From sushi to tomatoes, these are the biggest wedding food trends of summer 2024.
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Popular wedding food trends like midnight snacks and food trucks remain, with new ones emerging.
Sushi and tomatoes are two major wedding trends this summer, according to caterer Lexi Ritsch.
Some trends, like cakes and buffets, are losing favor with couples.
As a caterer in a luxurious locale like the Hamptons, Lexi Ritsch sees a lot of wedding food trends come and go.
Business Insider spoke to Ritsch, the cofounder of Hamptons Aristocrat, a catering, events, and design company based in the Hamptons, New York, and Palm Beach, Florida, about the biggest wedding food trends you'll see everywhere this summer.
Ritsch, who says her company works over 600 events, from smaller dinner parties to full-scale weddings, in the Hamptons each summer, shared that while many wedding trends like the midnight snack and food trucks are still uber-popular, there are also new trends emerging this summer — and some that are losing favor with couples.
Here are the three biggest wedding food trends, and two that are on their way out.
Tomatoes are one of the biggest wedding food trends this year, especially for events during the late summer.Hamptons Aristocrat's tomato truck and display of dishes.
Courtesy of Hamptons Aristocrat
Ritsch told Business Insider one trend that she's seeing "everywhere" with weddings this summer is a menu or station focused entirely on tomatoes, and she's meeting her clients' desires in creative ways.
"We have this new truck called the Tomato Truck," she said. "It's a red 1941 pickup truck, and we do a beautiful grazing station for the cocktail hour on it. It's everything featuring tomatoes."
Tomatoes hit their peak season between July and September. From Nonna's pizza squares to tomato salads and stracciatella with cherry tomatoes, pickled green tomatoes, and goat cheese, Ritsch said it's been fun to devise different ways to use it.
"It's just kind of this beautiful harvest really focusing on tomatoes. And it's been funny because it's such a niche, right? The entire menu consists of things you would have at your grandma's house in Italy," she said.
"I think brides and grooms, and brides and brides, and grooms and grooms, are feeling like they can be a little more out of the box with their menus, and that's so fun to us," she continued.
Sushi and Asian-inspired food are other major wedding food trends.Sushi and other appetizers on display at a wedding.
Alexandru Chiriac/Shutterstock
Ritsch said sushi is one of the biggest trends in event catering at the moment, with more couples than ever wanting it at their weddings.
In fact, sushi is so popular that her company has dedicated an entire department to it.
"We have a sushi department, so we've been doing really fun kind of plays on sushi," Ritsch told BI, explaining that aside from gourmet sushi roll stations, Hamptons Aristocrat has been experimenting with more Asian-inspired menus more than ever before.
"We have burger bao buns, barbecue eel rolls, and spicy crab rolls," she said. "And that's been really fun for us to introduce because sushi is obviously something that I hold to a very high standard. You have to do it well; you have to do it perfectly, and it has to be amazing."
Couples are also leaning toward local and organic produce and ingredients more than ever before.Pizza and other tomato dishes on a wooden table.
Courtesy of Hamptons Aristocrat
Ritsch said that while her company has always only used organic ingredients, it's become a trend in recent years among other wedding-catering companies — now, you can expect many more weddings to offer organic produce and meat.
"Everything we do is organic or handpicked from the farm," she said, saying that she and her team were "well ahead of the curve for that."
"We've been doing that for 10 years, and I know it became 'trendy' to like organic and that kind of thing," she said. "But back 10 years ago, we would have clients say, 'Hey, can you get the cost down if I ask you to do non-organic?' And it was just a funny question. The answer was no."
"A tomato that's been on a plane, and on a plane and in a box for a week, is not going to taste as good as something plucked off the vine two hours ago," she said.
Traditional cakes are out, and unique desserts are taking their place.Donuts and other desserts on a table at a wedding.
ianmitchinson/Shutterstock
"Back in the '80s, '90s, and the early 2000s, the cake was the kit and caboodle. Everyone was getting these cakes the size of your body, spending two grand on an enormous cake," Ritsch said. "I'm finding that budgetarily, clients are kind of bailing on that."
Instead of a standard tiered wedding cake, Ritsch said that ice cream sundae bar or dessert options "that are a little more interactive and fun," such as personalized nods to the couple with their favorite dessert, family recipes, or seasonal-inspired pies, are becoming more popular.
A family-style buffet is a safe choice that's becoming less popular.Open dishes in a wedding buffet.
LElik83/Shutterstock
Ritsch said she thinks "people are starting to get away from the family-style buffet," and that more clients are coming to her looking for a restaurant-style menu and service.
"It gives our clients the confidence to do things that are a little more fancy and a little more kind of like things that they would enjoy at a five-star restaurant or a Michelin-star restaurant," she continued.
