Most wedding trends come and go, but good food never goes out of style. What you give your guests to eat and drink does more than just provide energy for those late-night dance-offs. Your wedding food can tell a story about you as a couple, promote interaction among your guests, share your family heritage, act as show stopping décor, and be remembered long after you say “I do.”
More and more couples are prioritizing food when it comes to budgets and planning—much to the delight of their wedding guests. We asked one of the most creative, forward-thinking caterers we know, Bonnie Vidal, director of sales for Golden, Colorado-based Biscuits & Berries, to dish on everything wedding food. Here are the five wedding catering trends she says to look out for in 2025. Spoiler alert: we’re already drooling.
1. Roaming Carts
Everything is more fun on wheels, including your food. Think about the thrill of running into an ice cream truck or cart, or meeting friends for dim sum and gawking at all the dumplings rolling by. Those are experiences you’re more likely to remember than, say, simply grabbing a canape off a buffet line.
“We’re seeing more planners ask us what options we have for roaming stations,” Vidal says. “They add a fun, different element to things like cocktail hour and desserts.”
Some roaming carts that Vidal has dreamed up for Biscuits & Berries clients include late night burritos, colorful scoops of gelato, and, our personal favorite, a poke cart loaded up with fresh fish, rice, veggies, and everything you need to make the perfect poke bowl.
2. Family Style
Your reception dinner options go beyond plated or buffet. Family style meals create a more social dining experience for your guests, and they’re becoming very, very popular. “It promotes interaction among people,” Vidal says. “I don’t always have a plus-one, so I’m stuck at tables with people I don’t know. Asking if someone can pass those delicious looking mashed potatoes my way is a conversation starter.”
This style has the homey, comfortable feel of a holiday dinner—think about the giant platters of meats and heaping sides you pass around the table on Thanksgiving or Christmas—but can still be super refined. It also offers up lots of options for your guests and allows them to pick their portion size, which often translates to less food waste and more efficiency.
3. Unique Displays
Besides being delicious, your food can double as décor. Vidal once created an arcade style dessert claw machine, where guests took turns “winning” desserts like brownies and macarons packaged in little plastic balls. She’s also done a hanging display of doughnuts and an acrylic wall of welcome cocktails. The options are endless here, and in addition to being pretty and tasty, they make for great conversation pieces.
“People are thinking outside of the box, which is really fun for us as caterers and creative people. We’re trending toward those unique pieces that really make a statement at an event,” Vidal says.
4. Regional Cuisine
Whether you grew up in the Midwest and have a thing for deep-fried fair foods or your family comes from India and has the best-ever butter chicken recipe, incorporating special regional foods into weddings is big. And it’s no wonder—there’s no better way to share your personal story and heritage with your friends and family than with food, the great connector.
“We’ll see a lot of people requesting fusion menus or wanting to incorporate a nod to their heritage in some way,” Vidal says. “That’s especially easy to do during cocktail hour. If you’re nervous about alienating guests who aren’t familiar with that type of food, you don’t have to commit to a full meal from that region but can still give them that flavor.”
Vidal says she’s also seeing couples take their favorite dishes they grew up eating and putting a local spin on them. Like adding bison or green chiles in Colorado, or lobster on the East Coast.
5. Composed Grab n’ Go
The key to making this event food staple memorable? It’s all about the presentation. Biscuits & Berries has done everything from a slider slide (where little burgers literally slide down to eager guests) to creating to-go boxes that look like Happy Meals. This trend marries the ease of guests grabbing what they want to eat at their convenience with the visual impact of beautifully presented food.
“This lets our chef and catering team create a fun presentation and add a wow factor,” Vidal says. “I think charcuterie cones and cups really paved the way [for grab n’ go] for weddings, but now we’re seeing variations. We’re always trying to figure out ways to display food and make it fun and interactive that won’t break the bank.”
Allyson Reedy is a writer based in Colorado. She is the author of the cookbooks “50 Things to Bake Before You Die” and “30 Breads to Bake Before You Die”. Besides enjoying carbs, she loves spending time with her family and pug.
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