It's eleven o'clock, you've been dancing for a couple hours, drinking exhorbitant amounts of alcohol, and suddenly, it hits! The hunger pangs, the want to munch on something sweet or salty.
It doesn't matter if it was a 4-5 course dinner - the late night station prevails as one of the most sought after add-ons for events. Most venues now offer it as part of their packages, but the need to be unique is also pretty evident, especially in a trend setting industry such as ours.
So here are our top picks for unique late night station ideas that will both please your guests' palette, and give them a little wow factor.
1. Hand Carved Smoked Meat Sliders - move over, burgers! A great play on the usual beef slider is the smoked meat slider, carved in front of your eyes, and tips a hat to the Montreal smoked meat sandwiches only found in it's namesake city. Top with dijon mustard and sauerkraut and you got yourself a definite crowd pleaser.
2. Nitrogen Ice Cream or Popcorn - a little bit more daring and original, the nitrogen ice cream or popcorn stations gives the guests a little bit of eye candy (pardon the pun) while being delicious and interactive. Perfect for the nerdier couple that enjoys a little bit of Discovery Channel on a rainy day.
3. Gourmet Grilled Cheese - this isn't just Wonderbread and a slice of Velveeta. Ask your venue to build a stellar, one-of-a-kind grilled cheese station that offers multiple selections of cheese, like harvarti, swiss and old aged cheddar, and a variety of different breads - pumpernickel, rye, and sourdough are our favourites - to make this more than just a simple sandwich.
4. Hot Chocolate - let's face it - we know that Mother Nature has been a little fickle in our area and we may very well have a winter snow storm in March. To make up for it, treat your guests to a gourmet hot chocolate station, with freshly steamed milk, real cocoa, and a bunch of different toppings from whipped cream to maraschino cherries to finish it off. Maybe even add a shot of creme de cacao for a sophisticated touch.
5. Sno Cones - on the flip side, if you're doing your wedding on a hot summer day, guests would really appreciate something cool and refreshing like a sno cone - especially if they have been breaking a sweat from all the dancing! Customize it with your wedding colours to make it truly your own.
6. "Spiked" Coffee - if you are a coffee lover like I am, then you would appreciate this! Fill large dispensers of coffee (make one of them iced!) and then offer a bunch of syrups on the side with pumps so that your guests can mix and match flavours. And for an added touch, put a couple pumps in some of your favourite liqueurs - Kahlua and Bailey's Irish Cream are the best! Don't forget the cream, milk and sugar, for more traditional guests.
TIme to go have lunch! I'm hungry!
Enjoy and happy planning,
Kimberly