She calls herself a boutique caterer—“like that dress in a little shop that no one else will be wearing at the party; that’s what we try to do with food,” explains Kelly Spencer, owner of The Social Affair. Her “imagination stations” range from Chinese barbecue pork biscuits to top-your-own deviled egg bars. “The client thinks it up,” she says. “We bring it to life.”
Are wedding receptions becoming simpler or more elaborate? Both. The trend is shifting from sit-down dinners to cocktail-style receptions. Today’s couples just want a big party, a memorable and interactive experience, which is not necessarily cheaper, but the host gets more for their dollar.
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Are wedding traditions changing? Some are definitely taking place earlier—often, the cake ceremony and dancing start immediately, not after dinner.
How popular are food stations? Hotter than ever, and they’re not going anywhere. We do a s’mores station, where guests toast their own marshmallows over a converted chicken trough, then add unusual toppings, like butterscotch caramel sauce and candied bacon. Recently we did a table with hanging house-made pretzels along with different sauces, mustards, salts, and charcuterie.
What’s the most important question that a couple can ask a caterer? Whether they create custom menus. We do a lot of taco bars, for example, and one couple loved Korean food, so we created a Korean-themed taco bar.
What are the most important questions you ask a couple? What do they like to eat in general? What’s their favorite restaurant? When they go there, what do they eat? What do they eat on special occasions? Then we design and create the menu specifically for that night.
What’s the most important question no one asks? What a couple doesn’t like. We use a lot of mushrooms, for example; if someone doesn’t like them, we need to know that. A lot of building block items—like onions and some peppers—can end up being stumbling blocks.
Have wedding cakes become less popular? They’re no less popular, but they are smaller. The five-tier wedding cake is on its way out; the 6-inch “cake-cutting cake” is in—it’s just big enough for the bride and groom to cut, feed to each other, and save a piece.
What’s been your most unusual food request? A Filipino gentleman recently requested a halo-halo dessert station. Halo-halo is a layered dessert containing evaporated milk, shaved ice, sweetened beans, plantains, and different fruits. I’m sure we could have done it but had a hard time thinking it through and whether the guests would have gotten on board. We did a Ted Drewes bar instead, using different Filipino flavors—like avocado and mango—combined with several of the halo-halo toppings.
Any odd thematic requests? They’re all different, all directed by our clients. We get ideas, on colors at least, from people’s Pinterest boards. We were recently asked to incorporate one woman’s tchotchkes collection—and she had hundreds. We intermingled them with flowers and candles, and it turned out to be one of the most beautiful receptions we’ve done. It fit the couple, the food they chose, the tables, the space. It was just perfect. But when I first saw that collection, I went, “Whoa.”
What are the hottest wedding trends? Nontraditional entrance music, custom vows, colored wedding dresses… I’ve seen whiskey-tasting stations, mini-doughnut bars, a table where cigars are rolled to order. But across the board, it’s pre-ceremony cocktails, inspired by the couple, because they’re unexpected. Maybe the hottest trend is the unexpected. Couples want their reception to live on, for months and years to come.
What’s the hottest trend that’s yet to hit St. Louis? Friday weddings, so people can hang out with friends and family for the rest of the weekend.
