A more significant chunk of your wedding budget goes for food, drink, and other catering services. Therefore, other than taking care of wedding tent rental packages, you need to select your food pros quite carefully.
Have you narrowed down your list of potential caterers yet? If yes, here’s a list of questions you must ask a wedding caterer before hiring. So that nothing goes wrong.
Is The Catering Service Insured?
The first important question that you must ask is about the license of your caterer.
Having a license gives you confidence in your caterer. It makes sure about your health. A license means your caterer has met local health standards, which is always good.
Ask For The Meal Testing Before-Hand
Reading testimonials and customer reviews of your wedding caterer is always good. But you also need to make sure about the taste of food by yourself. You can’t rely on others’ taste buds, right?
So, for that purpose, you can ask your caterer for meal tasting. Many caterers let you do this before hiring them and others after you finalize the menu before the event occurs. But it’s always good to ask for meal testing before-hand.
Will The Caterer Provide Extra Services Or Not?
Having booked a caterer that provides the food only is the worst decision, I must say. In that case, you’ll have to hire someone else for the extra services. And then, collectively, it’ll cost you a considerable chunk of money as compared to hiring a caterer that provides other benefits too.
Those extra services might include:
- Tableware rentals
- Coffee services
- Wedding cake (dessert)
- Waitstaff
- Does The Caterer Offer Packages?
This question is part of the upper question. Or you can say, you must go for this offer “the package.” It will collectively cost you less money, and you’ll have more to spend on your wedding dress.
Therefore, instead of going for individual services separately, ask your caterer if they provide packages. For instance, providing a child-friendly menu free on paying for a large guest list. Or asking that providing gluten-free or halal food for your special customers is part of the package or not?
In Which Cuisine The Caterer Specializes In
If you have some specific food theme in your mind, then this question is a must. Let’s face it, you can’t expect better-tasting country French food from a chef specialized in sushi. Also, you need special food for your special guests. So, ask the caterer before-hand if they can cook gluten-free, or something else specific. You also need to take care of your beloved guests having food allergies.
What Uniform Their Staff Will Wear?
You need to make it look charming yet professional. So, the catering staff must mix in your whole theme and move around seamlessly. Then, it’s better if you inform the caterer about your wedding theme before-hand. You don’t need to end up with a high-tie theme and your waiting staff in polo shirts.
Given My Guest List And Budget, What Is The Service To Guest Ratio?
Well, that means you need to ask your caterer about the number of staff members they’ll provide per service. Usually, you need three service members per six tables.
Big catering services provide their own staff members for the food serving and other services. It is because their own staff knows about the INS and outs of the job and the company. So, they can serve you better. But they also charge per service. So, it’s better if you hire staff members based on the service you need and your budget.
Who Will Supervise The Event On The Wedding Day?
Usually, the caterer or the guy who owns the service oversees the event. But what if they get ill or not available on the wedding day? In that case, they usually have an alternative guy. And if you’re providing the information and guidance to the leading caterer, you also need to meet the alternative guy. So that you’re ready, in case they need to switch. Moreover, let your caterer and wedding party rentals Maryland work together for a better output. If you have a wedding planner, you also have to include him/her into it and it’s better to choose other vendors with the help of the wedding planner.
