Maggi, McDonald's at desi weddings... the food menus now tell stories

For modern couples, food is no longer just another wedding detail that needs to be got right. It has become a way to tell their story, with favourite foods, childhood memories, regional dishes and even unexpected cravings finding a place on the menu.Maggi and McDonald's at weddings. Photos: X/@kya_h_yarrrr (left), House On The Clouds (right)When you imagine wedding food, what do you think of? An elaborate chaat counter, a live pasta station, a lineup of global cuisines, perhaps a dessert spread so extravagant it deserves its own guest list. For years, wedding food has been about abundance - the more there is, the better the impression on guests.But somewhere between the truffle pizzas and artisanal mithais, something unexpected has made its way onto the shaadi menu: Maggi. And, yes, McDonald’s too. For modern couples, food is no longer just another wedding detail that needs to be got right. It has become a way to tell their story, with favourite foods, childhood memories, regional dishes and even unexpected cravings finding a place on the menu.If a couple bonded over late-night Maggi sessions, a Maggi station at their wedding can become a cutesy nod to their love story. For others, having a familiar comfort food stall amid an elaborate wedding buffet is simply about making the spread feel more personal — something that feels a little more like them.“We had a couple who loved their Blue Tokai dates and were really keen on having a Blue Tokai station at one of their events. We did that. Similarly, another couple were big-time coffee enthusiasts and wanted a specific cafe from Nagpur to serve coffee at their wedding. We made that happen as well,” said Dakshita Bhatla Gangola, wedding planner and co-founder of DB Spaces. McDonald's-themed after-party at a wedding. (Photo: House On The Clouds) McDonald’s-themed wedding after-parties have also grabbed attention lately. For couples who love their McD dates, highway drive-throughs or simply the food itself, it can be a fun way to bring something they genuinely enjoy into the wedding celebrations.From decorations and outfits to mehendi designs and little details like kaleeras and cocktail menus, couples are now personalising almost every aspect of their wedding to make their love story stand out. Wedding food is increasingly being viewed through the same lens, with couples recognising the power it holds to tell stories, evoke memories and add a personal touch to the celebrations. Having your favourite food items or getting your go-to date spot to serve at the wedding is one way. Another is to include dishes from each other’s families, bringing a little piece of both families to the celebrations.Anshula Kapoor and Rohan Thakkar took the idea of food as a personal memory a step further at their wedding, with a chakhna table filled with snacks they had grown up eating. Milk cake, khandvi, pyaaz kachori, mathri, laddoos and revdi brought together little tastes of home from both their worlds. At Anushla Kapoor and Rohan Thakkar's wedding. (Photo: Instagram: Anshula Kapoor and Epic Stories) Couples are finding ways to bring their two families together through food — whether that means putting a Punjabi family recipe next to a Bengali one, recreating a grandmother’s signature dish, or serving specialities from the places both partners call home.Many caterers now get requests for wedding menus around the places and foods that are dear to the couple’s story. Many couples even put up specialised notes against each of the dish explaining why that dish particularly matters to them.Mumbai-based Blue Sea Catering, as told to Mint Lounge, created a menu that brought together Kumaoni, Chettinad, Bengali and Goan flavours for one couple. The bride hailed from Uttarakhand, the groom’s family was based in Chennai, while the couple had also built memories together during trips to Bengal and Goa.The menu reflected all of it. There was Kumaoni raita and pahadi mutton for the bride’s roots, Chettinad-inspired small plates for the groom’s Tamil connection, and Bengali patishapta and Goan bebinca as a nod to the places they had travelled to together.For destination weddings, this can take another turn. Rather than opting for a standard hotel menu, couples are increasingly looking to the city they are getting married in for food that has a sense of place. A local sweet shop, a beloved breakfast spot or a regional speciality can become part of the wedding experience. Like, having a dedicated kebab institution at the wedding if the wedding is in Lucknow. Or just flying in vendors from the destinations that played a role in the story.The grand Indian wedding buffet is not going anywhere; it will always have its takers. But this kind of gastronomical storytelling at weddings is a trend that is likely to grow too, as couples look beyond abundance and towards food that has a story of its own.- EndsPublished By: Medha ChawlaPublished On: Aug 29, 2026 10:36 IST