You are planning your wedding day, you have the reception location picked out and now you need a caterer. Before you choose a caterer, you should follow 6 tips for choosing wedding catering services. The food is the most important part of the reception and you want everything to go smoothly without any mistakes.
The Cost for a Caterer
Every caterer has a different price. They also charge differently for the dinner. If you are having a large dinner, you might need to have a buffet type dinner with a per plate cost. If you have a small dinner, you might want to have a sit down service with a wait staff. The cost for either a sit down dinner or a buffet dinner can be a difference of upwards of $10 a person. Plan a budget and then ask the caterers what it would cost for each type of meal.
What will the Caterer Supply?
Wedding catering services supply different types of services. If the cater is not affiliated with the place you are having the reception, they might need to supply linens, glassware, plates, and silverware. In some cases, the caterer may need to supply tables and chairs. Find out the cost for this service.
Where will the Caterer Make the Food
When you are choosing a caterer, you need to know where the food will be made, and if it is made somewhere else, how will it be transported to the reception location. This is important if the food is not made onsite. You want to make sure that the food will be ready to serve your guests on time.
Cleaning Up
You need to know if the caterer cleans up after the meal, and if they return any items that were rented. This is important to consider since you do not want any added expenses or clean up to worry about after the meal. Most caterers will include this part of the service in the cost.
The Food
Find out from each wedding catering service what types of foods they make and serve. Make sure that they can accommodate any special foods that you need or want to have at the reception. For instance, if you want pork tenderloin done on the grill, can the catering service do this? If they can't then it is best to look elsewhere.
The Wedding Cake
If you want to have everything done by one caterer, you will want to make sure that the service you choose can make the cake or that they work with a bakery that makes the wedding cakes for them. This is important if you are planning the reception and the cake on a budget.
After you have all the information about each wedding catering service, you can make a decision. You will want to book them as soon as you have the wedding reception hall. After you book the caterer, you will want to keep in contact and give them the final guest count a week before the wedding day.
