Photo: Corynn Fowler Photography
Relaxed dining, engaging displays, and details that tell a tailored story. These are the three themes that the team at Georgian Roots has noticed at events recently -- and we are in love with all the fun, imaginative, and thoughtful ways people are choosing to celebrate through food and drink. Over the next two weeks, the Georgian Roots blog is looking at twenty food and drink trends that make deliciousness the focal point of weddings. This post is in two parts so be sure to checkout the preview of Part 2 at the end!
1. Grazing Tables - A dense spread of food to gather around. The source of all good taste, Martha Stewart puts it, "a rich assortment of bite-size snacks—and though they most often appear as larger-than-life charcuterie boards, filled to the brim with meats, cheeses, fruits, and nuts (à la this one courtesy of Chalk Hill Estate and Winery), they can ultimately comprise of just about any big-day fare you'd like."
Photo: Corynn Fowler Photography Catering: Whose Catering
2. Craft Cocktails - The craft cocktail takes the signature drink concept to the next level, the key difference being that the cocktail has more details that tie-in the story of the couple and their life together. This couple's cocktails were named after their pups and used ingredients that they not only loved, but also represented where they were getting married, like the Georgian Bay Gin in the Finn Smash.
Photo: Jen Linfield Photography Bar and catering: Culinary Creations by Christina
3. A welcome drink - Walking into a party and having a drink put into your hand instantly makes you feel welcome, looked after, appreciated, and ready for a good time. This applies to non-alcoholic beverages too! Try mixing 2 parts still and 1 part sparkling water with ice, herbs, and fruit for a subtle fizz that brings out the flavours and suits everyone's taste buds.
Amazing wine: The Roost at Red Wing Amazing photo: Lokal Digs
4. Farm to Table - Partnering with a local farmer to source ingredients for your wedding food is great for a couple reasons. Taste alone is an important part of it. Although a wine term, the terroir of a region also comes through in food, and that can make a big difference in making your meal phenomenal. Start by talking with your caterer or a farmer at a local market to see if it's something they already do! Remember to be flexible with your menu a bit for this, because what you plan for may not always be available depending on how the season is going.
Photo: Georgian Roots Farm sourced food on this menu from: MacKenzie Organic Farms Catering: Midland Golf and Country Club
5. Edible flowers - Including plants that are pretty enough to eat is a sure way to make a visual impact. While not necessarily a key ingredient for flavour, flowers look stunning as a garnish, frozen into ice cubes, or sprinkled amongst a food display. Make sure the flowers aren't a toxic variety (like Sweet Peas), or were treated with floral preservative.
Photo: Kevin Cascagnette Photography Caterer: Ciboulette et Cie
6. Oyster Bar - Eating an oyster is an experience that instantly transports you to the sea side. Part of the fun is getting to know what variety you're trying and then tasting another to see what the difference is. It's like terroir, but for sea food -- so mareoir? Latin aside, it's a blast, and very popular for cocktail hour. Pair with a caesar for a real Canadian treat.
Photo: Katie Langmuir Photographer Most fun ever: Island Oysters
7. Sustainable - Eating locally sourced food and seasonal vegetables not only supports your community and is environmentally conscious, it also elevates the taste and presentation. Food is a valuable and beautiful thing. Share that passion with your guests through artful plating that showcases the ingredients, becomes part of the decor, and makes sustainability a tasty conversation topic.
Photo: Samantha Erin Photography Masterful plating: Urban Acorn
8. Sweet Family and Friends - Including favourite family and friend recipes will be something that makes you and your wedding guests feel at home on your wedding day. A great place to do this is dessert. We've seen couples work with their caterers to incorporate family recipes; have family make and bring the dessert their famous for; or even, talented bridesmaids make the cake, like in this picture below! This is a dessert trend that is meaningful, and its those personal details that make a wedding memorable.
Photo: Georgian Roots
9. Food Favours - Coming up with a favour idea can be a challenge, but the most popular gift for guests this year is food. Great ideas we've been a part of include: making something special yourself like the preserves pictured below; finding locally made goodies like chocolate; or go with a theme of different options that guests can choose from, like a cookie bar or fruit stand.
Photo: Jen Linfield Photography
10. Pop, fizz, sparkle - If you've ever wondered what the difference is between champagne, prosecco, cava or others sparkling wines, now is the time to find out! We've seen sparkling wine used in many ways during weddings - for the welcome drink, for a toast, as part of the ceremony, a component of a cocktail, and as a thank you for guests to take home. Plus, taste testing to figure what you want to serve would be a whole lot of fun with your wedding party!
Photo: Corynn Fowler Photography
That's all for part one of 20 Wedding Trends We Love in 2020. Tune in next Sunday for 10 more relaxed, engaging, and detail focused food and drink ideas. Bonus as well for next week, a couple things that aren’t up and coming trends but that we love anyways. Because when it comes to your day, the trend doesn’t really matter – it’s about what makes you and yours happy.
xoxo Cady
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