With everything that you need to get planned and prepped for your wedding day, it can be really easy to backburner the small details such as your reception glasses and dinnerware. After all, they are just going to be drank out of and eaten off of this one time; so what could possibly be the big deal? Though there are things at your wedding reception that are far more important to you and your guest’s experience, having attractive glasses and dinnerware that match your theme can really tie the whole room together. Fortunately, deciding on what style fits your theme the best isn’t all that difficult, so we made a list of some helpful tips to make the process easy.
Let the Menu Decide
One of the easiest ways to go about choosing your reception glasses and dinnerware is to let the food itself lead the way. For instance, if you’re having fondue, then having the proper utensils for fondue is a crucial part of your dinnerware plans. If you are serving steak or prime rib, a steak knife will do a much better job of cutting than a butter knife. Though your catering company will often know exactly what utensils to include with your dinnerware, it’s always good to plan ahead and make sure everything is in order to avoid any last minute hang-ups.
This rule also works well with your glassware. You will likely be serving water with dinner since this is pretty standard, so you’ll obviously need some nice water glasses. However, if you are serving champagne or wine with dinner, you’ll need to have wine glasses and champagne flutes on hand as well. If you are having a bar at your wedding reception, and most couples do, the bar should be able to provide appropriate glasses for everything from cocktails to draft beers.
Preparing Your Own Food
Though the task isn’t for everyone, many couples choose to prepare the food themselves to save money or showcase a talent. If the bride or groom happens to be a chef, it may seem appropriate for them to contribute their culinary skills as part of the celebration. However, this means you’ll need to rent glassware and dinnerware for everyone who will be coming, so it takes a little more planning than when you have a caterer doing all the work.
To be on the safe side of things, it’s always a good idea to plan for more people than are actually on your guest list. For instance, if you are expecting 200 guests, make sure you have enough glasses, plates, and utensils for 230 guests. That way, if some unexpected guests show up or there is an accident where a few dishes are broken, you can rest assured that there are plenty of dishes for your reception. Also, it is a really good idea to bring a few packages of paper plates, plastic cups, and plastic utensils along just in case. You can always break them out of the package if their needed, or you’ll end up using them eventually anyways. Hopefully you won’t need them, but it’s better to be prepared than to regret not having them on hand in a pinch.
