The perfect Table Setting for Your Destination Wedding in Italy
As you might know, Italians don’t only like great, genuine food. The aesthetics of a wedding table is equally important for them. What is the best way to make your wedding table perfect and in line with your wedding concept and design? Here are some ideas and useful advice to make your tables perfect and your guests happy. Each wedding is unique and has to express your personality, so while you read, think about what resonates with your concept of the perfect destination wedding in Italy.
Choose the kind of Service
First of all, you have to choose how the food will be served. In some catering, especially internal ones, you can’t choose it, so always ask your caterer what kind of service do they provide.
An option is the so-called “French banquet service” – platters of food are assembled in the kitchen, brought by table-side, and served to guests. Another one is where the plates are already on the table and the waiter brings food to be served to the guests.
In the first case, you can have the beautiful pyramid of plates assembled on the table that is very scenographic. The plates have to be of different sizes, starting from the charger plate, used to catch pieces of food and prevent spills and messes that would otherwise stain the tablecloth or flow onto the table.
If you want to use candles, it is a good idea to have a sort of runner that will protect the tablecloth from the hot wax too. Of course, it has to reflect your wedding concept. When it comes to the table setting, every detail matters.
The Wedding Table
The wedding table can be long, round, or a U-shaped one (Italians call this one “horseshoe-shaped”). For small groups, a long table can be a great solution. For bigger weddings, many round tables are a good idea, in this way the guests can interact with everybody, and no one feels left alone in a corner.
What you have to consider is that the space required for one person at a table is 60 cm (24 inches). In this way, everyone feels comfortable and there is space for the charger plate and the cutlery.
Another important thing is the table width. It has to be at least 120 cm (50 inches) to accommodate comfortably two guests one in front of another and a centerpiece. The centerpieces must allow communication between guests facing each other.
The space between tables has to be at least 150 cm (60 inches). In this way, the guests will get up comfortably and there will be enough space for the waiters to pass.
The tablecloth should be long enough to touch the ground, it looks better live and in the wedding photos.
Plates and cutlery for your wedding
Every plate, glass, and piece of cutlery must have a function in your wedding reception. This is why they are so dependable on the menu. In Italy, for first courses (pasta, lasagna or risotto) you never use the knife. If you have a fish menu, you must have a fish knife. There must be glasses for water, the kind of wine you will be serving (red, white, rosé), and flutes for prosecco for speeches.
If the guests will be having dessert at the same table, you must have the dessert spoon or fork depending on the type of dessert, positioned above the plate. If the dessert table will be outdoors or in another location, there will be no dessert spoon on the main table. If you serve bread, there must be a special bread plate, which is not the same as the small plate we use to serve tea.
Catering professionals know all these details and fully respect the table etiquette to make your wedding table setting perfect and elegant.
The napkin should be positioned folded on the left, but the wedding design can create different ideas, like using it to put the menu on the table or add decorative elements to it.
I always recommend putting the menu on the table, it can be in a composition with the napkin individually, or in some other way that reflects your wedding concept and the rest of the stationery.
How to use cutlery properly? According to the dining etiquette, the correct use of cutlery has a trick: always use the utensils on the outside first and work your way inward.
Now you know everything about the perfect table setting for your destination wedding in Italy. For any questions or doubts, feel free to contact me, I will be happy to help you organize your wedding in Italy that will truly respect our taste and personality!