Creative Event Catering: A “Vintage” Wedding with Cheeseburger Bar and Miniature Pies

One of the most unique wedding presentations Grandma Joyce has catered this spring is this very fun, “Vintage Wedding,” complete with a mini hamburger bar, homemade root beer, sweet potato fries, and single-serving miniature pies.

This bride chose a “vintage” wedding theme. Decor included dozens of decorative vintage glass bottles, burlap, and delicate floral bouquets that included lavender roses, purple delphinium, and white hydrangeas.

With Frank Sinatra tunes playing in the background, the vintage theme for this wedding included a cheeseburger bar with old-fashioned root beer. Guests were greeted by the aroma of burgers on the grill which were served hot on mini “dollar-roll” hamburger buns. Joyce chose burger baskets, similar to what you would find at your favorite old-fashioned drive-in burger joint, and lined each with parchment waxed paper. To top each mini hamburger, guests had a choice of an assortment of gourmet toppings and condiments, including:

• Dill Pickles
• Bread and Butter Pickles
• Spicy Pickles
• Fresh Onion
• Bacon Strips
• Avocado
• Sauteed Mushrooms
• Tomatoes
• Lettuce
• An Assortment of Cheeses
• Ketchup, Mustard, BBQ Sauce, and Steak Sauce

No hamburger bar would be complete without fresh, hot fries. We opted for sweet potato fries, and to make it easy for guests to pick up a single serving, we shaped paper cones out of beverage-size napkins lined with parchment. We re-purposed some old candelabra light holders that had served as centerpieces for another wedding and turned them into fry holders.

Burlap runners with old-fashioned roses in vintage canning jars completed the table decor. There’s nothing quite as beautiful as a spring wedding at sunset. After the sun goes down, cafe lights and miniature white Christmas lights in the trees lend an ambiance that creates instant romance–especially if there’s a little bit of Frank Sinatra playing over the sound system in the starlight.

One of the last-minute additions was to talk the bride into letting us serve homemade root beer as part of the festivities. If you’ve never tried this delicious summer treat, it’s time to amaze your friends and family. You’ll need an insulated beverage cooler that will hold 5 gallons of liquid. Watching the root beer “brew” is part of the fun, and it’s a great idea for family reunions, and other outdoor parties.

Vintage-style beverage dispensers held root beer, old-fashioned lemonade, and ice cold water.

Joyce’s milk-bottle-shaped beverage glasses are a hit with old and young alike, especially with a decorative paper straw for sipping.

For guests that preferred something lighter, old-fashioned fresh-squeezed lemonade, or ice water was available. With a lavender paper straw, this lemonade looks almost too pretty to drink.

This was the first time Grandma Joyce has ever attempted miniature pies for a wedding buffet. She baked over 250 for this event, and served seven different flavors, including a strawberry cream cheese, coconut cream, and chocolate.

Of course, the biggest problem with this idea was keeping up with demand. Joyce prides herself on keeping the buffet looking full at all times, but there was just no way to keep the pie display full. Guests ate them as fast as we could carry them to the buffet tables. Miniature 3-inch pie tins added to the charm.

While we tried to identify different flavors with miniature signs to let guests know which varieties of pies they had to choose from, Joyce has found that you can always add a “hint” as part of the presentation. A slice of banana on top helps distinguish the banana cream from the lemon meringue and coconut cream pies.