Weddings & Wine
- "I Do" Contest
- Wedding Tips and Trends
- Wine at Your Wedding: Tips from Mirassou
- Wedding Day Menu Planner
- Wedding Desserts & Wine Pairings 101
Wedding Tips from Celebrity Chef Aida Mollenkamp
Brides- and grooms- to-be spend months planning their weddings, hoping their choices of food, wine, flowers and colors will reflect their own unique personal style and make for the perfect “big day.” Friends and family also jump in, hosting celebrations for the engaged couple that express both their love and well-wishes.
If there’s one thing that seems to create a true sense of the couple, it’s personalization. Below are a few of my tips (plus a great video) to help you personalize your own wedding – and any pre-wedding celebrations you might be planning.
Tips for Your Wedding Day
Your wedding day personality
- Like food and wine, each couple has their own unique personality. Decide what yours is and use it as a guide for developing a theme. Do you enjoy the outdoors together? Consider an outdoor reception, where your meal is grilled while your guests mingle. Are you movie buffs? Consider a reception that reflects the sensibilities of a favorite movie.
It’s all about the food and wine
Once you’ve decided on your personalized theme, plan your food and wine pairings. This is where it really gets fun, in my opinion!
- Find your inspiration. Think back on your relationship, and choose a meaningful place or a time that will inspire your food and wine choices. Maybe, it was your first trip to the beach together. Then plan a sumptuous meal that features seafood and pair each course with the perfect wine varietal.
- Indulge! This is a celebration so forget about calories and choose the food you want. The celebratory aspect of the day gets a boost when you offer slightly indulgent foods. Consider incorporating treats like cheese puffs (gougeres), stuffed zucchini blossoms, mini grilled cheese bites, beignets, or chocolate truffles.
- But don't lose yourself. Remember, your day is supposed to reflect who you are as a couple. If you don't usually eat foie gras and caviar, your wedding isn't a time to start. The food you serve should be like your dress – reflect you and fit you like a glove – so, if you prefer a cupcake tower to a cake, go for it!
- Personalize! Consider displaying menus at each place setting that describe your food and wine pairings – and include anecdotes for why you chose them.
- Last all night. It's a marathon to make it from the ceremony to the reception for both you and your guests. Make sure the food is substantial enough to keep everyone filled, yet light enough that they don't slip into a groggy fog. So, offer refreshments and small bites throughout the night. Perhaps a crisp white wine to refresh people at the ceremony or the beginning of the reception, provide hors d'oeuvres while you take your photos, and even a midnight snack if things will go late.
- Ah, dessert. It might be my favorite part of the meal. And, for a wedding, it can truly be a showpiece. Is your personal style more formal? Opt for a traditional multi-tiered wedding cake. Is the tone of your wedding more fun and casual? What about a cupcake tower, petit fours or whimsical cookies? Let the dessert reflect your own sweet tooth, and remember Riesling is a lovely accompaniment to most wedding desserts. Check out these dessert and wine pairings.
Your wedding palette
Colors can create the perfect backdrop, offering a subtle way of setting the tone for your wedding.
- Consider a signature color that reflects your personalized theme, and the overall expression of your day. Vibrant colors like fuschia and yellow set an exotic tone. Cool blues and grays are more soothing , while greens, browns and off-whites feel earthy.
- Your colors can be reflected in your invitations, flowers, linens, dresses, even menu choices especially the presentation of your food and wine pairings. The uses are nearly limitless.
Tips for Bridal Showers, Couples Showers & Engagement Celebrations
Not a bride- or groom-to-be but planning a celebration for one? Choose an entertaining style that reflects both the couple’s personality, as well as your own budget.
Super Casual or Extremely Elegant?
- The key to creating a celebration that is just right is personalization. If the couple-to-be is looking for a super casual get-together, check out our grilling recipes, which are delicious and upscale but backyard BBQ casual.
- Looking for a more elegant touch? Mix and match my go-to bridal menu recipes with more of my recipes in the Mirassou Taste & Toast Cookbook. Or check out the Mirassou recipes section, which contains an array of perfect food and wine pairings.
Casual Chic
- Check out my go-to bridal recipes that can be used for everything from a bridal or couples shower to a bridesmaid’s tea or even an engagement soiree. These are big on flavor and perfectly combines that something special with foods everyone will enjoy.
Read our Upside-Down Peach-Rhubarb Polenta Cake recipe.
