One of the things your wedding guests will remember long after you’ve said I do, surprisingly, is not the way you rocked your dress, or the way you and your betrothed tearfully pledged your forever love to  one another during the ceremony. One of the few things they’ll remember—for better or worse—is the food you served.

Tastes are so unique and individualized, and loyalties to certain ingredients, flavors, and cooking styles can be fierce. Luckily, the traditional sit-down dinner where guests are offered a choice of a chicken, fish, or vegetarian dish is going by the wayside in favor of food stations, buffets, and other more casual setups that allow you to offer more options, all but guaranteeing your wedding day spread will please the palates of your guests. “

The most popular dining trend we’’ve seen this past year is buffet style,” says Dirk Beck, maitre’d of the fine French dining establishment Beau Rivage. “Format sit-down dining is becoming less and less popular. The second most popular trend we’re seeing is food stations, or a cocktail/lounge-style setup.” Not only does a buffet or food stations allow for a more varied menu, it also facilitates socialization, ensuring your guests aren’t stuck throughout the evening at a single table with people they may not know. “

Typically in Bermuda, weddings are social events,” says Docksider Pub and Restaurant owner Reed Young. “Roast beef carving stations have been popular, because they allow people to grab and go. Passed hors d’oeuvres are popular too, because they’re quick, easy, and not messy—something you can go back and forth to.” Just as fresh, local ingredients are becoming more and more important to those in the U.S., the same rings true in Bermuda, where rock fish is king.

“Our wedding parties want to make sure they get their rock fish,” says Danny Morgan of Coco Reef Resort. “That’s the main thing they look for.” Another popular U.S. food trend—gluten-free fare—is being seen in Bermuda as well, explains Simone Maranzana, general manager of Portofino restaurant, which offers gluten-free pasta and pizza. Many of the fine Italian restaurant’s most popular dishes feature the island’s fresh seafood. “Some of our most popular dishes are the lobster lasagna, seafood risotto, and homemade agnolotti, which is half-moonshaped pasta with lobster, shrimp, and crab in a pink sauce with a touch of pesto,” says Maranzana. “

Our most popular dessert is the traditional Italian zabaglione —egg yolks whipped in a copper pan with a marsala liqueur.” Whether you’re looking for pub fare to accent your fun, casual wedding or fine French or Italian food to add class to your elegant affair, there are certainly plenty of catering options on the small island of Bermuda. You can rest assured that island caterers are up on their trends and will do everything possible to make sure that the memory of your wedding day fare brings a smile to the faces of your guests long after you’ve been pronounced man and wife.