Food, Glorious Fall Food!

Catering a fall wedding in Vermont is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the joy of marriage

By Susanna Keefer

For a couple who have made the responsible choice to invest a portion of their catering budget on locally sourced foods, you have picked the perfect season to be wed in Vermont. When you know where your food is coming from and how it is grown, you are enhancing a bond with your surroundings, your bodies, and ultimately with each other. You are also supporting the small farms and farmers who are preserving the natural and sustainable beauty which we proudly call Vermont. Furthermore, what could possibly taste better than local seasonal food?

Planning a fall wedding menu should be a collaboration between the couple and the caterer. Vermont boasts an incredible array of passionate and talented chefs who can customize a menu that reflects your tastes, honors your heritage and your family traditions. Most importantly this will represent and celebrate who you have become as a couple.

With the foliage season lighting up the landscape with its vibrant and lush colors, as well as a small chill in the evening air, an event in autumn is a great time to enhance the local produce with exotic warming spices, heartier grains and roasted or smoked meats.

Ultimately the season brings on the desire for richer, more intensely flavored meals.

Think aged cheeses, maple caramelized fruits and toasted pumpkin seeds on your salads. How about seasonal change to Middle Eastern or Indian spiced soup as an appetizer?

With the colder weather brings the desire for warmth in our bones satisfied by comfort foods and heartier dishes. This gives you an opportunity to indulge in local meats, using the less expensive cuts to create delicious pot pies, beouf bourgignon and osso bucco style entrees.

The comfort can continue through dessert if you decide to have a selection of local fruit pies or Vermont-made ice cream with fudgy brownies. How about a maple caramel coated apple pop as a sweet ending to your harvest feast?

A fall wedding does not have to be a pumpkin orange affair!

A good caterer knows that food is a major part of the décor and will be able to create a feast that compliments your chosen theme and colors. The chef can modify spices or subtle elements of your menu to suit your taste and to fulfill your desires.

To compliment the vibrant foliage shades, autumn presents a great opportunity to incorporate other seasonal colors and flavors into your wedding feast. Aubergines, plums, grapes & cranberries, abundant shades of apple and the glorious yellows and golds of corn and other natural grains and greens can all grace your table.

We all know that food is first eaten with the eyes, so the presentation must do justice to the food.

Details will be determined by special dietary needs of your guests as well as time of day of reception and formality of the affair, but remember that this is your special day! Find a caterer who is willing to listen to your views and share your vision.

When you meet your caterer for a tasting, ask them to set up the food as you will see it on your wedding day, albeit without unavailable seasonal items & decorations so you can discuss the presentation. As you put forth your wishes, these can be appropriately accommodated. This will allow your caterer to be both efficient and passionate about the food that he or she is preparing and serving.

Don’t settle for the same old cliched menu. You are getting married in Vermont where there is so much to offer! We are proud to show off our talents and share our bounty, so enjoy!

Susanna Keefer is chef and owner of Susanna’s Catering, providing fabulous food and unparalleled  service to off-site events of any size throughout Vermont.

Vermont Bride Magazine - Vermont's Most Trusted Wedding Resource Since 1990

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