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A few years ago, you could've gotten away with offering arrival drinks, a three-course wedding breakfast and an evening spread at your nuptials. But these days, brides and grooms have upped the stakes, and it is pretty customary to offer something unique for guests to chow down on before the night is over.
Here are the latest trends in wedding treats:
Quirky canapés
You don't have to serve traditional vol-au-vents to your guests if you don't want to, and if you fancy offering your friends and family something a little more alternative to eat, why not rustle up some miniature versions of your favourite dishes?
Sweet table
Lots of couples - particularly those with a sweet tooth - love the idea of making a sweet table for their guests. This literally is what you'd expect - a table filled entirely with your favourite sweets. Furnish with plastic scoops, striped paper bags, old-fashioned sweets and large glass jars for a retro look.
Perfect to give your guest an energy boost on the dance floor!
Ice-cream van
This is particularly great for spring and summer weddings, or those with a vintage, circus, country house or rustic themes. You can hire traditional ice-cream vans you'd see in your local park, or old-fashioned ones if you want a van more in keeping with your wedding theme.
Adults and children alike will love this, but you'll have to make sure to grab a cone before it's all gone!
Hogroast
You might want a hogroast for your evening buffet or one to turn up towards the end of your wedding for some much-appreciated fodder to soak up a day's worth of alcohol. These spit roast BBQs have become all the rage over the last few years so your guests are guaranteed to love this!
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"Bring your own cake" tables
If you want your friends and family to help out a little at your wedding, you can ask your guests to make and bring a cake. Display all the goodies on a table and guests can help themselves to whichever they fancy. This will certainly save you money on a wedding cake!
You and your new spouse could even spice up the event by adding a Great British Bake-Off element to the occasion and tasting each cake, before declaring an overall winner. Of course, it's not a bad job for you either...
Strawberries and cream
If your wedding falls within Wimbledon season, this is a great, easy dish to serve - no pun intended. All guests will love helping themselves!
Cultural sweets
Perhaps your partner is Indian or your parents are Italian and you want to incorporate their heritage into your Big Day. You can do this by serving authentic foods from their culture.
Italian biscotti or Baci chocolates will go down well, or chamcham, ladoos or barfi will be a hit at an Indian wedding. There are lots of sweets you could serve - from baklava from the Middle East to delicious buttery shortbread from Scotland - and they're all bound to be appreciated by guests.
Have these ideas tickled your tastebuds? What are you planning to serve your guests at your wedding?
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