Non Traditional Wedding Food

I think it would be awesome!

Most weddings here have had a fairly wide range of food - or certainly, protein types, but the consensus generally seems to be that chicken and beef plus a veggie/vegan option is fairly safe because there are less people allergic to those things, and it takes into consideration those who cannot eat pork for religious reasons. (Plus loads of people don't like, or are allergic to sea food).

I think as long as your non-traditional foods take those points into consideration, something unusual would be awesome! I read about someone who had a mac and cheese station, and I was like, hold up, what?! I wish we could have things like that here, and I'd love going to a wedding which had something like that!

We did a carving station with carved turkey breast and pork tenderloin plus mashed potato bar, salad, and mixed veggies.
Was super yummy and different.

We had Arabic food (mostly self catered/home made) because my husband is Arab and a fantastic cook and we love Arabic food. Our guests loved it.




One of my favorite weddings I have been to actually was a potluck. It was so fun and a lot of different and very yummy food. They didn't even organize it, they just asked every guest (around 100) to bring a dish, savory or dessert.

As a guest I would enjoy both traditional wedding food or something else. Bad wedding food for me is cold dry chicken and mushy vegetables. I would be happy with tacos, pasta buffet, fancy pizzas, ... as long as it fits the location and overall vibe of the wedding.

My brother-in-law and his wife had a taco buffet for their rehearsal dinner. His wife's grandparents complained for weeks when they found out what the food would be because they don't like tacos. I personally love Mexican so I was so excited when she told me they were doing a taco buffet for their rehearsal. Our late night snack at our wedding was a nacho buffet. It was delicious and seemed to be a hit with our guests.

We plan on having a taco bar! We also have been to a wedding with a Chipotle taco bar and it was a hit! I think taco bars are great because everyone can add whatever ingredients they’d like and try some different options

We are doing breakfast

We are doing Thai food. Even though it’s a small wedding (35 guests), we have somehow managed to have just about every food allergy represented. Thai food is super easy to work with when it comes to allergies, and our favorite Thai restaurant is where we had a lot off our first dates, so it’s win-win! Our guests are excited for something different!

View Quoted Comment This sounds amazing!!!

We're doing taco/burrito bar! I don't want dry chicken or fish meals. I want something yummy that I love. My favorite type of food is our receptions food and finances favorite is our rehearsal dinner food (brunch)

Working weddings I've seen the following:

Homemade taco bar, chick-fil-a, chipotle, indian food, and a pizza bar (from a very popular local gourmet pizza restaurant).

I've also worked a wedding where we catered the taco bar and they're always a huge hit.

My recommendation would be to skip ground beef and do some sort of shredded chicken and maybe sliced steak. Elevate it and go with either an authentic Mexican restaurant or find a caterer that offers a lot of variety.

I've been to a few weddings that have done BBQ food, both buffet style and family style. It's not as unique anymore, but at the time we attended the weddings it was. It was nice, but when I go to a wedding I'll be honest...I prefer the traditional foods vs. something like tacos or BBQ only because if I'm at a more upscale event, I want to have that feel with the food too. But that's just my preference!

We did "swanky tacos". So not your typical Mexican style tacos. We both love tacos and there is a great taco place near us that we modeled our wedding tacos after. They were delicious and a big hit with our guests!

I'm a big fan of non-traditional wedding foods.

To me, weddings are parties. Every party I've ever been to had fun food - tacos, pizzas, and so on. So, I think weddings should have fun food.

Our vow renewal (which is in a science museum, so it's going to be upscale but fun) is going to be non-traditional foods. Pizza, tacos, barbecue, poke bowls, maybe some breakfast items (breakfast for dinner is big where I'm from), ice cream, donuts... All will have twists to make them more "event" appropriate (like the pizzas will be single-serve, the barbecue is Texas-style/brisket served with forks, the taco bar will have upgraded proteins and toppings, etc.) Our guest list has everything from the pickiest eater in the history of mankind (my mom) to the wildest foodies. It's more important to me that my pickier VIGs have plenty to eat, and that everyone enjoys the food, than that it fits in some arbitrary idea of "upscale".

View Quoted Comment I loveeeee breakfast food! Your guests are going to enjoy it I’m sure.

View Quoted Comment We are planning on doing some sort of chicken plus one other protein and a veggie option. Of course with beans and rice and all the toppings

View Quoted Comment I love this!

View Quoted Comment Yeah I want something that feels more like us! I love that you did Arabic food

View Quoted Comment I love the nacho buffet idea! My one concern with the tacos was people thinking it’s too messy since it’s “finger food”

View Quoted Comment Yeah we want to have plenty of options for people, so a couple proteins, veggies and lots of toppings. Any concerns about it being too messy since it’s “finger food”?

View Quoted Comment This would be my second pick. I loooove breakfast!