Choosing a Caterer

Choosing a caterer is often said to be the most important jobs of your wedding chores once you have set the date.  It is not only about choosing a caterer.  Most caterers have a lot of other connections in the wedding industry, and you can save a lot of time, money, and effort by tapping into their resources.  By referring you to other services, or adding other services you need to their list, your wedding caterer is often worth their weight in gold.  If you want to avoid the wedding caterer from hell, here are five tips to make your decision easier:

1. Ask around for word of mouth again to see if anyone you know has a good reference.  Wedding is the operative word here.  A lot of caterers have experience, but maybe not with weddings and there IS a difference.  You don’t want Uncle Sal’s caterer from Paul’s bar mitzvah do you?  You never know what is going to turn out….However. SOMEONE that you know has had a good experience with a wedding caterer, so develop a short list from those experiences.

2. If you come up short there, look around local venues as they all work with local caterers.  Their reputation depends on having quality caterers available to choose from.  They will be more than happy to recommend someone.  If that doesn’t work, ask around with other rental agencies that you will be using for your wedding planning and see if you can get some bites there.  Any company that works in the industry will have a list of reputable caterers to choose from.

3. Once you have a list of about three to choose from, call, email, and visit the website for each of them.  Apart from getting a feel for the company, you can find out other specifics.  Company history, specialties, and availability are as important as pricing at this point.

4. Now you have to interview the caterers.  This will give you a gut feeling for the company. You can gauge how well they will work with you by their response to your wishes and needs.

5. The final step is to have a taste test at each of your caterers.  Sample foods from as many as you can, and do not do this all on the same day or your tastes will be tainted.  Ask them for an appointment and let them know what you would like to sample as your wedding menu.  Any good caterer will have this as standard procedure.  Once you have completed all of your taste tests, you should have all the answer to the catering mystery.

If you follow these steps, you WILL find a first-class -- yet affordable -- wedding caterer!