Planning a wedding can leave even the most organized bride and groom paralyzed with anxiety. There’s the shopping for a dress, looking at (and paying a looooot of money for) venues, finalizing the guest list - Etcetera, etcetera. Then, of course, there’s the not-so-small issue of food! Your wedding guests. What are you going to do? What are you going to feed them? Are they going to starve? Will they tell all of Facebook about your dumpster-fire food?

Luckily, you can go ahead and not have a meltdown at the caterers’ today, because our brand new Food Basher Zola Nene, is here to help. We sat down with the award-winning food stylist and author - and she shared some incredibly helpful wedding food tips, that should put the 'Ding' back into your wedding. 

Decide on a theme and stick to it

Your wedding theme should inform your menu choices for your big day. Formal, black tie affair? Say no to sloppy, will-need-to-lick-your-forearms-after eats, unless it’s a man-sized midnight surprise, rolled out the moment your guests are utterly ‘boiled in the bag’ and have thrown all dignity out the window. Beach Wedding? Seafood, seafood and more seafood. Basically, think Mediterranean, think light. Rustic Wedding? A harvest table as seen at Kelly and Damien’s wedding is the way to go.

Taste, taste, taste!

Make sure you taste all your food choices way before your big day. That way, your edgelord caterer who “has been doing this for 20 years” won’t have a chance to sneak the weird salad with the beans, crackers and pineapple, onto your precious menu.

Pick food you’ll love

Yes, “ouma” is your favourite human. But biltong and ginger beer cheesecake? Don’t do it. Make sure your wedding food is the food you enjoying eating, not the food your sweet grandmother loves force-feeding you. Look at it this way. If everything else goes down the round, at least you will have had the most delicious gammon of your life at your wedding, if gammon’s your thing.

Cut costs the smart way

No money for an extensive dessert menu with food you can't pronounce? No problem! Just use your wedding cake as dessert. You and your bank account will be happy you did.

Let Zola tell you the rest

Watch The Wedding Bash(ers): With Love Specials on M-Net channel 101 every Sunday at 18:00. Follow all things show-related on Twitter @MNet / #WeddingBashers or on the official M-Net Facebook page.