Eye on Events

By Meera Jegathesan

Choosing the Right Wedding Caterer

For all of you brides and grooms out there, welcome to 2007! Hopefully this is the year in which you are planning every little detail of your big day. Have you ever been to a wedding when everything was just perfect—from the flowers to the music to the overall ambience—but the quality of the food served was barely average? Was the service poor or did the dinner arrive at the table cold, spoiled or just late? In every culture, food is a large part of any type of wedding celebration, so it is always important to focus on its quality—in taste, presentation and flow. Finding a caterer you can trust can make or break the experience for not only you but also for each of your guests. So take note of the following tips for choosing the right caterer for your wedding and make food the least of your worries on your special day!

Ask Around
Maybe you went to a friend’s wedding and fell in love with that chicken tikka masala and are dying to serve it at your own wedding. Did your cousin’s cocktail reception wow you with attractive food presentation and friendly servers? Like picking a venue, ask your friends and family members for caterers they can refer or ask the caterer for a list of past clients you can contact as references. You’ll be more likely to find a caterer you can trust.

House Rules
Does your wedding venue offer in-house catering or would you need to hire an outside caterer? If you are a South Asian bride or groom in the United States, you might wish to serve South Asian food at your reception, but might find that your venue cannot provide it directly. If your venue doesn’t have in-house catering at all or does not offer the type of food you are looking for, ask your event manager for a list of outside caterers that have worked at the venue in the past. Many venues today work with South Asian caterers and can give you good recommendations. Working with your venue’s preferred caterers may help you negotiate a better menu at a better price. Today many venues have strict rules (both in cost and equipment operations) if you hire an outside caterer, so always ask for what is or what isn’t allowed.

Due Diligence
If you hire an outside caterer, always research the caterer’s business and services offered. First and foremost, does your caterer have a license to operate and carry liability insurance? If not, seriously reconsider hiring that caterer for your event. Next, find out if the caterer maintains diverse menus for every type of meal Look at photographs of meals served at past weddings so you can get a sense of presentation style. If you are planning a formal wedding, will your caterer hire nicely dressed servers to serve the meals? Ask if the caterer can serve alcohol and has a liquor license. Finally, how professional does the caterer seem? Most caterers should have well-designed websites with menus, price lists and photos readily available in addition to printed materials.

More Than Just Food
Many caterers and in-house venue catering staffs offer not only food but also other event-planning services. If you are planning an outdoor wedding, will your caterer provide chairs or do you have to rent them on your own? What about table linens, plates, flowers and the wedding cake? Your caterer might charge a higher amount to provide these services, but the extra convenience could be worth the expense for you. Will there be a catering staff member on hand to monitor the food’s presentation and service? A well-rounded caterer can make your life much easier on the day of your wedding.

Get the Basics
Ask the caterer for sample menus and get a sense of the average prices. Most caterers price out menus to you on a per person basis so you can calculate your total expense based on your total attendance. Ask your caterer to send you a proposal that details each food item each meal. The caterer should be able to craft a menu based on your own personal preferences and budget. Most caterers also set a date (usually seventy-two hours before the event date) by which you will need to provide a guarantee of your final headcount for the event. Be considerate and stick to this deadline since the caterer will need enough time to purchase and prepare the food. Don’t fear if you have last minute attendees. Most caterers should be able to prepare enough food to feed five percent over the final headcount guarantee.

Hidden Costs
Don’t forget that some caterers charge service fees (usually 20% of the food cost) and state sales tax. Obtain an all-inclusive price per person for food and beverage service to make your budgeting easier. Always be conscious about the food and beverage revenue guarantee, which is a minimum dollar amount that a caterer will ask you to spend for its services. If you spend less than that amount, the caterer might charge a penalty, so be conservative with your headcount estimates. If you choose to bring your own liquor to your wedding, your venue may charge a corkage fee ($10.00 - $25.00 per wine bottle) to compensate for the cost of serving and being liable for liquor consumed at the event. Don’t forget about cake cutting fees (usually $2.00 - $5.00 per person) if you plan to ask your caterer’s staff to cut and serve cake supplied by another baker. Finally, additional service and kitchen usage fees usually apply if you plan to use an outside caterer at a venue such as a hotel or convention center. This happens often at South Asian weddings in the United States in which it has become more common to serve South Asian food at non-South Asian venues. Expect to face additional outside caterer service fees of $25.00 to $45.00 per person at these venues with kitchen usage and cleaning fees of $1,000 to $5,000 per day.

Taste Test
Most caterers should be able to schedule a tasting for you to sample the food that will be served at your wedding. A caterer can set a table as it would appear at your reception and serve each meal as it would be served to your guests. Try to narrow down your menu preferences to no more than five different hors d’oeuvres for the cocktail reception and two to three main entrees for dinner. Remember that the purpose of a tasting is to make an informed decision about your menu and not to get a free meal.

Dotted Line
Make sure you can sign a contract with your in-house or outside caterer for the services offered during your wedding. The contract should list the menu of food and beverage served at the wedding, the prices of each item and guarantee dates, dollar amounts and penalties if the event is cancelled or your headcount falls lower than expected. Always make sure the contract includes an insurance clause. This could help you if one of your guests falls sick while eating food prepared by your caterer. After the contract is signed, you can always fine-tune the menu details and the timeline for the food setup on the actual wedding day.

Congratulations! Hopefully you’ve picked a caterer you love and trust to feed the most important members of your wedding—your guests. Remember that your caterer will be your partner on your special day and will work closely with you and your venue to deliver the best possible event. Bon appetit!

Meera Jegathesan works as a sales manager and event planner for a major hotel company in the San Francisco Bay Area. She always thinks outside the box and her next big idea is just around the corner.

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