DARING TO GO DIY?

Take note of wedding planner Emma Newman’s top tips:

Keep cocktail hour simple by serving large platters of local cheeses, gourmet crackers and other morsels.

Serve the main meal family style, kicking off with plattered breads and oils. For the main menu, serve up two different proteins (meat or fish, for instance) and two veggies – consider a green or roasted medley, or a fresh salad.

Serve a dessert that can be made well in advance – maybe brownies, or petit fours with berries and cream.

Want to keep it really simple? Go with food stations – maybe a barbecue, or a noodle bar complete with cardboard noodle boxes, allowing guests to make their own sliders. Keep well away from ice cream! Enlist the help of family and friends. Be sure to have lots of meetings so everyone is on the same page, and keep a communal spreadsheet going of who is doing what.