5 Must-Have Menu Items for Your Wedding Reception Food

When you’re planning your wedding dinner or reception food menu, it can feel overwhelming; how do you know where to start? Do you want a full meal, or passed hors d’eouvres? Are you looking for savory or sweet? And what about drinks?

Have no fear! Take it from Stefen Huskinson from Wooden Horse Catering, it’s much simpler than you think. Here are some tips and advice from Stefen on the 5 must-haves for your wedding reception food; this is a great place to start for any bride or couple who is just starting to look at food options for their wedding!

Your Five Must-Haves

“The five must-haves at any great reception are the following:

A Drink

“Whether it be our amazing house-made agua frescas or a soda bar; his-and-hers drinks are even better.”

A Bite

“Something for your guests to munch on. It gives people a thank you for coming and asking them to stay and party.”

A Treat

“Either a wedding cake if you’re being more traditional, but often something more to get your guests in a fun party mood; macaron towers for example have been super fun to do.”

A Touch of Fun

“Charcuterie is always a great idea; it’s fun, interactive, and allows guests to go on their own food journey as they hunt and gather for all the meats and cheeses.”

A Great Caterer

“Not that we are on the menu, but Wooden Horse Catering can and will provide everything above for your event!”

Starting with Mood Boards and Organizing Options

“When couples partner with us, we look at their mood board and find the vibe they are looking for. From there, we see if they are wanting a full meal or hors d’oeuvres. For most receptions where lots of guests will be in attendance we suggest the hors d’oeuvres route.”

When you work with Stefen, he makes sure that you’re getting the vibe and aesthetic you need for your wedding reception food, not just a great-tasting refreshment. And he takes everything into account.

“From there, we most commonly see either stations or a big spread as a grazing table with lots of different options. Hors d’oeuvres are great because you can have such a wide variety and still not try them all (even though we recommend you do because they are all delicious)!”

When it comes to Utah weddings especially, there’s a range of what’s popular, but Stefen tends to see a lot more couples who are looking for the lighter options when it comes to wedding reception foods.

“Typically for our guests, we find they are wanting lighter snacks or the hors d’oeuvres options. Charcuterie never gets old. It’s fun, exciting, and with our charcuterie boards and displays you get such a wide variety of meats, cheeses, spreads, and more to try.”

“A lot of people are also pairing that with a sweet option to get both sides of the palate. Summer is always good for lemon bars, macarons, and our s’mores pie bites are to die for.”

Booking Wooden Horse Catering for Your Wedding Reception Food

When it comes to booking vendors, you want to find professionals who are not only going to be amazing at what they do, but a treat to work with, literally.

“Our clients can expect to experience like no other. Our staff carefully plans every detail to make sure that we don’t miss a thing. We have trained chefs who expertly prepare each item. Wooden Horse Catering offers food that is easy to understand with a touch of elegance. We offer food that embraces the rusticity of Utah with a luxury flair. Simply put, simple ingredients elevated to become alive with flavor.”

Popular Flavors and Foods

So you know where to start, but which specific menu items will be the crowd-pleasers? How about starting with something a little sweet and tart?

“The flavors that Wooden Horse Catering provides are simple yet delicious and packed with flavor. One of our top requested items is our pastry chef’s (who is my wonder wife, Jazmin) lemon bars. We do not just make lemon bars. The labor of love for each little square that our clients and guests happily enjoy is a work of art. We zest and squeeze every lemon that is used for the lemon bars. The tangy and pungent taste of citrus is like an explosion of summer.”

Explosion of summer? We’ll take 50 each, please.

And for the savory options? You’ll be just as “blown away.”

“When it comes to small bites, our handmade BBQ meatballs are second to none. We hand roll each meatball in-house. The depth of flavor is so good. We also make our barbeque sauce in-house as well. Slow-cooked for 2 hours, our barbeque sauce will bring life to the party. Almost every single party we do has them; people can’t get enough of them.”

As the head chef of the best catering company around, Stefen has a few of his very own favorites, too. If you’re looking for recommendations, why not ask the one with the magic wedding food skills? But he simply can’t choose; it’s all amazing.

“Having the privilege of being the chef at Wooden Horse Catering, I got to custom-build the menu. So asking which dish is my favorite is like asking which child is my favorite. I can’t choose. More than anything, I am excited to be able to share my love of food with the people I come in contact with, and moreover, our clients get to experience that with us.”

You Get to Choose Your Menu

But it doesn’t stop there. Stefen’s main priority is you, the client, and your dream wedding food (yes, that is a thing)!

“I really love when couples completely personalize their day to exactly what they want. Some feel as if they have to copy and paste from an ad they saw or from an Instagram post. Not true! Couples need to understand that it is okay, and encouraged, to have what you want on your day. I wish couples would do the thing that no one else is doing because that’s what you love. So do it!”

With so many amazing menu options, and the fact that you can come in and do an in-person tasting with your fiancé at any time, you really can’t go wrong with anything from Wooden Horse. But where Stefen and his team really shine is in the experience of working with someone like him. No one is more passionate about making a genuine connection with every single couple like he is.

Exceptional Food, Because You Deserve It

“Everyone wants something special, everyone wants something that wows their guests, everyone wants something memorable. At Wooden Horse Catering, we provide something special. Our motto is, ‘Exceptional food, because you deserve it.’”

“We believe very deeply that our couples and their families have planned meticulously to have a perfect day. Some of our couples have been dreaming of this day for years. When our couples partner with us, we take that very seriously. So what is our specialty? It’s our clients; our clients make Wooden Horse Catering special.”

As someone who has been to more than a few weddings, from perfect plated dinners to endlessly delicious buffets, Stefen has some advice that will help any couple who is in the middle of booking their catering.

“I tell all of my clients this when they have a consultation with us on day one, sometimes with side eyes from the mom (we love you too, moms): ‘Do what you want to do; it is not anyone else’s day but yours.’ You have literally one day in your whole life to have just for you and your future love. That should be treasured and celebrated, the way you want to.”

If you’re looking to have the best wedding reception food around, paired perfectly with an experience that you’ll remember for your entire life, you can visit the Wooden Horse Catering website, book a fancy tasting to try it out for yourself and meet Stefen, or check out their Instagram.