It's all about the FOOD! Beach Wedding Menu Ideas

Whenever we're invited to a wedding, our second question, the one we spend many long moments divining, is ALWAYS what will be the eats? Will it be a cocktail reception? Full six course feast? Appetizers...brunch...? Eyes glazing as we fantasize about the menu, we try and match the personalities of the about-to-be-nupped couple with dishes we adore. We are very big on food and drink, it excites us and can make or break our day. We love hot dogs as much as iced oysters, Johnny Walker Red as much as Dom Perignon Rose. Refined tastes and decorum be d____d, we eat with our fingers as much as we do with a fork - perhaps more so!

For our beach wedding, we planned our menu based on typical beach fare, both elegant and finger-style, with a few touches of Greece (my Daddy was from the island of Ithaca in the Ionian Sea). When choosing your menu, make sure it fits your personalities and tastes. There's really no such thing as tradition these days when it comes to food for your beach style wedding. Eating is a completely emotional and intimate part of life. Food nourishes and comforts, excites and relaxes. When you include food as part of your wedding day events, to be shared by family and friends, it can be thought of as breaking bread in ceremony as a symbol of shared life, unity and solidarity. Because of the emotional attachment many of us have to food, it is often what your guests will remember most clearly, so no matter your menu, be it elegant with baccarat crystal or a 3 kegger with paper cups, be sure it's cooked to perfection and served beautifully!!!

Our Beach Wedding Menu:
To start...Cocktails on the veranda with bowls and bowls of fried clams and steamed shrimp with cocktail sauce.
Move indoors for the Introductions, First Dance and then......Dinner!
We decided to serve semi-buffet style:
New England Clam Chowder
Steamers - Little Neck Clams
Stuffed Clams - Bread Crumb stuffing
Spanikopitas - Greek Spinach Pies
Tiropitas - Greek Cheese Pies
Baby Green Salad with Julienned Veggies
Marinated Sesame Green Bean Salad
Baked Baby Red Potatoes with Rosemary
Sweet White Corn on the Cob
Barbecue Jerk Chicken - for my FIL, who doesn't eat Lobster (!!!)
Steamed 1 1/2 lb lobsters, cooked to order with drawn butter
We also had a kids area with hot dogs, hamburgers, barbecue chicken and corn. (On our invitations, we requested parents to let us know if the kids wanted lobster and most did not)

Our amazing Seashell Wedding Cake, seen above, was created by Scrumptions Pastry Shop in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. Incredible!
We also served Ice Cream and Chocolate Chip Cookies because we both absolutely can't get enough of either!

Other Beach Wedding Fare:
Raw Bar with an Oyster Assortment and Clams with Iced Lobster and Shrimp
Alaskan King Crab Legs
Steamed mussels
Any Jumbo Shrimp dish
Lobster Rolls
Seafood Spring Rolls
Beautiful Filets of Fish with a delicate sauce
Bouillabaisse
Seafood Gumbo
Potato Salad
Marinated Cucumber Rounds
Soft Shell Crab
Mushrooms Stuffed with Crabmeat

If you have a favorite food or an ethnic dish you would like to include, do it! You'll be so glad you did, you will proudly remember later honoring your culture or nationality, and your guests will be thrilled to try something new (well, usually!)

Keep having FUN!

Visit SheaShells SeaShells for beautiful, custom Beach Wedding Decor!