What Is a Wedding Menu Tasting and Why It Matters

A wedding tasting is so much more than a food preview. It’s a conversation. It’s a moment to step into your vision and experience it in a tangible way. At Susan’s Kitchen, the tasting process is designed to feel like an extension of your celebration. You’ll sit down, take a breath, and enjoy what your guests will one day experience—flavors that reflect your style, your season, and your values.

Couples often come in with excitement but also a little uncertainty. What if our guests have food restrictions? What if we don’t want something traditional? What if we want the food to feel like a reflection of who we are? These are exactly the kinds of questions that make tastings so meaningful. They’re a space to explore. You get to taste the energy you want your wedding to hold.

If you haven’t yet seen our broader approach to full-service wedding catering, you can take a look at how we work with couples from start to finish on our wedding catering services page.

What to Expect During Your Tasting Experience

When you arrive for a tasting with Susan, it’s calm, focused, and personal. There’s no pressure, no overwhelming list of options to navigate. Instead, you’ll enjoy a curated selection of dishes designed around your initial consultation. These tastings are based on the season, your dietary preferences, and the kind of event you’re hosting. You’ll try several small portions across categories—think starters, mains, sauces, garnishes, and even drink pairings when requested.

You’ll also have the chance to give feedback in real time. Love the texture of a cashew cream but want a bolder flavor profile? Prefer the summer menu direction over the fall one? That’s all part of the experience. Tastings aren’t about impressing you with finished ideas. They’re about building something together, making sure it feels aligned with your event’s mood, timing, and guest expectations.

How We Personalize Your Menu Through Consultation

Before the tasting, we begin with a one-on-one consultation. This isn’t a formal checklist or a push toward a package—it’s a real conversation about what matters to you. Some couples want a menu that reflects their cultural roots. Others want something light and wellness-centered to keep guests feeling energized. Some just want beautiful food made from clean ingredients that taste like the season.

We talk about the venue, the timeline, the flow of the day, and how food fits into it all. Will your guests be seated or mingling? Will you have dancing between courses or one long seated dinner? These small details shape what we recommend and how we build your menu. Whether it’s passed appetizers, small-plate service, or a full grazing board, every piece of the puzzle fits better when we design it together.

Supporting Vegan, Gluten-Free & Wellness-Based Menus

A big part of what makes tastings so impactful is their ability to reflect your guest list—not just your preferences. Susan’s experience with wellness-forward catering means that gluten-free, vegan, dairy-free, or anti-inflammatory dishes are never treated like side notes. If anything, they’re centerpieces. And during a tasting, you’ll experience how those dishes hold their own in beauty, texture, and flavor.

Many couples are surprised at how seamless inclusive menus can feel when they’re built from the start with everyone in mind. No need to make multiple versions of the same meal or worry that someone will be left out. Whether it’s a vegan grain bowl with seasonal vegetables and tahini dressing or a gluten-free almond cake with rosewater cream, tastings give you the chance to see how fully this style of catering works across a whole wedding day. To dive deeper into how we support dietary needs with intention, visit our page on vegan and gluten-free wedding catering options.

Budgeting for Tastings and Wedding Menu Planning

We understand that wedding planning comes with dozens of decisions—and a budget behind every one. That’s why Susan makes the tasting and consultation process as transparent as possible. Tastings are offered at a flat fee, and that cost often goes toward your final catering balance should you move forward with a booking. During your consultation, we’ll talk honestly about where your priorities are and how we can balance ambition with budget in a way that still feels elevated and complete.

You’ll also get a clear look at how things like seasonality, ingredient sourcing, and guest count affect your final menu cost. Instead of guessing, you’ll leave the tasting with clarity—and excitement—about how your menu is shaping up. If you’d like to see how tastings fit into your overall catering budget, check out our full breakdown in how to budget for wedding catering.

Making the Final Decision: What Comes After Your Tasting

Once your tasting is complete and you’ve had time to reflect, the next step is refining and confirming your choices. You’ll finalize the menu layout, confirm the number of courses, and review any last details around dietary accommodations or service flow. If adjustments need to be made—adding a new course, rethinking presentation style, or fine-tuning ingredients—we’ll handle those together.

The end result is a wedding menu that not only meets your expectations but exceeds what you imagined was possible with health-focused, inclusive food. You’ll head into your big day knowing that every dish has been tested, tasted, and approved with intention.

Let’s Bring Your Wedding Menu to Life

Planning your wedding should feel joyful—not overwhelming. And the food you serve should feel like an extension of the love and care you’re pouring into the rest of your day. At Susan’s Kitchen, our tastings and consultations are about more than just logistics. They’re about creating space to slow down, taste what matters, and build something beautiful and aligned with who you are. If you’re ready to start your menu journey, we’d love to meet you.