Aubri and I both wanted non-typical food served at our weddings. Jake and I got married in the winter, so we thought mashtinis would be a fun food. (Don’t know what mashtinis are? Keep reading!) Aubri and her husband, Nathaniel, had a french toast bar at their wedding reception. Both foods were a total hit! To give you some more wedding food ideas, here is a list of 24 cool, unique, and fun foods you can serve at your wedding reception.
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24 Fun Wedding Food Ideas
These wedding food ideas come from Aubri, me, and my wonderful friends who shared the cool foods they served at their wedding!
1. Mashtini Bar
This is one of my winter wedding food ideas, and I did this one at my own wedding. Mashtinis are mashed potatoes and toppings served in martini glasses! Doesn’t it look way more fun eating mashed potatoes out of a martini glass than just off a plate? And we weren’t trying to be stingy–promise!–but our food budget was only so big, so it also was also a strategic move. We had a self-serve bar, and we didn’t want people going to town on the food, so by keeping it to a martini glass we could try to limit their portions. The feedback we got from the reception was that people loved the mashtinis! My only regret with the mashtini bar is that Jake and I were so busy talking to people that we didn’t get any š So someone else do this idea and invite me to your wedding so I can try them haha. You could use real martini glasses or plastic.
2. French Toast Bar
Like I said in the intro, Aubri and her husband had a french toast bar at their wedding. This was a self-serve bar with plates, napkins, cutlery, french toast, fresh fruit, slivered almonds, cinnamon sugar, whipped cream, etc. They had Kneaders cater it. It was delicious! And this is one of the wedding food ideas perfect for a lovely, outdoor summer reception.
3. Watermelon Wedding “Cake”
Here’s a great summer wedding food idea. Instead of serving a traditional wedding cake at her wedding, Aubri and Nathaniel served watermelon! They both don’t really like cake but love watermelon so it just made sense. They hired someone to carve designs in the watermelons. Look how beautiful they are!
4. Crepes
Crepes would be a lovely thing to share at a wedding reception. My aunt served crepes at her reception, and it was a big hit! If I remember correctly, we lined up to get crepes were made by cooks and then there was a self-service bar where we could add the toppings we liked. Very classy idea and there’s something for everyone especially if you offer sweet and savory options. This would be especially nice for a summer wedding with all of the different berries in season, but I can see it being a success no matter which season your wedding is in.
5. Caramel Apple Bar
This is such a fun idea that my friend Aurie said she had at her wedding. Out of all of these wedding food ideas, this is one of the best ones for a fall wedding. I can see this going one of two ways: 1) You have a variety of pre-made caramel apples that guests can choose from, or 2) you have apples slices, skewers, caramels, dips, and toppings and guests can make their own. Either way would give you unique wedding food that guests won’t forget.
6. Doughnut Tower Groom’s Cake
Yes, this list of wedding food ideas even includes a groom’s cake idea. My friend Kim wanted a bride’s cake and a groom’s cake, so she made her cake the traditional wedding cake and the groom’s cake a tower of doughnuts on a tier square stand. I love the picture below that shows their cakes side-by-side. They got the best of both worlds: traditional and fun.
7. S’mores Bar
This is another cute idea for a summer, fall, or winter wedding that my friend Allyson saw. She said, “A friend of mine made these mini sterno campfires and had a make your own sāmores bar. That was pretty cool. Only time Iāve seen that.” I think it would be so cute to have a s’mores stations where people load up on their favorite s’mores combinations and then go back to their own table where they roast their mallows on a little toaster like this s’mores maker on Amazon.
8. Mini Pies Wedding “Cake”
Another friend of mine, Taylor, served mini pies instead of a traditional wedding cake. This is cute idea for anyone out there who doesn’t like cake. I can see the type of pies you serve vary depending on what time of year it is… berry pies in the summer, apple and pumpkin pies in the fall and winter, etc. I could also see this working with savory pies as well.
9. Pizookie Bar
My friend Jenny’s sister in law served pizookies. A pizookie is a “pizza/cookie.” It’s traditionally a giant cookie baked in a skillet and you add scoops of vanilla ice cream on top of it. But for a wedding it would be a fun idea to have individual-sized pizookies where guests can add their own ice cream and toppings.
10. Rice Krispies Bar & Wedding Cake
If wedding cake isn’t your jam, then how about doing a rice Krispies wedding cake and a rice Krispies bar for your guests? My friend Melissa did this at her wedding reception and loved it. She said, “I do have to say that the nice thing about having a Rice Krispie cake is I didnāt have to worry about my husband smashing it in my face.” Haha. If you go this route, one tip she shared is: “We did a practice cake beforehand and it was too hard to cut with a regular knife so we joked about using an electric knife at the wedding. But the person who made our cake made a specific corner of the cake a little softer so it was easier to cut.”
11. Grilled Cheese Bar
Here is another one of the wedding food ideas that is off the charts. My friend Jenna had a grilled cheese bar at her wedding. She said, “We just had all of the meat and cheese and different toppings lined up and then at the end of the table we had some people working panini presses and they would grill your sandwich for you.” Another friend of mine, Caden, also did this idea but had the grilled cheese sandwiches catered. So cool, casual, and fun!
