Grazing table - Will i regret doing this myself?!

I was discussing baking some things for my wedding dessert table with a friend, who highly siuggested against it. She said she was so stressed the week before her wedding that she regretted making any food herself. However, yours is more placing of items rather than baking and making, so it might not be as stressful. Do you plan on setting it up on trays to be refrigerated then put out? Or to place them on the table/tray ready for the guests? You have to think of food sfatey and how long can food be left out without it risking saftey.

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True! I couldn't imagine baking or cooking the day of! I will make the table probably around 10AM that day and put the entire table in their walk-in refrigerator, so nothing will be left out!

Haven't had my wedding yet, but I have been in a few weddings and can give you some insight from a bridesmaid's perspective!

It's a nice touch that you want to make this grazing table! It may seem feasible and a stress reliever for you now, but it may be a different story the morning of. I've had friends think that the morning will be smooth and calm, only to have them running around to get hair and makeup done, getting photos taken, opening and reading the wedding gift and letter from their spouse etc. It just goes by very quickly. My only fear for you is that you either run out of time while making the table, or you just end up not having any time at all to do it.

I was a bm for a friend and she did pretty much everything DIY. She thought she had time to finish working on centerpieces (mason jars, baby's breath, wooden slabs) the morning of, but the bridal party actually ended up having to do it because she wasn't able to. It was pretty stressful having her planner (aunt) yell at us about not being quick enough with the centerpieces lol.

Would there be a way to maybe do part of it with someone and kind of guide them how you want it, then have them finish the rest? Just in case time doesn't allow you to stay working on it the whole time? That way you still have a part in it!

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This is a really good point! My mom had the idea to get the pictures taken of me starting it and then pass the torch to one of the caterers to finish. And to meet with them before to kind of make sure they knew what I wanted and were able to complete it if I wasn't. The last thing I want is anyone in the party having to work my wedding, so I definitely don't want to leave any of that responsibility on them!

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I think that's a great idea! You'll be able to work on it, but also have some of the duties lifted off of you by having the catering staff take over if needed!

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This is a very good idea, espceially if you do feel stressed then you can stop, but if you're enjoying it and have the time keep going.

You're going to be tugged in 50 different directions the morning of your wedding - between hair, makeup, your coordinator asking questions, etc. You will be surprised at how much time you really don't have the morning of your wedding (unless you build this time into your timeline and start super early in the morning). Also, I don't want to be a downer, but I don't know if a grazing table is the best idea given the pandemic. Many couples have had to modify their cocktail hour and reception service choices (from buffet to plated or server served buffet) due to the pandemic. Assuming things get much better by the time of your wedding, it shouldn't be a problem, but at this point, you may want to consider how you will modify your plan to have a grazing table in the most safe manner for you and your guests - just in case.

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The being tugged in different directions is what I'm worried about most, you're so right! We do plan on having a super early morning. I think we are planned to get to the venue around 7:30AM to start with breakfast and HMU. I'm not so worried about time, more of being pulled in a ton of different directions and allotting time for things I may forget about!

We've kind of decided at this point that if we're still in a place by September where having a cheese board is considered "unsafe", we will elope and veto the wedding as a whole!

You and your bridesmaids will be busy the morning of with getting dressed/photographed. Also, in the current climate many people are not comfortable eating from open platters.

View Quoted Comment Very true! I’ve always heard that the bride will be the last to get ready and out pictures will start at 4PM, so I feel like I may have some time in the morning but I’ve also never been married so who knows, it may be way more chaotic!


Our guests are all very close friends and family, I don’t think any of them will personally have any issues eating off of the board! But our hopes are that we won’t have to worry with it by September anyways! 🤞🏼

View Quoted Comment Food safety laws must be followed to the letter or you will be responsible. I have yet to meet a bride anywhere, and I know many couples who have given advice, who said they had any time to do more than get coffee and breakfast before getting ready. So putting together platters the morning or even the week before is not feasible with how busy they are with last minute stuff they don't prepare for because no one tells them and they can't be moved.

View Quoted Comment Our venue requires an insurance policy for the day of for any outside food, or any accident in general the day of the wedding. Safety wasn’t really my concern with the table! Just seeing what others thought about time management the morning of! Thanks for the advice!

I’ll start off saying I love this idea and wanted to do the same for my wedding! (decided against it bc of COVID). But, while I haven’t been married before, when I was MOH, I spent the night before and full day-of with the bride and I don’t know where she would have found time. Everyone wanted a minute with her for congratulations and getting input on their hair and makeup. The wedding planner was in and out about all sorts of silly things (couldn’t find a box, where was gift for groom, the breakfast catering was late). As bridesmaids we surprised her with a small photo book with letters from each of us, wanted to do a champagne cheers, and get cute pictures. Every individual thing sounds short and easy, but remember you are trying to coordinate with numerous women all trying to look their best- it’s a bit like🐱 herding! We got out of bed at 7am for a 4:30 wedding and there wasn’t an hr of downtime...
That said, could you do it the day before? Or at least prep and cut everything so you have exactly the right amount of each item and only need 15 minutes to dump and assemble?

View Quoted Comment Wow good point! I didn’t think of doing it the day before and maybe staging the photos to look like I was putting it together? I actually love that idea! My bridesmaids and I are staying together the night before and that may be something fun we could all do together. Thank you!!

I think this is a sweet idea, but unrealistic. I’m very much a people person and love serving others, so this is something that I would totally do for a dinner party, or even a rehearsal dinner, but there’s no way I could have managed it on my wedding day. I also wouldn’t serve something like this, even if created by someone else, in a pandemic.

View Quoted Comment Thank you! Time management is my biggest concern. Our wedding is in September, if we are still restricted by that point, we simply won’t have a wedding and we will elope! The hope is that a cheese board won’t be a concern if safety!

This is something I could totally see myself wanting to do, so I totally get where you are coming from! If you really want to swing it, I would recommend doing a trial run...maybe for a party or picnic this summer. Even if it's for half the amount of people, you will get an idea of how long it will truly take you to put it together. I also recommend getting as much done the night before as possible (putting everything on platters, getting garnishes ready, having all your utensils/signs ready, etc. with proper refrigeration of course) so you are really just putting everything on the table and making it pretty. I also love the idea of starting the process to get photos and then passing it off to the caterer to finish (or at least keep them in the loop in case you don't have time to finish and they are ready to step in).

Unfortunately, I don't think this is very realistic. I am already married and the morning of my wedding my mom and I worked on labeling flip flops for guests to wear if they wanted to change into them during the reception. We had run out of time the night before so we had no choice but to finish it the morning of the wedding and it was so stressful on top of everything else going on. It felt like I didn't have a second to breathe. I would never recommend taking on any type of project the morning of the wedding.

Specifically because of what food is involved, I wouldn’t do it. You don’t want to get cheese or prosciutto grease or mustard on anything! On top of whatever other stress may be involved. And then transporting it (even to another room) once you’re done?! I wouldn’t do it. Cute idea tho!

Food for thought, even ‘getting ready’ photos are staged. The act of getting ready or plating food just isn’t naturally as glamorous as it appears on the internet.


What if you designed the board, hired someone else to shop, deliver and set up and then staged a photo of you adding a finishing touch? It’s still a special touch that reflects you personally if you spec it and hire someone to do the task. 😊 Another idea would be to save the board for a slightly lower stress event like your bridal shower (if you’re having one) or rehearsal dinner.