Winter Hors D' Oeuvre Ideas

Rebekah0Lynn

My wedding is set for Dec of 2012.  We are thinking of having an evening reception and in an effort to save money, we were planning on serving drinks and hors d' oeuvres.  Does anyone have any winter themed ideas? 

Sue-n-Kevin

Congrats on your engagement!

I'm assuming you have not done any pricing yet. Hors d' oeuvres or appetizers often cost more to serve the same number of guests than a buffet. Appetizers are labor intensive (someone has to cut the meat/veggies, assemble them). Caterers pass that cost along. The exception to this is if you are having a limitted reception time (say 3-4 hrs) and they are only served for a brief period of the entire time. Your reception time should also be at a time guests do not expect a full meal, id 1-4 pm, or 9 pm to midnight. Otherwise, the 10-12 appetizers per person can cost as much as a buffet.

There really aren't any apps that are "winter-themed" unless you use primarily winter veggies. An idea would be to serve winter type foods like a soup and chili bar.

Most caterers have menus. My recommendation would be to go to your local board (see "Local Wedding Boards" to the left) and check into reception venues in that area that are less expensive than others. On the Knot, local boards are awesome and help all the brides in that area get ideas for multiple vendors.

Good luck and welcome.

Magdala9

One wedding where I was a guest did soup shots of pureed soups.  Gingered carrots,  maple apple-butternut squash and french onion.   The soups were pureed so they could be shot and were served in shot glasses.

NOLAbridealmost

I think the key with winter foods is to go with things that are warm and perhaps a bit rich. I love the idea of soup shooters (or even a soup station), mini beef wellingtons, baked brie with fruit compote....stuff like that.  That just seems more wintery than shrimp cocktail, bruschetta, etc. 

juma1111

Ditto PP. I think the soups and warm things remind me of winter. I would also consider something along the lines of hot chocolate, in the dessert area or drink specialty area. I know in our house we only ever bust out the hot cocoa when it is winter.