Ever walk into an event and see an arrangement of bite sized food displays spread out across a countertop or table? Grazing tables are all the rage right now. A grazing table is basically a charcuterie board on steroids. Imagine a buffet, but one that's visually appealing and with room temperature food that a multitude of guests can graze and easily pick and choose what they’d like to nibble on.

Grazing tables are usually spread across a large and flat surface such as a table, counter, wooden board, or platter versus a charcuterie board, which is typically only served on a single tray and intended for a small number of guests.

Not only do they add a beautiful detail for your wedding (and a bonus way to add color), but it’s also a great option for your guests to fill their time and bellies during cocktail hour of wedding receptions.

Today, I’ll be sharing a round-up of wedding grazing table ideas that are appropriate for your big day.

10 Wedding Grazing Table Ideas

Charcuterie table

A charcuterie styled grazing table is a classic way to serve up appetizers on your big day no matter the time of year with this traditional food display. Just choose from a variety of cured meats and cheeses along with crackers, breads, spreads and fruits so everyone can be sure to find something they’d love. Recreate this look by arranging the food items on your table according to contrasting colors to make each item stand out.

Sweet treats

Not sure if you will have a cake at your wedding? Fill your wedding grazing table with an array of sweet treats like cupcakes, mini cakes, candy, dried fruits, cookies, and other sweet treats. A dessert table is sure to be a hit whether you have a cake or not on your big day.

And if you’re on a budget, here are 35 cost-effective dessert table ideas you can try.

Meats and cheeses

If you’re more of a meats and cheese person, you can hardly go wrong with a cheese station. Fill your grazing table with every kind of cured meat and cheese you can think of to serve up as satisfying appetizer during cocktail hour.

Along with traditional and specialty cheeses like gouda, cheddar, gorgonzola, and brie, you can even include vegan meats and cheese options if there are any guests with food sensitivities on your list.

Grazing table runner

Spring and summer weddings are the perfect time to display an outdoor grazing table spread that runs down the center of the table. Allow guests to sit at the table and pick and choose away. Choose from an endless amount of food ideas and add in floral arrangements. The sky is the limit!

Fresh fruits

Keep everyone feeling fresh and healthy by breaking away from the traditional meats and cheese options and opting instead for wedding grazing tables with fresh fruits. Make it funky with fun cut outs and pick and choose fruits with a wide variety of color and texture.

You can even add rich spreads for dipping and cheese, breads, chocolates, and crackers for an extra treat.

Sushi

If you’re having an indoor wedding and going for something more luxe, try a grazing table with a large selection of sushi and sashimi. You’ll can serve this up with chopsticks or keep it as finger food ideas. Add in your favorite dipping sauces and you’ll have a great option for the fish lovers on your big day.

When serving sushi, you’ll want to take care to adhere to food safety guidelines to prevent your guests from getting ill. For example, you’ll want to do research on how long each item should be kept out at room temperature.

Brunch buffet

If you’re having a morning wedding (or just a fan of brunch food), you can never go wrong with displaying a brunch buffet. Think fresh bagels, cream cheese (of course), smoked salmon, bacon, fruit, avocado, guacamole, sour cream, capers, chives, cheese, pepperoni, ham, chicken, tomato sauce (someone can make a pizza bagel if they want, with cheese, pepperoni, and tomato sauce), fried eggs (if you can have a chef fry eggs on the spot), peanut butter, bananas, etc. Be sure to include gluten-free options if necessary for your guests. And don’t forget about adding mimosas, red sangria, or tequila sunrises to the mix!

Finger foods

Allow your guests to pick and choose from a spread of delicious wraps, sandwiches, sliders or crostinies – perfect for a grazing table. These appetizer-sized bites are the perfect way for hungry guests to quickly and easily feel full during cocktail hour. To recreate this look, arrange each option in a pattern to make your wedding grazing table more enticing.

Pizza

Since pizza is probably one of the most versatile foods, every person at your wedding is sure to find something they’ll like with a pizza grazing table. Opt for traditional flavors and fan favorites like cheese pizza and pepperoni, and then take it a step further by providing spreads of toppings (like pineapple, anchovies, olives, etc.) your guests can add to customize their own pizza bites.

Seafood

Having a wedding near the coast or beach? Or maybe just a fan of seafood itself? Consider a seafood grazing table for your wedding receptions. Think shrimp cocktail, oysters, smoked salmon, and bites of crab cake. Be sure your caterers are experienced in serving raw seafood as you don’t want to make any of your guests sick.

If you like these and interested in ore ideas, check out these unique wedding food stations!

*All photos were sourced from Pexels.com