Wedding Reception Food Presentation

Last weekend I had the opportunity to help design the food table for a wedding reception.  It was a lot of fun to put together, and ended up a huge success.   The friend I was helping is the best planner and idea person I’ve ever known and I knew that the night would be incredible.

In the planning stages I told my friend that you can serve simple, everyday foods and have them be fabulous if you just put a fun spin on their presentation.  Her idea:  serve the favorite desserts of the bride and groom and their parents in bite sized portions.  What a great idea!

She tracked down adorable little containers for serving things in and we labeled each dessert so guests would know who had chosen it.  In the center of the table was a simple sign reading “Favorites.”


Disclaimer:  I hope to replace these pictures with much better ones soon.  The lighting was so low I was forced to use my flash, which of course ruined the photos.  I’m excited to get better ones from the photographer.

All of the platters came from my collection of dishes.  It was fun to arrange them in a cohesive way so we could serve six desserts in a small space.  I feel good about the final result.


To mix things up a bit she wanted the father’s favorites together and the mother’s favorites together.  As the evening progressed I enjoyed listening to people walk the length of the table, reading aloud the favorite desserts of those they’d come to greet.  It added a personal touch to the night that was classy and memorable.


As usual, I enjoyed playing with height, scale, shape and size as my daughter and I worked out the arrangement.  She worked with me for 5 1/2 hours that night, serving food like an experienced adult.  I was so proud of her!


Rice Krispy Treats on a stick.  A fun idea.

I intended to wander the reception and take pictures of the many other details that were so creative.  I loved listening to my friend plan it.  If ever there was a living, breathing Super Woman who was also kind and down-to-earth, it’s her.  They had so many guests, however, that keeping the desserts stocked was all I could do.


Helping with this reception filled my heart with happiness.  The mother of the bride is, perhaps, my dearest friend in the world.  Ahead of me by a few years in her mothering, she’s the one I’ve watched for a ten years as I’ve tried to find my own way.  Watching the bride and groom warmed my heart.  I was grateful for my supportive husband who didn’t complain about the 11 hours I spent away from home that day due to this wedding.  I felt honored to be trusted with my assignment and also felt like the experience was invaluable for me.  I know it’s down the road and around the bend, but my turn to plan these events will come sooner than I think and I’ll need all the experience I can get.  Plus, it’s fun to create things, even if it’s just a table set with pretty dishes.

Thanks, Jana, for letting me be a part of something so special!

Jennifer