Fun Non-Traditional Wedding Food Options - Hummingbird Wedding Advice

Do you and your partner want to have non-traditional wedding food options at your wedding? The kind that your guests may be surprised to see? You’re in the right spot for ideas!

At most American and Canadian weddings, the food tends to be kind of predictable. Chicken or fish, anyone? Of course, you may find the odd barbeque spread. However, for the most part, weddings serve what may be typically found at your dinner table. And, there’s nothing wrong with that. Serving tried and true meals are completely expected, and fine.

However, you may want to mix it up a little.

Enter non-traditional wedding food options. These are the kinds of foods that your guests will not expect to see at your wedding. It might be that you and your partner don’t like regular dinner options. Or, you want to save some bucks. Perhaps you just want your wedding to feel different. In any case, there are lots of alternatives to the usual wedding food we see at weddings.

Non-Traditional Wedding Food Options

This post is going to share with you various non-traditional wedding food options. Of course, traditional wedding food varies from place to place. Depending on where you’re from, some of the “alternatives” below may even be very familiar to the weddings you typically attend. That’s okay. You may still want to mix it up, right? Remember, non-traditional can also apply to how the food is served or presented, so there should be something in here for everyone.

Let’s get into the options!

NON-TRADITIONAL WEDDING FOOD OPTIONS THAT SAVE MONEY

Before we get into actual examples of non-traditional wedding food options, let’s talk about some things you can do to change up “regular” wedding food so it’s more affordable.

I know that this isn’t really an alternative, or even that innovative, but if you’re already committed to serving traditional food, this part may appeal to you. And, you can still apply these ideas to non-traditional food, if you want to try and cut costs even more.

If you want to save some costs on your wedding food, without actually impacting the food, follow these tips:

Skip the red meat. Serve pasta, grains, or chicken instead.

Make sure the way that your food is served is visually appealing.
Utilize unique or unusual plates or platters.

As you can see, these tips can apply to any kind of food, traditional or non-traditional. The moral of the story is that you can make some simple choices to save some money, without compromising on the food quality or experience.

VARIOUS NON TRADITIONAL FOOD OPTIONS

Let’s get into the actual food! Remember, these are just suggestions. Go with what makes sense for your wedding, and what you’ll actually enjoy eating.

BRUNCH FOOD

Serving brunch food at your wedding can be a both crowd-pleasing and more affordable than regular food.

I wrote all about brunch food in this post about hosting a post-wedding brunch, but the same elements apply if you serve brunch food at your actual wedding. Brunch food costs less than traditional wedding food, and there is always something for everyone. Whether you are serving pancakes, bacon, or eggs, people will find what works for them.

The caveat here is that you don’t have to have your wedding at brunch-time to serve brunch food. Yes, some guests may be confused if you serve waffles for dinner, but they will get over it. Brunch food is good, any time of day.

FOOD TRUCKS

Food trucks are so fun. And delicious. And totally available.

Food trucks have come a long way in the last decade or so. They used to be more limited, serving specific types of food. I remember being a kid in Ontario, Canada, and food trucks were mainly only serving french fries and other greasy goods. As a college student in Northern California, taco trucks were very common.

These days, though, food trucks can serve just about anything. The good news is that it’s totally possible to hire one for your wedding.

If you’re into a certain kind of food, or don’t want to limit your options, look into having food trucks come to your wedding. You can hire a few of them, and have your guests choose the ones that are the most appealing to them. You can even just hire a dessert food truck, if you want to mix traditional and non-traditional wedding food options into one event.

APPETIZER-ONLY RECEPTION

Let me tell you. I once went to an appetizer-only wedding reception. It was incredible.

At an appetizer-only reception, or a cocktail reception, you don’t serve a seated dinner at all. Instead, you have lots of small plates, appetizers, and bites available. These can be passed, where a server walks around with them. Or, they can be stationary, where guests come up to a table and help themselves. The appetizers can be hot, or cold, depending on your situation and what’s available.

The key with this non-traditional wedding food alternative is to give guests a head up, and have lots of options. Make sure there are appetizers that can fit every dietary restriction, and your guests will be happy. Not only is this alternative more affordable than a plated dinner, but it’s more fun.

ETHNIC FOOD

When you think of wedding catering, what comes to mind? Is it tried and true fair? Or, do you think of ethnic food? If you aren’t thinking ethnic, maybe you should consider it.

What is ethnic food, you may ask? Well, it’s anything that is from another country or continent than you are. The kind of food that has a nationality behind it. When I think of ethnic food, I think of Chinese, Indian, Mexican, Ethiopian, etc. However, really any food can be “ethnic” food, as long as it’s not the generic American food that your guests may cook for themselves on a regular basis.

While you may want to stick to a more familiar palate for your guests, if you have some foodies in the group, consider hiring an ethnic restaurant to cater your wedding. They may be more prepared, and more affordable than a “per head plated meal” kind of caterer. Plus, your guests will remember that you mixed it up.

SERVING STATIONS

Serving stations are always a crowd pleaser, as long as they don’t get too overwhelmed.

If you aren’t already aware, serving stations are when your wedding is set up with many different food options. Guests have the choice to approach one or more of them, and order what they want. You may find carving stations, fish stations, salad stations, etc. Typically, these stations are manned, or occupied by someone who is working at your wedding. These people can help your guests place their order, and then serve what they want.

To be fair, this is not a cheap option, and not always available. This option is seen more on the east coast of the USA than the west coast. However, you may want to consider it as an option if you want to have lots of alternatives and the means to make them happen.

SELF-SERVE STATIONS OR BARS

Self-serve stations, or bars, are so fun.

Similar to a buffet, a self-serve station is where you lay out possible accoutrements for a specific dish, and allow guests to put it together themselves. The fun part is that you can provide various options for a base dish, and guests can customize what they like. For example, you can have a mac and cheese bar. Guests can choose their toppings for the mac and cheese, and make it how they like it.

Here are some ideas for various self-serve stations:

Pasta bar
Mashed potato bar
Salad bar
Taco bar
Nacho bar
Slider and fries bar
Sundae or dessert bar

This is really fun to provide as a late-night option for guests, even if you have a sit-down plated dinner provided earlier on.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

These days, anything goes with weddings. If you want to stick to traditional wedding food, go for it. If you want to try out a non-traditional wedding food option, make it happen. You can even combine the two with a non-traditional cocktail hour, or late night snack, and a traditional dinner. It’s all about providing what makes sense for your wedding and budget. Happy wedding planning!