Food stations aren’t just relegated to large weddings. They’re perfect for small weddings too.

Food stations are fun for your wedding guests because they allow guests to sample foods that they otherwise might never have tasted, and they get everyone mixing and mingling.

Although you might not have as many food stations as a large wedding, a smaller guest list will allow you to splurge on foods that might otherwise be out of your budget.

Love seafood? Have a seafood station. Love prime rib? Go for a carving station.

You can also create stations that reflect your ethnicity or your locale.

Here are 18 ideas for food stations that will tantalize your taste buds:

Asian Station

 Rice and noodle dishes, along with spring rolls, pan fried dumplings, and Thai dishes like satay chicken or pad Thai. A dim sum station is another option.

 Mexican Station

Fajitas, quesadillas, tacos and nachos with lots of yummy toppings.

 Pasta Bar

A variety of gourmet pastas. Offer a cold pasta bar, a warm pasta bar or both.

 Crepe Station

Dessert crepes like crepes suzette, cherry crepes with whipped cream, or hazelnut and chocolate crepes. You could also serve dinner style crepes such as chicken paprikash crepes, seafood crepes and grilled veggie crepes.

 Salad and Veggie Bar

Greek salad, Caesar salad, bean salad – the options are endless. You could also include grilled veggies.

 Cheese Station

A selection of domestic and international cheeses from gourmet cheese makers. Pair with a variety of wines, both red and white.

 Perogie Station

Offer a variety of perogies stuffed with mashed potatoes, potato and cheddar, or feta. Offer toppings such as bacon bits, sour cream and chives.

 Mediterranean Station

Hummus, tabouli, souvlaki, pitas and grilled veggies.

 Potato Station

Baked potatoes with buffet style toppings like bacon, sour cream, chives, chili, cheese, and guacamole. You could also have a mashed potato station with toppings such as sour cream and chives, bacon, cheddar cheese, mushroom or seafood sauce. Serve in martini glasses.

 Mac and Cheese Station

We’re not talking Kraft Dinner here. Have a chef cook up some gourmet mac and cheese and offer a variety of toppings to make it even more decadent.

 Children’s Food Station

Having more than a handful of kids at your wedding? Have a kid’s station with kids’ foods such as mini pizzas, French fries, veggies and dip, and chicken fingers.

 Soup Bar

Perfect for fall and winter weddings. Offer a variety of homemade soups, like seafood chowder, minestrone, lobster bisque, butternut squash soup, chicken gumbo, or asparagus soup. What about gazpacho, vichyssoise or borsht?

 Raw Seafood Bar

Oysters, sushi rolls, shrimp cocktail, crab salad, smoked salmon.

 Fish and Seafood Bar

Lobster, crab legs, scallops, salmon.

 Carving Station

Roast tenderloin of beef, prime rib, ham or rack of lamb. Turkey is a great option for fall and winter weddings.

 Dessert Station

You could have a lot of fun with this. Offer a wide variety of home made desserts or stick with a theme like chocolate.

 Ice Cream or Gelato Station

A variety of gourmet ice creams or gelato with lots of delicious toppings to choose from so guests can create their own sundaes.

 Espresso Bar

Espresso, gourmet coffees and teas – and don’t forget the hot chocolate for the kids. Have cinnamon, whipped cream, nutmeg, cane sugar and cream on hand.

Photo: Encore Food with Elegance, Toronto

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.