Semi-Formal Wedding With BBQ?

daniem87

SO! We are having a November wedding and my father is cooking all of the food. So far the only thing we have is smoked pork bbq which can go one of two ways, pulled pork bbq or sliced. Now the sauce isn't an issue with everything its more the concern if we can figure out a bbq type menu plan (because of course its more budget friendly) while still keeping the event semi formal. I know people keep saying it can be done but what kinds of sides, entrees, and apps should we serve? I want it to still be classy but maybe with a bbq meal type feel. Any suggestions. Mind you we are looking for items that can be cooked ahead of time and reheated easily. any help with this would be greatly appreciated!

THANKS IN ADVANCE!

Temmith

Shrimp Cocktail (comes in large trays, have arranged in glasses beforehand)
Smoked Pork BBQ
Kabobs (Lamb or otherwise)
Grilled Rosemary Chicken
Cheesy Raviloi with a Marinara Dipping Sauce (Vegetarian option)
Roasted Vegetable Skewers
Roased Red Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Corn on the Cob
Jalepeno Macaroni and Cheese
Fresh Fruits Display
Breads Display W/Whipped Garlic Butter or a Honey Butter

There's a lot of classic BBQ foods you can dress up with the right spices and the like.

NOLAbridealmost

Macaroni and Cheese Bar (bake a huge thing of basic mac and cheese and allow guests to top their portion with bacon, jalapeno, chives, etc; go nuts!)  Should be easy enough to bake before the reception. For variety, you could also give guests the option of topping mashed potatoes. It's not a BBQ food strictly speaking, but it ought to be a crowd pleaser, it's easy to make, easy to reheat, and inexpensive.  

Fancy cole slaw; more vinegar based that mayo based. Include some shreds of apples, golden raisins, almonds for crunch.  Sweet and tangy; excellent to cut through the richness of the macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes. Requires no heating! Yay! 

You could throw in a green salad to counteract all the heavy BBQ foods. You can keep it in line with the BBQ theme by topping the salad with smoky bacon, pickled red onion, tomato and make a zippy BBQ-Ranch dressing.  Again, no heating! 

Oh! And onion rings! Nothing quite compliments the flavors of BBQ pulled pork like fried onion!

FaithCaitlin

I love all of NOLA's ideas!!

A gourmet mac and cheese bar would be great. I think you can "dress up" all of the normal BBQ sides-- grilled corn on the cob, mac and cheese bar, fancy cole slaw, gourmet mashed potatoes, etc.

Good luck! 

ShakeUpTampa

We are still toying with the menu, FI's older brother is cooking it all. We are responsible for 2 things on main meal table by choice and the salad bar by choice.

Pulled pork
Pulled chicken
Bushs baked beans (only brand I like haha)
Potato salad (people begged for my grandmother to make it and I recruited potato peelers for her)
Vegetarian pasta salad (I'm making)
LOTS of bread options
Full on salad bar and toppings
Hot dogs *for kids or adults who aren't into bbq for some reason*

Up for discussion is: corn, green beans, macaroni of some sort, burger sliders, other veggies, and a hot baked potato bar...the options are endless and we have time but we are not finalizing the menu until we have the headcount so we know how many serving dishes we need as well.

doeie04

We are DIYing our food too. This is what we will be having, i think.

Grilled tri-tips.
Grilled chicken breasts, cut into strips before cooking.

Garlic mashed potatoes.*
Baked beans*, homemade or purchased, not sure yet. I have to calculate costs.
Green salad w/ dressings.
Veggie tray.
Rolls.
Cheese tray. ?
Cookies. ?

*These will be kept warm in a bunch of those 18 quart roasting pans, set on the lowest setting.

We were going to do potato salad and macaroni salad, but it was stressing me out. Trying to keep it all really cold so no one got sick, and the price two more things in bowls that needed bowls of ice under them was more than I wanted to spend. Plus the labor that goes into it. I nixed that idea!