Kitchen Essential

The most important aspect of a wedding reception is that it should be very enjoyable. Whether the meal is a formal seated affair or a buffet, everything should run calmly and smoothly and everybody should be very relaxed. This is why most people put the whole affair into the hands of outside caterers who will do all the worrying and wedding hard work for them. However, it is not impossible to organize a wedding reception yourself and still be a relaxed guest or member of the family party. Do get as much help as you can, however —wedding waiters, wine waiters and kitchen help are almost essential.

The first consideration when planning the wedding table layout is the colour scheme. The colour of wedding table decorations, the wedding cake and any wedding flowers on the cake must tone with the bride’s dress and bouquet and the bridesmaids’ dresses. If the cake is to be decorated with fresh flowers they should be a variation on the bride’s bouquet so that the bride’s flowers can be placed by the wedding cake during the weddingreception and tone exactly. If the wedding cake is decorated with sugar flowers and ribbons, they too must match the bride’s colour scheme exactly.

For a formal wedding dinner or lunch, the flower decorations on the tables should be low, delicate arrangements that echo the bouquet with perhaps a slightly more elaborate wedding arrangement on the head table. Table-cloths and wedding napkins should be white and the cutlery silver. Crystal glass looks very elegant but the choice of design is a personal one and may be dictated by the hire company or catering organization who are responsible for the reception.

For a wedding buffet, choose food that is light, elegant and easy to eat with the fingers or just a fork. Arrange wedding food delicately so that it looks appetizing, and remember to garnish with contrasting colours such as little sprigs of parsley, cucumber twists, tiny bunches of mustard and cress, tomato lilies or twists of lemon or orange. It is always amazing what a difference a simple garnish makes to the presentation of weddingfood. If there are to be children at the reception remember to plan the menu so that there is something to suit their tastes.

As for drinks, sometimes wine is served with the buffet meal and then champagne is served when the cake is to be cut. Alternatively, champagne is served throughout. Remember to have soft drinks available for children or adults who don’t drink alcohol.

When planning a layout of the wedding buffet table, decide carefully where the cake is to be positioned. It should either be the centre of attention on the main buffet table or it should be on a separate table.

If on a separate table, decorate this table with weddingflowers that match the colour scheme, and place the wedding cake on an elegant silver cake stand (these can be hired), with a silver-handled knife ready for the cutting ceremony later.

The main wedding buffet-table can be decorated quite elaborately with flowers and swathes of ribbons. But don’t make the decorations so elaborate that people can’t get to the food, and keep table decorations to the centre area of the table.

Here are some ideas for decorating large weddingbuffet-tables. These can be adapted to suit other occasions where you may want to include special items to fit a chosen theme.

1. Swags can be used to decorate the front of the wedding table. These are made of rolled florist’s ribbon, looped and held to the edge of the table with drawing-pins. Bunches of roses (sterns placed in damp cottonwool and wrapped in foil cones) are then pinned to the cloth to cover the drawing-pins. Fix garlands of more ribbon from the top of the cake to the back corners.

2. Make loops of different lengths using four strands of ribbon 2.5crn (I in) wide, pinned to the edge of the wedding table. Bunches of dried or paper flowers with a few silver leaves are then fixed to hide the drawing-pins. If you have a coloured cloth, use white ribbons and flowers.

3. Pin looped Smilax creeper to the edge of the wedding table. Add bows of white or coloured ribbon with long trailing ends and fix to hide the pins. To make swags and garlands, attach bunches of Smilax (order in advance from a florist) to a thin rope with Sellotape — grading the thickness of the swags.

Using drawing pins or other methods of fastening decorations securely to the table, of course only applies to trestle tables concealed by cloths.

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