The wedding that isn't trying to be formal
Barbecue belongs to the wedding held on a ranch, in a backyard, under a tent in somebody's field — the one where the couple decided early that they wanted their families fed properly rather than impressed. It is the least ceremonious food we do and that is precisely its appeal.
It also feeds a large family without looking like a compromise, which is the quiet problem at a lot of weddings. A whole smoked beef brisket sliced at a carving station reads as generous in a way a portioned plate never does, and the per-head cost sits well below plated service because the format does not need a server to every table.
All beef, lamb and chicken, zabiha-sourced throughout — pulled beef rather than pulled pork, halal beef sausage rather than the usual. On a wedding guest list, which is the most mixed room most people will ever host, that means one table everybody eats from.
- Smoked beef brisket, carved at the station — the centrepiece
- Smoked beef short ribs and brisket burnt ends for the heart of the spread
- BBQ chicken, charcoal beef and halal beef sausage to carry the count
- Cornbread, smoky baked beans, coleslaw and fries
Where the smoke goes decides the venue
This is the one wedding menu with a hard site constraint. A pit needs fuel, clearance, floor space and somewhere for the smoke to drift that is not the ceremony or the neighbours, and a great many wedding venues simply will not permit it.
Ask before you fall in love with the idea. Where a pit is not possible the same food arrives in trays and warmers and is still excellent — what you lose is the theatre of the carve, not the brisket. Where it is possible, the station attendant is added to the service crew rather than replacing part of it, which is the most common surprise on a barbecue wedding quote.
Timing it around the speeches
Barbecue is heavy and weddings run late. A spread served immediately before an hour of speeches leaves a room too full to enjoy either, and the food sitting in warmers for the duration.
We generally hold the main service until after the first round of speaking and keep the sides and breads circulating through it, so nobody is hungry and nobody is overwhelmed. Give us the run of the day and we will build the service around it rather than against it.
