Backyard Wedding Menu Fit for Royalty (You!)

"What shall we serve at the wedding?"

This weekend, Prince William and Catherine Middleton released their official engagement photos. Mazel tov, William and Kate! In honor of the happy occasion, we’re posting a wedding menu based on the menu of an actual Buckingham Palace dinner reception. Throughout the week we’ll post recipes for all the dishes so you can serve them at your wedding, too.

The menu comes from a reception I attended at Buckingham Palace some years back. I can’t say it was an exclusive affair — there were more than 3,000 guests — but it was memorable. The night included cocktails, a meet and greet with the royal family, a buffet dinner, and dancing in the ballroom(!).

What I remember most, because it’s what I had been most looking forward to seeing, was what The Queen served for dinner. The event planning part of my brain, which takes over nearly all of my brain sometimes, knew that it had to be a menu that met some of the most complicated food service challenges an event planner can face. The menu had to provide something to satisfy most of the dietary restrictions the world has to offer. The preparation could not be complicated, and all the food had to hold up impressively on a buffet. Finally, because The Queen had to feed 3,000 people at a cost-conscious time, the ingredients had to provide good value for cost.

God bless The Queen (and her kitchen staff). The menu met all those criteria, and it serves as a great example for anyone who wants to create a no-worries special event dinner, even if the backyard in which you raise your huppah doesn’t feature a royal privy garden.

You’ll find the menu below. We’ve posted recipes for all the dishes on the menu, with quantities for serving an intimate wedding crowd of 50 people. We’ll add some special touches that are possible when you’re serving 50 rather than 3,000 people. We’ve included make-ahead options where possible, especially for couples who plan to self-cater, or partially self-cater, their weddings. The menu will be kosher, of course.

Here’s the menu (follow the links to find the recipes):

Wedding Buffet Menu Fit for Royalty (You!)

• Beef carving station
• Chicken breast stuffed with mushrooms
• Spinach-filled crepes
• Sauteed mixed vegetables
• Scalloped potatoes

Dessert

• Chocolate mousse
• Coffee

Wedding Cake
The Queen didn’t serve wedding cake, but you’ll need one:

• Hazelnut Cake

(And Kate and Will, if you’re looking for a huppah, for your wedding I’d recommend a huppah of beautiful bridal lace.)