Spice Up Your Event With Modern Dishes

Think back to when you were a child attending a wedding. There was dancing, there was excitement and laughter, and you may have been let down by the boring food. Cold briskets with bland vegetables that you have to sit down and properly eat were the worst, but you powered through knowing that the cake would come soon. Unfortunately, there was a plot twist because the fondant cake was also boring and unsatisfying!

Don’t let the food bring your wedding party down! Spice up your menus with modern twists that won’t weigh your guests down.

Comfort Food

No one knows how to eat and feel warm inside like Southerners which is why their comfort food is trending. Avoid basic roasts and serve up some fried chicken instead. It’s a comfort foot that can be quickly enjoyed by hand.

Also, put on a modern twist on a classic favorite, meatloaf. You can have your meatloaf stuffed with parmesan cheese and spinach for a delightful surprise inside, wrap it in bacon, or serve it on a sandwich.

Many types of meat are being served with updated sauces and glazes with hints of southern traditions. For example, salmon pairs great with a peach and pecan glaze, steak pairs well with spicy avocado sauces, and chicken goes great with an almond sauce. The creative possibilities to spice up the meats are endless.

Don’t forget southern sides! Nothing makes a person feel warm inside like hot, made from scratch macaroni and cheese. Plus, fried okra is always great to have around. No one knows asparagus better than southerners so check out their herb crusted and garlic recipes.

Everyone loves pizza and pasta, so consider serving up those dishes to please everyone on your guest list.

Keep it Light

People are healthy these days and don’t want to be weighed down, so serve them up a few clean and simple options.

A salad bar is always a good way to keep health conscious guests happy and snacking. They can serve themselves a variety of fresh and crisp veggies with an array of salad dressings to choose from.

However, isn’t salad slightly boring? Jazz things up with a fruit bar instead. Offer multiple varieties of cheese, nuts, and fruits to get the grazers happily nibbling on healthy items.

Also, you can stick with lighter meats like fish and chicken. Red meat often makes people feel sleepy and too full to function.

Keep it Moving

While being served plated food is nice and elegant, it’s also a little stale. Keep your party lively and fresh by getting people out of their seats!

People won’t mind getting up to serve themselves when you have exciting craft your own food stations. Taco and fajita stations are on fire right now. Guests can go up and request personalized entrees or serve themselves with their custom ingredients.

Baked potato bars, burger bars, and oyster bars are also tons of fun.

However, one of the most shocking food bars are the ones with breakfast for dinner! How exciting, people can have made to order pancakes, omelets, and waffles with personalized ingredients and toppings.

Miniaturize it

Guests don’t wanna be weighed down by huge meals anymore. How can they dance if they’re super full or bloated? Plus, big meals take a long time to eat, so consider making your food mini so people can quickly pick up a few items and eat them in no time.

Trending miniature foods include miniature tacos, mini burgers, mini mac and cheese bites, mini roasts on a bun, and even miniature bowls of ramen. Each of these items are fun to eat and can have personalized toppings.

Food Truck it

If you missed the food truck craze where have you been?! Food trucks have become increasingly popular and are popping up all over the city! You can have a few drive up to your venue and serve their local, creative dishes to your guests.

Each guest can pick which food truck they want to visit for delicious food creations from Korean BBQ to southern delicacies on a stick. They will really give your guests a fun memory from your event.

Stay Salty

You know what really kills a cake or nice cocktail? Too much sugar! Pair your drinks with something salty and delicious.

French fries are always a popular menu item. You can serve them cut straight, in curls, or even in a waffle shape. They can be placed in easy to grab containers like mason jars and enjoyed. You can even include healthier sweet potato fries! Regular ‘ole potato chips also pair really well with sweet beverages.

Pretzels and popcorn are salty treats with endless possibilities because they pair with excellent toppings like cheese, jalapenos, chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry sauce, powdered sugar, and more!

Update Your Dessert

Big, fondant cakes live in the past. Don’t stay stuck there with them! New desserts are taking the world by storm, like miniature pies ranging from apple to pumpkin. There’s a pie for every season.

Also, who doesn’t go nuts for donuts?! You can set a variety of donuts up for a beautiful, yet mouthwatering dessert display.

Throw your guests a curve ball with desserts that bring back childhood memories, like cookies and milk, s'mores, or ice cream sandwiches.

Don’t forget about custom sweets to pick up on-the-go like cake pops or hand-frosted sugar cookies.

Are you Hungry now?

We are too! We didn’t mean to get your mouth watering, but we wanted to make sure we could help you jazz up your event with delicious, hot and trendy food. Learn more event tips at Inspherio.com.

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De-Stress Hacks for Wedding Planners

Wedding planners know this best of all - members of the wedding party, or even guests, are prone to sudden freak outs. We've all been there, you're checking on the caterer and you see the maid of honor in a stress fueled spiral. So you put on your therapist hat and do your best to calm her down before the reception. It takes some special wedding-planner-ninja skills to calm a stressed out member of the wedding party, here are some great hacks to calm the storm:

Chocolate
A few mini chocolate bars are great to keep on hand in your de-stress kit. Dark chocolate is best because it actually helps to better reduce levels of cortisol (main stress hormone) and will help stabilize blood sugar until the reception begins. No one want to be the person who passed out at the wedding.

If they are allergic to chocolate or just don't like the delicious goodness of the cocoa tree (gasp), there are other ways to bring down stress levels...

Gum
Any gum will do, but maybe have a few different flavors like mint and cinnamon. Numerous scientific studies show a few minutes of chewing gum greatly reduces anxiety and cortisol levels. The fresh-breath side effect isn't so bad either. 

But they might be one of those people who don't participate in the calming art of gum chewing, so what else do you have up your sleeve?

The Worry-Clip
Sometimes people just need something in there hand to distract them from themselves. You have probably heard of a worry stone, but no one wants to carry around rocks in their de-stress kit. The best alternative is a paper-clip. Simple, I know, but this little trick really works. Take a large paper-clip, pull out the center part to make a V. Tell the stressed to hold it in their palm and when they are feeling nervous to just focus on the paper-clip. Their focus will be quickly rerouted away from their nerves.

Deep Breath
An oldie but goodie, this technique is fool proof. Taking in slow deep breaths is proven to reduce anxiety. With every breathe, they will release more stress. You can even have them image a bubble filling up with all their nervousness and have them blow it away. A little childish, maybe, but it seriously works. Add the worry-clip and you will be amazed how calm you can get.

Counting Backwards
 This one is also an oldie but goodie. It has worked for me on many occasions and always chills me out. When worries, nerves, and stress combine they create one heck of an unstable emotional state. If you slowly count backwards from 10, then back up again, all those unwanted emotions will just disappear. It's all about taking focus off the stress and putting it somewhere else. It will be much more difficult to freakout about an upcoming toast, or giving away a precious bride, when you're busy trying to remember what number comes before 7.

These are just a few De-Stress tools that will definitely help you calm and member of the wedding party. Wedding Planners are the multi-tasking masters and the art of de-stress is one of the most important skills to have.

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