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Original poster

What’s your strangest ‘wedding food’ related story

248 replies

CosyMosy · 02/06/2024 00:09

Sorry, rubbish title! I was chatting today with a colleague about a wedding I went to last year. The wedding was at the church at 12pm and we were invited to a country club for the reception. We turned up at 1 to find the buffet laid out but not open. We were told it wasn’t opening till 4!! Everyone was starving and the only thing behind the bar was out of date crisps (that the bar was selling for 10pm cheaper because of 😅). When the buffet eventually opened at 4, the bride announced over the mic that we needed to make sure we only took 1 small plate each because it had to last for the night guests as well 😵‍💫. The takeaway down the road made a roaring trade that night

My colleague told me she once went to the wedding of her DH’s colleague, when they sat down for the wedding breakfast half the table were given menus with prices on. When they queried this, it turns out the bride and groom had made the decision to only pay for HALF of the guests meals and the other half were to order and pay for their own meal at the bar!

Something about weddings brings out the worst in people!

OP posts:
CantHoldMeDown · 05/08/2024 17:09

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MoonAndStarsAndSky · 05/08/2024 17:09

I don't think people should go to weddings starving and complain about lack of food citing they "missed breakfast". Any wedding we go to we know to have a big breakfast and take snacks because usually food isn't served until well into the afternoon, and then it may not be to everyone's taste. That's the nature of catering on a huge scale.

Anonym00se · 05/08/2024 17:09

PerkyMintDeer · 05/08/2024 16:39

"Edible Sand"

I just...can't even begin to explain...but the edible sand was the much talked about highlight of the wedding meal.

"We're having EDIBLE SAND, you know? It's SAND. That's EDIBLE." but in a very, "aren't we well to do and aren't all you guests ever so lucky?!" sort of way.

Does anyone willingly eat sand?!

And this gem, from the same wedding...

"I mean, no one actually likes or eats cake and it's a lot of money for a wedding
cake that will only go to waste as no one eats cake so we're having a giant 5 tier cheesecake instead."

"Oh...what flavour cheesecake?"

"Erm...cheese, obviously. It's not a cheesecake. It's a CHEESE Cake. So every tier will be a round of different sorts of aged cheese. It's going to be amazing!"

Look...I like CAKE cake, cheese is ok. But a 3 foot giant display of stinking sweaty cheeses did not go down well in a small venue in the baking August heat being left there for hours on end. The bride and groom were the only people tucking in and looking confused as to why people were saying, "erm, I'm alright thanks." to their gradually more pleading by the hour invitations to "have some CHEESE!!! We've got Stilton? Wensleydale? Gouda? BRIE? HAVE SOME BRIE C'MON????"

The cheese and sand wedding...

I had a cheese wedding cake. I’m coeliac and can’t eat cake. We did have actual cakes as well though, and cheese and biscuits during the evening.

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Weddings
CantHoldMeDown · 05/08/2024 17:11

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Stinksmum · 05/08/2024 17:13

My friends wedding in a marquee outside York had a buffet. We were the last table to get up for food. There were servers so no greedy grabbing. But nonetheless there was no food left, I ended up with some cold savory rice. And a breadcake my brother in law gave me.

Anonym00se · 05/08/2024 17:16

MoonAndStarsAndSky · 05/08/2024 17:09

I don't think people should go to weddings starving and complain about lack of food citing they "missed breakfast". Any wedding we go to we know to have a big breakfast and take snacks because usually food isn't served until well into the afternoon, and then it may not be to everyone's taste. That's the nature of catering on a huge scale.

I was asked to get there at 7am to do flowers. I knew it would take me a couple of hours and I never eat before 10 so I thought there’d be plenty of time for breakfast. When I arrived it looked like a bomb had gone off so we spent hours clearing up before we could begin the flowers. In the end I had 30 minutes to run back to my room and get showered and ready, rather than the three hours I’d planned for. With hindsight I would have walked out and eaten and left them to it but it was one of my best friends and I wanted her day to be perfect.

SockQueen · 05/08/2024 17:16

Scones with Branston Pickle and clotted cream. Confused

Some kind of mix up with the caterers - there were meant to be platters of cheese, crackers and pickle, and other platters with more traditional jam & cream scones, but some genius had mixed the two together!

The funniest bit was all the guests trying to politely eat them ages saying "mmm what an interesting combination..."

Hallamlass · 05/08/2024 17:20

I went to one which was a tea dance. So, after the obligatory long wait for photos,we arrived at the venue for afternoon tea, which comprised of one cheese sandwich on white bread and one slice of cake, one cup of tea, and one glass of wine for the toasts.
A group of us went out for kebabs after the event.

CantHoldMeDown · 05/08/2024 17:20

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This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the poster's request.

Illpickthatup · 05/08/2024 17:21

whosaidtha · 05/08/2024 13:23

My partner is vegan. At one wedding his main was a bowl of beetroot. Nothing else. Just beetroot.
At another wedding he got nothing because someone else (not vegan) took the only vegan meal.
At another wedding we had a bread roll and a slice of cucumber as we were the last table called to the buffet and that's all that was left.
Oh and at one wedding the starter was melon soup. It was fine but a bit weird.

Oh god, and I thought my overcooked plain pasta mush was bad! In a hotel I've actually eaten at a few times because they have decent vegan options. At my friend's wedding I was served a child's size portion of overcooked penne, so over cooked it had fallen apart into tiny bit. No sauce.

