal produce, and New Orleans cuisine. Together we can create the perfect selection of dishes for your fall wedding. Contact us today to get started!
