Hello everyone and happy new year! (When does everyone stop saying that do you think?)
I hope you all had amazing festive celebrations and are ready for 2023! Also, congrats to all the newly engaged couples out there.
Today are some points on how to find your caterers for your wedding!
Catering can either be the trickiest or the easiest supplier to choose on because this is one of the elements that you will remember the most as well as your guests! Also, it also depends on yours and your partners food preferences and the overall vibe of your wedding.
So here are some tips below to help you find the right catering team for you:
1) Your wedding style
You and your partner will need to decide on the style of wedding you want to have. Whether that is formal, semi formal, relaxed, festival themed, luxury, the list is endless. Discuss what are the main feelings you want for your wedding and for your guests to experience. Once, you have decided this, you will be able to steer towards the food options you would like to have.
2) Budget
I always harp on about this, but I will say it louder for the people at the back! Your food budget needs to be 20% of your overall budget. You do not want you or your guests to go hungry and you need to give allowances if you want a 3 course meal then you will need to pay a 3 course plated meal price. In addition, if you have a guest list of 200, you need to be prepared, depending on the type of food service you go for, the catering costs will increase. The 20% is not just for food but it is for the labour, travel, equipment and sometimes crockery for the guests if this is included in the price.
3) Your favourite meal
I always ask my couples, ‘what meals do you enjoy having together?’. This way we avoid the carbon copy of a soup starter (nothing wrong with soup if you make it interesting!) and inject some life into your meal. The main meal (wedding breakfast) is where your guests will spend the longest length of time at your wedding whilst interacting with friends and family. This is why the food is ALWAYS remembered by your guests so make sure it is memorable in a good way! A good catering team will also help you to do this. Perhaps you and your partner like Italian food, tapas, a good roast… make sure you try and incorporate what you love into the meal.
4) The serving of your meal
Based on the above, so finding out your wedding style and the meals you enjoy, you will be able to work out how you would like it served. This could be a 3 course plated service meal, buffet style, family sharing so that large dishes are brought to the table and everyone can share the food, street food with vans, only vegan food, main meal only then a dessert truck, the list is endless.
5) Local areas
When you have decided all of the above, now it’s time to research catering companies in your local area or surrounding area that can provide this. Don’t be scared to ask the companies specific questions for what you are looking for as more often than not, the companies can tailor the packages to your needs.
I hope that helps anyone looking for their catering team! These are the fundamentals to help you get started and will help you book a great team so that they can produce and amazing meal for you.
Hope you all have a lovely weekend.
Sommy x