12. Popsicle Bar
For their 4th of July wedding, my good friend Katie served rocket popsicles! This is such a fun food for a hot, summer wedding especially if there are going to be kids in the wedding party. Look at this cute picture from their wedding reception (photo credit: Emmy Lowe Photo) of her ring bearer and her nephew enjoying their popsicles. Out of this whole list of wedding food ideas, a popsicle bar wins for lowest prep work. All you have to do is make sure they don’t melt!
13. Candy Bar
When my cool cousin, Brandon, got married to a cool woman, Ashley, they had a super cool candy bar. They had different sizes and shapes of clear jars that each held a different candy. (Amazon has some bulk bags of Starburst, Hershey’s Kisses, Mike & Ikes, Gumballs, Andes Mints, and more.) At the beginning of the candy line were fancy, clear plastic bags like these. You would take one and fill your bag up with whatever candy you wanted. This is one of the most versatile wedding food ideas on the list because it also doubles as a party favor. You could take whatever you didn’t eat yet home with you (securing them with twisty ties like these). A fun wedding food idea for a couple with a sweet tooth.
14. Hot Chocolate Bar
My friend Levi and his wife had a hot chocolate bar at their reception. He said, “We did a hot chocolate station. Several flavors with different toppings (big and small marshmallows, whipped cream, etc) and candy cane or straw stirrers. It was a cold day and this seemed like a fun idea.” You could get hot chocolate cups, straws, candy cane spoons, and the cocoa and toppings and call it a day. This hot chocolate bar is cute and practical for a cold wedding day.
15. Popcorn Bar
My friend Becky had a popcorn bar. This wedding food idea seems pretty easy to execute and still very fun. It would be nice to have a variety of popcorn options available in the sweet and savory variety: buttered popcorn, cheddar cheese popcorn, white chocolate popcorn, etc. This would also be an easy way to bring in various wedding colors. Just mix in M&Ms (like these) of your wedding colors, use food coloring in white chocolate, etc. if you are making your own popcorn mixes.
16. Cheesecake Bar & Wedding Cake
My friend Makenna and her husband don’t like traditional cake, so instead of a typical wedding cake, they had a cheesecake and had a cheesecake bar for their guests with fun and fancy toppings.
17. Taco Bar
My cousin Nathan had a Navajo taco bar at his wedding reception, but any taco bar would be great. Just provide all of the fixings (taco shell, ground beef, sour cream, salsa, guacamole, cheese, etc.) and let people add what they want. A taco bar would be a fun idea for a Mexican food enthusiast (like myself) or anyone needing to feed a big crowd.Ā
18. Breads & Spreads Bar
My cute cousin Becca had a winter wedding with a breads and spreads bar. There were a variety of savory and sweet breads with a selection of different jams, butters, and a other spreads to pick from. She also offered some fresh fruit to help balance out the bread. (But then again, there’s nothing wrong with just a bunch of delicious carbs!)
19. Mac ‘n Cheese Bar
One of the wedding food ideas that can be dressed up or down is a mac ‘n cheese bar. This idea is pretty flexible with however fancy you want to go. My friend Margaret went to a wedding that had a mac ‘n cheese bar. She said it was fun and delicious which I absolutely believe. It would be so fun to have different options of mac ‘n cheese like classic baked mac ‘n cheese, bacon and jalapeno macaroni and cheese, chicken and cheese macaroni, Dungeness crab white cheddar cheese mac, etc.
20. Milk & Cookies
A classic duo, milk and cookies could be a really cute, easy, and tasty food to serve at your wedding. Check out at this picture from my friend Brooke who did this for her wedding reception. Somehow they made a classic, simple food look so elegant! Using milk glasses like this or this would be cute!
21. Hand Pies
My friend Hannah served a variety of savory hand pies at her wedding reception. The feedback… everybody loved them! She said they were a full meal that was portable. I think this would be especially nice for a fall or winter wedding.
22. Pasta Bar
What guest wouldn’t want to make their way through a pasta bar? My friend Jennie had one at her wedding with different kinds of pasta to pick from (1- penne pasta with a spinach, tomatoes, and mushrooms red sauce, 2- traditional chicken Alfredo, 3- spaghetti and meatballs, 4- plain bowtie noodles with the sauce on the side for the little kids), french bread, green salad, and fruit slices. I’d definitely be a fan of this wedding reception š
23. Cereal Bar
Inspired by an adorable cereal bar they stumbled upon in Portugal, my friend Adria is having a cereal bar at their brunch reception. I think it’s a cute idea to take something so common-place and to transform it into fun, fancy wedding food.
24. Waffle Bar
My friend Brittany had a waffle bar at her wedding because she and her husband went to a waffle shop for their first date. How cute is that?! And who doesn’t like waffles? It would be really easy for guests to customize their own waffles to their personal tastes.
Hopefully this list gave you some ideas for your wedding! If you have any other ideas please leave a comment below. š
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