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Bring on the grease: Guests at Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky's wedding got a 2 a.m. snack of grilled cheese sandwiches, brownies and popcorn for their rides home this past weekend.
Beyond Chelsea's bash, the lowbrow grilled cheese is reigning supreme as late-night snack of choice at weddings this summer.
"It's greasy, filling and it's got the bread. It sucks up the alcohol," says Whitney Pizale, a wedding planner with Bliss in Toronto.
Salty, cheesy comfort food is just what the doctor ordered for guests preparing to stare down their hangovers, says Ms. Pizale. The grilled cheese has usurped the slider, a late-night favourite last summer, along with individual servings of French fries.
"Pretty much everybody does late-night stations now," says Ms. Pizale, particularly if the crowd likes to drink.
Nostalgia factors in big for bleary-eyed revellers: The gooey grilled cheese is a childhood staple. So are milk and cookies and pie, other rising late-night favourites, says Catherine Lash, creative director of The Wedding Co.
Ms. Pizale will be doing a cereal station featuring sugary varieties like Captain Crunch and Cocoa Puffs at a September wedding.
Retro, carnivalesque themes also feature big this summer - think old-style hot dog carts, candy floss and doughnut stations and poutine, albeit the gourmet variety.
The trashy goods replace the more austere offerings of fruit and mini-pastries at late-night receptions of yore. "It just doesn't really do it," says Ms. Pizale.
Ultimately, the down-home snacks serve as "a reflection of you as a couple," says Ms. Lash. "What do you go home and eat late at night?"
Zosia Bielski