Choosing your wedding reception’s food menu is one of the best parts of wedding planning. You get to taste all the different things that caterers or your venue have to offer and set the dining plan for your wedding day. The food you serve at your reception can very easily set the tone for your entire event. For example, if you want to have a formal and more classic wedding reception, a plated, multi-course meal would be more appropriate than a buffet style meal with mini sliders and mac and cheese. Regardless of which route you choose to go, there are a few autumn-themed food items that truly embrace the season and will make your guests feel like fall is finally here.

Passed Hors D’oeuvres

Finger foods and bite-sized items are becoming more and more complex in the wedding catering world. Sweet and savory combine to make the perfect bite with ingredients like bacon and figs. These small snacks are passed around at the reception before dinnertime and are meant to give your guests a little taste of what’s to come. Some yummy fall-themed hors d’oeuvres we love include sweet potato rounds topped with sour cream, cheese and chives, mini fried apple turnovers and bacon-wrapped figs stuffed with blue cheese and pecans. Each of these items is decadent and hearty, so a mini portion is the perfect amount.

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Autumn Appetizers

Whether you’re having a seated dinner or if your guests will serve themselves, you’ll need to include a couple appetizers for your guests to choose from. Autumn weddings typically replace the salad course with a flavorful soup, such as butternut squash or a fall vegetable soup. You can even serve them in a hollowed out pumpkin or other gourd for the perfect fall wedding appetizer. If you would prefer to have a salad instead, include fall flavored toppings such as pumpkin seeds, walnuts, figs and dried cranberries. Other good starting courses for fall weddings include smoked salmon, crab cakes and grilled shrimp. Baked brie and fall vegetable tarts would be great vegetarian choices.

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Fall-Themed Entrees

When you think of fall food, ingredients such as cinnamon, apples and squash tend to come to mind. For a fall menu, you’ll want to swap out the lighter options like fish and chicken for a heartier entrée like lamb or pork. Rack of lamb served with mashed potatoes and candied carrots and roasted pork with spiced apples are both traditional autumn dishes that would be a fan favorite at any fall wedding. Other favorites include comfort food such as pot pie and shepherd’s pie. For the vegetarians, consider offering a wild mushroom risotto or a pumpkin and butternut squash ravioli.

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Wedding Desserts and Flavors

As you may have noticed, alternative desserts aside from the traditional wedding cake have become very trendy in weddings today. The best way to incorporate fall flavors such as pumpkin, cinnamon, apple, caramel and spices in your wedding desserts is by having a dessert bar with an assortment of goodies. Stay within a similar realm of desserts by offering apple pie, pecan pie or pumpkin cheesecake. Or, go a different route entirely and have your guests make their own caramel apples at a candy apple bar. You can also offer mini desserts such as donuts, brownies and cookies and have ice cream in delicious fall flavors such as pumpkin, caramel spice or butter pecan. There’s endless possibilities when it comes to fall wedding desserts!

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Drinks and Concoctions

No fall wedding menu is complete without a few drink options. Regardless of whether or not you choose to serve alcohol at your wedding, there are plenty of ways to embrace the autumn season in your wedding bar menu. Mulled wine is a tasty alternative to regular wine, seasonal beers with pumpkin or maple flavors are a nice addition for beer lovers and warm apple cider is great in both its alcoholic and non-alcoholic forms. Your bartender can even alter your favorite cocktail to include classic fall flavors like pumpkin and caramel apple.

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