Hallamlass · 05/08/2024 17:21

Stinksmum · 05/08/2024 17:13

My friends wedding in a marquee outside York had a buffet. We were the last table to get up for food. There were servers so no greedy grabbing. But nonetheless there was no food left, I ended up with some cold savory rice. And a breadcake my brother in law gave me.

That happened to me as well! The other guests had literally taken it all, so I just got a piece of bread!

YourMumDressesYouFunny · 05/08/2024 17:23

@LizzieBennett73 exact same experience at a wedding in Manchester. They had free flowing drinks, but no food served, for absolutely hours. When we were finally allowed in the dining room there were speeches before the food was served. Madness. I don’t think I’ve accepted a wedding invite since tbh.

TonTonMacoute · 05/08/2024 17:26

Not me but someone I knew was at a wedding where the food was all laid out on a table with a fluorescent tube above it. A champagne cork flew up and hit it and there was a loud bang followed by shards of broken glass falling down onto the food.

No one could eat any of it.

SuncreamAndIceCream · 05/08/2024 17:28

Went to one that said there would be afternoon tea

Technically correct. At 3pm (the wedding started at 11:30) we were served a half sandwich and a small piece of cake each and one cup of tea

At 9pm we left with a couple of other guests & went to get a curry dressed in our finery!

Sherrystrull · 05/08/2024 17:29

AmandaHoldensLips · 05/08/2024 16:36

I remember the wedding where the entire extended family menfolk greedily loaded up their plates, left most of it uneaten at their tables, while a whole bunch of guests were left with nothing by the time they got to the buffet. They were utterly oblivious to anyone else's requirement for food.

I wonder if this was the same one I went to when this happened!

I also went to one where canapés were served. They were brought on plates containing about 20 from the kitchen and got hoovered up by the group standing by the kitchen. The next player brought out the same thing happened. Meant most people didn't get a look in.

sparkles79 · 05/08/2024 17:29

I went to a wedding and all tables were eating their dessert before we'd even had our starters and it wasn't great either when it arrived.

Illpickthatup · 05/08/2024 17:29

Bearybasket · 05/08/2024 16:44

Not bad strange but I went to a wedding recently where the bride and groom were both very fussy eaters and both tee total so they were eating chicken nuggets and chips with cola for dinner while all the guest had gorgeous three course meals and complimentary wine and beer.

It was quite sweet and very characteristic of the whole wedding which was mostly a very traditional, big wedding with a few odd but thoughtful little down to earth touches that made the whole thing one the most enjoyable weddings I’ve ever been to.

I was invited to the reception of a wedding where the bride was an extremely fussy eater. Everyone else had a 3 course standard wedding type meal and a McDonalds chicken nugget meal was ordered on Uber eats for the bride.

TheFormidableMrsC · 05/08/2024 17:32

I attended an evening reception with my ex husband years back. The speeches had massively overrun and all the evening guests were kept in a bar for two hours with no food. So it was arrive at 7 pm and speeches didn't end til gone 9 pm. By then, the "evening buffet" had all but gone and we were famished. Quite a few people, including us, slipped out for a kebab in the nearest town. The worst thing you can do is underfeed your guests. If I'd known, I would have eaten beforehand.

Abouttthat · 05/08/2024 17:33

Op I don't think I'd touch a buffet that's been sat there for 3 hours in room temperature before it's even available to eat. 🤢

Allie47 · 05/08/2024 17:34

Hallamlass · 05/08/2024 17:20

I went to one which was a tea dance. So, after the obligatory long wait for photos,we arrived at the venue for afternoon tea, which comprised of one cheese sandwich on white bread and one slice of cake, one cup of tea, and one glass of wine for the toasts.
A group of us went out for kebabs after the event.

I went to a wedding last year just like this. Ceremony at 12pm, reception at 1pm until midnight, no food at all apart from 2 finger sandwiches, a small sausage roll each at 3.30pm, called it and afternoon tea and that was it for food until 8pm when we had a tiny burger (2 bites and gone) and a handful of fries (McDonald's small size).

RabbitsRock · 05/08/2024 17:38

FoleyHuck it’s “ corned beef”.

PerkyMintDeer · 05/08/2024 17:39

Anonym00se · 05/08/2024 17:09

I had a cheese wedding cake. I’m coeliac and can’t eat cake. We did have actual cakes as well though, and cheese and biscuits during the evening.

Show quote history

I'm a coeliac too...I just did a gluten free cake tier for me and other GF folks from the person that does my birthday cakes. This wedding only had cheese as a dessert under the guise that "no one likes or eats cake".

modgepodge · 05/08/2024 17:46

I’ve been at quite a few weddings that had cheese instead of cakes. I actually don’t think it’s that unusual. Personally I’d have both 😋also if they meant traditional wedding cake (fruit cake) they probably have a point, most people don’t like it - but most people have now worked this out and serve nice cake instead.

YaWeeFurryBastard · 05/08/2024 17:47

Buffets at weddings are almost always rubbish as they never seem to cater enough and all the good food gets taken first. I did go to one that was pizza/pasta/garlic bread which was nice but a bit carb heavy. I have had several which were truly appalling and inedible, it’s a real shame as it makes me nervous to attend weddings now.

Sit down meals, whilst often mediocre, at least you get your own portion. Ideally you give guests a choice (we did). If budget is an issue I think its better giving guests pizzas or a hog roast and ensuring there’s enough to go round.

Hallamlass · 05/08/2024 17:49

Yes, I think it's a basic to give people food, it doesn't have to be fancy, just enough for the people invited! I once went to a wedding where the food was a roast chicken meal which wasn't fancy, but tasty and there was enough for each person invited!