Photo: via Colin Cowie Weddings
We've all been there. You're at a wedding and you've been drinking and dancing for the last three or four hours. The party's winding down and the hunger pangs are setting in and, much to your dismay, you realize you missed dessert and all the slices of cake are gone. Almost in a panic, you're half-considering a fast-food run when suddenly, you spot waiters making their way to the dance floor, carrying trays of sliders and piping-hot french fries. In an instant, it's become the best. wedding. ever.
There's no better way to keep the party going than to surprise guests with a delicious, late-night snack. More and more couples are adding an end-of-night treat to their wedding menu, and while there really are no hard and fast rules, here are a couple of suggestions to make sure everything goes smoothly:
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1. Keep 'em bite-sized.
When it comes to late-night snacks, think mini. Anything larger would seem too much like an hors d'oeuvres or appetizer. Keep it small—just enough to satisfy without having to use any utensils.
2. Serve something sweet or savory (or one of each!).
Choose your favorite sweet or salty snack to serve. If you decide to offer one of each, start with the savory treat then finish up with the sweet one. Here are some of our favorite tasty ideas:
Sweet: Ice cream cones, popsicles, donuts or donut holes, mini milkshakes, milk and cookies, s'mores, root beer floats, churros
Savory: Sliders and fries, hot dogs, corn dogs, pizza, Chinese noodles in mini takeout boxes, mini tacos, soft pretzels, mini ramekins of mac 'n cheese, nachos, mini grilled cheese sandwiches
3. Time it right.
Have your caterers set up a late-night snack station next to the dance floor or send servers out with trays of treats about an hour or hour and a half before the end of the reception.
4. Order enough food.
Since many guests will begin to leave long before the last song is played, you should aim to order enough snacks to feed about half of your guest list. However, this depends on your specific crowd, of course, so if you know most of your guests will stay to the very end, then you'll need to up the quantities.