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Local Flavor Of Love How to make sure only your guests – not the food – travel to your wedding  Image courtesy Phil Beard If 2001 was the year of the destination wedding, 2007 is the year of the locally grown menu. “It’s become a huge trend,” says Cori Russell, editorial director for elegale.com, a national wedding planning resource. “Having a locally grown menu is becoming easy to pull off and more couples are doing it.” So if you are thinking about joining this burgeoning movement, Russell gives her tips for how to put “local” in “local menu.” Find out what the options are with your caterer Russell, also editor of Gala Weddings magazine, advises couples to talk to their caterer about incorporating more locally grown food into the menu. “Most caters are open to working with local suppliers,” she says. However, if you decide to go with a caterer who specifically specializes in locally grown produce, Russell suggests using the Internet as a resource. “Greenhotels.com has a list of member hotels that have expressed an eagerness to institute a green program, whether it’s an organic or locally grown cuisine,” she says. Be a liaison If your caterer is living under a rock and hasn’t gotten hip to locally grown, Russell says that couples can act as a liaison. “Find out about your opportunities to buy local produce by visiting the local food directories Web site (http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/localfood_dir.php), a national resource that can tell you where and how to buy locally, and then facilitate the purchasing of the food from the suppliers,” she says. Anticipate a price increase Russell warns couples that locally grown can add a cost, but says that avoiding the word “organic” can keep the tab down. “Organic always means an automatic price hike,” she says, “so I would try to be flexible and stick to words like ‘local’ and ‘in season,’ especially if you are on a tight budge.” Play to the local flavors Let your location inform the menu by using food either exclusive to or notable in your region. “New England lends itself to seafood, but if you are getting married in the middle of the country, think about corn-influenced dishes,” Russell says. Not sure how to do it? Ask the locals. Russell found a couple that will be featured on elegala.com in September that took their Bermuda wedding to the plate, too. “They consulted a local chef there,” she says. “Their menu had fresh Wahu, a local fish, and a Bermudian chocolate rum cake that played to local flavors.” Let your guests in on why their food tastes so good While this comes down to personal preference, it’s a nice touch to let your guest know that their dinner is made from local ingredients. “You can make it subtle, by just noting that all the ingredients are local on the menu cards, or I’ve seen couples actually mention it to everyone,” Russell says. Hannah Seligson is a writer based in New York and the author of “New Girl on the Job: Advice from the Trenches” (Citadel Press, 2007). |
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