Did you eat at your own wedding?
In the average Australian wedding food and drink accounts for around one third of the budget. Yet how many people actually eat at their own wedding?
This is a confession from one who wished she had.
For those of us who like their food it’s easy to start thinking the menuat your reception (like the flowers, music, your dress, readings, brief for the photographer and your partner's tie) should be able to sum up in a physical form the true essence of your relationship.
This way madness lies. Beyond that come the practical elements. This is a meal that has to satisfy a multitude of tastes. And it has to be flexible enoughso if you’ve been cornered by a long lost aunt, you’re not tempted to peel them off your veil and say- “I have to go- the kingfish is cooking through as it sits and I’m sure it’s drying out…”.
At my wedding four years ago my chief concern was that the food was easy to plate. A happy chef equals a happy reception. I wasn’t interested in being ‘double starched’ so the facility could skim a larger profit. And if there was going to be alternate drop, then I had to be happy to eat either. There's nothing like inheriting a piece of dry chicken stuffed with chalky ricotta while your partner's hoeing into a slab of rib eye. That involves a level of negotiation I'm not capable of after two glasses of champagne and an hour of trying to suck my stilettos up out of grass.
On my big day, I made my brideslaves eat roast tomato soup for lunch, so not to spoil our appetites.
After the ceremony there were canapés with drinks; wee tarts with goat’s cheese, caramellised onion and thyme, peking duck pancakes and crostini with steak tartare and aioli. There was an alternate drop of ocean trout with an almond tartator and a pickled vegetable salsa, which I claimed. Looking around most of the boys inherited the lamb loin with a garlic, roast mushroom and breadcrumb salsa.
Later there was chocolate nut wedding cake, lemon tarts and panna cottas with nectarines and berries.
I drank two glasses of sparkling and two glasses of pink wine. There was one Peking duck pancake consumed while bent over, like a kid at a bubbler, so it wouldn’t drip on the dress.
But that was it. I remember toying with what was on my plate before I was distracted by speeches, music and family.
And at the end of the night I couldn’t remember for a second what appeared on the table. I only remembered who was sitting around it.
Four years on, I think it’s about time I ate that dinner. So this year for our anniversary instead of going out, we finally sat down to the pink fish with almond tarator we chose so carefully. And you know what? It was delicious.
Did you eat at your wedding? If you were to recreate your wedding meal, what would it be?
Tori Haschka is a Sydney born food and travel writer and the author of www.eatori.com. Her first book of recipes and travel stories will be published by RPS and due out in April 2013. www.twitter.com/victoriahaschka
