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What is served at Mexican weddings, why mole is so tied to them, how Oaxacan wedding meals run, and how to plan a Mexican wedding menu for your guests.
The dish most tied to Mexican weddings is mole, a rich sauce of chillies, spices and nuts served over chicken or pork. It is so linked to celebrations that in Mexico "going to a mole" can mean going to a wedding. Beyond mole, the menu follows the region: Oaxacan weddings may start with hot chocolate and sweet bread, other regions serve their own stews, tamales or grilled meats. Many end with cake and sweets such as the powdered-sugar cookies known in the US as Mexican wedding cookies.
Mole) is a family of thick sauces made from chilli peppers, spices, nuts, seeds and often chocolate, cooked for hours and served over meat. Mole poblano from Puebla contains around 20 ingredients on average, which is one reason families make it for big occasions rather than every day. Its consumption is associated with celebrations, and the phrase ir a un mole, "to go to a mole", is used to mean attending a wedding.
UNESCO added traditional Mexican cuisine to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2010, describing a system built on corn, beans and chillies, with techniques such as nixtamalization (treating maize with lime) and tools like grinding stones. The listing stresses community participation, which is what a family wedding meal often looks like.
Oaxacan weddings are among the best documented. According to Wikipedia's account of the Oaxacan wedding, guests are served pan de yema (egg bread) and hot chocolate after the ceremony. The main meal is mole with pork or chicken, alongside dishes such as egadito and homemade tortillas. Drinks include horchata, tamarind, jamaica (hibiscus) and other fruit waters, and mezcal is part of the toasts. Tres leches cake is served as dessert. The next day, the bride prepares atole, a warm drink of masa, piloncillo sugar, cinnamon and chocolate, for the guests who remain.
The powdered-sugar cookies sold in the US as Mexican wedding cookies are made from butter, flour and ground nuts, usually pecans or almonds, and rolled twice in powdered sugar. In Mexico, similar cookies are called polvorones. Food historians trace them to the Arab shortbread qurabiya, which reached Mexico through Spain. The same cookie is also sold as Russian tea cakes and snowballs, and in the US it is eaten at Christmas as much as at weddings.
In many Mexican families the celebration continues the next day, with a relaxed meal of reheated leftovers, sometimes called a recalentado. If you're planning one, put it on the invitation or wedding website so out-of-town guests can stay.
Decide who cooks. Family-made mole is a gift, and a lot of work. If relatives cook, give them a clear headcount weeks ahead, and have a caterer handle serving and clean-up. DIY wedding vs hiring vendors covers the trade-offs.
Mole served over chicken or pork, with rice and tortillas, is the dish most associated with Mexican weddings. The rest of the menu varies by region and family.
Mole takes many ingredients and hours of work, so families make it for major celebrations. It is so linked to weddings that "going to a mole" can mean going to a wedding.
They are eaten in Mexico, where similar cookies are called polvorones, but food historians trace them to the Arab qurabiya, which came to Mexico through Spain.
Aguas frescas such as horchata and jamaica, plus tequila, mezcal or beer. In Oaxaca, mezcal is typical for toasts.
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