Barn Wedding Reception

After showing up late for the ceremony (damn you google maps, you failed me again!) we headed out to the reception in style. There was a shuttle bus from the hotel to the reception, and when I say bus, I mean bus! As in big ass greyhound type bus. It was pimpin, and stylin indeed.
So the reception was in a barn. Say what? Yes, a barn. I kid you not. But it was free of hay and animals and the stench that goes along with it. Instead, it was cozy, adorable, and lovely. A reception like no other, and that's a very good thing.
There was a little band from new orleans which was just perfect for this type of setting. Four instrumentalists and a singer. I absolutely loved it.
The little takeaway gifts were jams! Yes! Jams! As you can already see, this is my type of wedding reception!
Even some of the centerpieces were food based. Seriously, my kind of reception, y'know?
There was a little outdoor tent setup in front of the barn, and the open bar was there (thanks uncle p!), and a few appetizer stations. The first was a nacho bar. I've never imagined a wedding reception with a nacho bar. But now that I've seen it, I think everyone should have one. These were homemade flour tortilla chips. There was chili, and melted cheese, and guacamole, and pico de gallo... it was perfect.
There was also a little setup of pot stickers and california rolls. The california rolls were excellent. The pot stickers had been pan fried who knows how long ago, so they were a bit cold and soggy. I'm sure if they were freshly fried, they would have been little pockets of heaven.
There were also some servers going around with hors d'oeuvres. These were little potato cakes with ketchup relish. Eh, I wasn't impressed. The sauce was sweet and odd, and so were the cakes. I also saw some fruit skewers and soms type of artichoke things going around.
Bacon wrapped scallops. Put two of my favorite things together and it's a perfect little snack.
On to the dinner! Once they were ready for dinner, we started with a lovely summer salad. Spinach with roasted pear, berries, dried currants, preserved grapes with a carmelized onion type dressing. It was a perfect salad. And it came with the cutest little whole wheat biscuit.
The entrees were served buffet style. I love buffets because I can try whatever I want, and it's just less stuffy. Ribs! Wahoo! Beef ribs with bbq sauce, and they had a silky peach bbq sauce to go along with this. Also, short ribs. Which actually ended up being better than the ribs because there were no bones and you could just revel in all the meatiness. And mac and cheese. Again, another dish I would not imagine at any wedding reception, but something that everyone should consider!
Crab quesadillas with pico de gallo. These little suckers were good, and filled with real crabmeat. I didn't try the chicken, but I bet it was good!
Last but not least was a grilled veggie salad. I love veggies like this. Just grilled with some olive oil and herbs, these are my favorite ways to eat veggies. Squash, zucchini, bell peppers, fingerling potatoes in red and purple, all cooked just enough to retain their bite.
The bride and groom got a little mini cake for their traditional cake feeding thing. It was a chocolate cake. They seemed to like it enough. But the rest of us did not get to partake in the cake. I did not mind this at all.
Instead, we got apple pie! You're looking at a girl who loves herself some pie, so getting apple pie instead of boring wedding cake was a pleasant surprise.
Apple pie a la mode with caramel sauce. This beats cake any day of the week. What a truly unique and different reception. I loved everything about it. With the two weddings I've been to this year, they both had incredibly different receptions from the norm. And I'm thankful that they were unique and memorable.