Are Menu Cards Necessary At A wedding?
Here are some of the most common reasons why couples skip ordering wedding menus (according to the wedding forums):
I won’t be using them. Guests are making their meal selection when they RSVP.
I think the guests can wait a few extra minutes to see what will be served.
I put our entire menu on our website.
My frustration lies partly due to the fact that I am a chef, so I will advocate here for my fellow culinarians. I worked in the culinary industry as a chef for over seven years with an associate degree in the field. We’re passionate about food, descriptive about food, we create food. We want to share with the world (and hope you would, too) what is being served for the night. I will say that a printed menu is absolutely everything in any social setting involving a group of ten or more guests.
Hopefully, this gives you some insight. If you are trying to determine if you need a menu card, I would say heck yes! The truth is that a menu can be helpful in so many ways. Below are a few of my favorite reasons why you should have them printed and displayed proudly and prominently at your wedding.
Photo Credit: LeanneMarie Photography
Wedding Stationery: RBW Stationery and Events
ADD DIMENSION TO YOUR DESIGN
Beautifully designed menu cards add to the look and the dimension of your tablescape. They usually include your names and wedding date in addition to menu details. Remember that monogram your stationer created for you? This is one place where you can put it to good use.
KEEPSAKE
Another beautiful piece to document! You can store it as a keepsake or have your photographer take a few shots to keep the memory alive.
INFORM GUESTS
Menus are helpful for guests with allergies and just as a courtesy. Yes, they decided on their meal choice on your RSVP card; therefore, they know what it is they are eating already. But most likely the only thing that your guest knows is the protein (chicken, fish, beef) – and that is literally it. How about the starter? Was that displayed on your RSVP card? the cilantro-lime lettuce wraps? How about the salad? The “green salad filled with spinach, arugula, cucumbers, and tomato/ with a lemon drizzle?” What about dessert and late-night snacks?
This is also where you can get creative with the way you want to describe your menu or include some tidbits to accommodate special menu options.
Studies show that more and more soon-to-be-weds are leaning toward making their wedding menus inclusive (one of 2023’s wedding trends), with 35% of those surveyed saying they included gluten-free or vegan options.
Are there multiple desserts or a cookie table made by the family? Now’s the time to give them props! Have signature drinks? Add them to the printed menu.
YOUR GUESTS MAY STICK AROUND
Communication is key. As a wedding planner, I’ve seen many guests stick around long after the cake was cut because the wedding menu surprised them with the details about the late-night ultimate beef and cheddar slider bar or Phil’s taco truck outside the side entrance doors.
You may not need individual menus if you’re having a buffet-style meal, for example — in that case, consider placing cards to describe each dish on the buffet line. Alternatively, place a single beautifully designed menu on an easel in a hard-to-miss location. Family-style meals may just need one or two menus per table.
YOUR CATERING MENU DESERVES IT.
Why not provide your guests with the beautiful details of the wedding menu that has most likely taken quite a bit of time and money for you to plan out? According to The Knot, the average wedding catering cost was $9,170 (or, on average, $70 per head). However, many couples deem food (and professional catering) a worthy expense. 56% of couples listed food and beverage as the most important priority while wedding planning. Keep in mind that this number, however, is a national average. The amount couples spend on their wedding day food varies widely across the country.
The takeaway here is you can make your own decision about deciding whether or not to include details of your wedding menu. But my hope is for you to take this into consideration if your catering bill is in the thousands. I wouldn’t sweat the slight additional cost of having beautiful stationery or signage printed to showcase what you have worked so hard to choose and what the chef is proudly making. Your guests will thank you – and most importantly, feel appreciated.
about the author
Ruby Brewer-Watkins is a Certified Wedding Planner, Chef, and Hospitality Professional specializing in full-service wedding stationery and etiquette. Her guest list planning and creative process created efficiency within her client projects, which allowed her to effectively collaborate, design, and create beautiful wedding invitations and “day of” stationery for countless couples since 2015.
Hi, I’m Ruby, your creative wedding professional. FINALLY, you made it! You can catch a glimpse into a few things I love, specifically how I passionately create wedding invitations and details for the “day of” for couples. I hope that that my blog posts and articles contained within this beautiful space truly inspire you. I offer unfiltered advice and space to give yourself permission to be creative and explore options, and ideas that are available to you to celebrate life's greatest moments.
