When it comes to food on your wedding day – there should be two priorities
- Wedding food should be plentiful
- Wedding food should be seasonal
A wedding day is long and while I often aim for a post-lunch ceremony to make sure guests have eaten, chances are they won’t have. Getting ready and rushing to arrive at your ceremony venue with plenty of time often means lunch is skipped, despite best intentions.
The seasonality requirement means that the food you’re serving will not only feel right for the time of year, it will also taste incredible because it’s super fresh.
I promise good food is the easiest way to guarantee happy guests. If the food is lacking and not tasty, it’s the only thing guests will remember from your wedding.
Generally finding catering companies who serve excellent, seasonal food isn’t an issue; there are so many great ones out there. However, to compare, I always find it helpful to get an idea of cost per head – but make sure this includes staffing and equipment hire too. Naturally a quote for £100 will be more appealing than £250 but the more expensive one might have staffing costs and equipment hire factored in. Remember most catering companies will charge VAT and given the food spend will be one of your biggest expenses with wedding planning – it’s important to factor this in.
Once you’ve found a company within your budget whose food is delicious, locally sourced and beautifully presented, you’ll want to make sure they have the wedding details nailed.
WHAT TO ASK YOUR WEDDING CATERER
These are my top questions to ask your wedding caterer to make sure they will ace your wedding service.
- Will they set up the kitchen the day before the wedding? (This is particularly relevant to marquee weddings where the ovens, fryers and all equipment will need to be hired in)
- Will they be laying tables the day before the wedding? (Not always possible, but it does make the world of difference if your team can get a head start)
- Do they cut and serve your wedding cake? (Some caterers will charge extra for this, but it’s definitely worth it to make sure your wedding cake is served and eaten)
- Can they serve drinks and run your bar? (They might not be able to offer mixology level cocktails, but serving drinks during your canape reception and dinner should be a given)
- Can they provide waiting staff? (There should be enough staff to comfortably serve your guest numbers – always ask what their staff-to-guest ratio will be. And it’s always good to know if they have their own staff, or if they use an agency)
- Will they book a refrigerated trailer and all of the kitchen equipment required for your wedding? And which companies do they usually use for this?
- Will they provide tableware, and can this be upgraded or customised to match your wedding styling?
- Will they be able to let you know how much power they require so you can run this past your marquee company / generator hire company?
- Do they provide a front of house manager who will make sure everything is running smoothly? This is a completely separate job from what a wedding planner / coordinator would do and is absolutely essential
- Do they remove food waste following the wedding? Do they make sure the rubbish and recycling from the food and drinks service is properly dealt with?
- Are you able to try any food before booking? And see any of the tableware you’ll be using on the wedding day?
- How many weddings do they do each weekend? (What each company can manage will vary, but you’ll definitely want to know that your wedding will be their number one priority)
WHAT IS THE PROCESS ONCE I’VE BOOKED MY CATERER?
Once you have booked a caterer and done a tasting, you should have an online meeting to run through timings, check how the food is going to be served and make sure they have a list of your drink service requirements. You should also have a final call with them in the weeks leading up to the wedding to ensure your table plan and any dietary requirements have been clearly communicated. Ideally you’d have these conversations with the person who will be running your wedding day.
One important thing to mention is that if you’re serving drinks / canapes very far from the main kitchen or bar area, do make sure this has been fully communicated with your catering team so they can plan accordingly (ie they will need more time to set up and possibly more staff).
OTHER THINGS TO CONSIDER
Who is going to load up the chiller trailer with drinks? This is often a job best assigned to an organised groomsman or two as it involves a bit of heavy lifting. Ideally the drinks should be kept in their carboard boxes, but opened at the top so the cold air can circulate around the bottles. If they can group them by type, and in the order they will be served – then you’ve got the dream groomsmen right there! Make sure someone has run through the drinks with your planner or coordinator if you don’t get the chance to do this with your catering front of house manager. This is important for making sure everything has actually been ordered – anything missing can be purchased on an emergency run to the supermarket if required.
Food wise, I really wouldn’t go for anything too specialist or niche, this isn’t the time for experiential or experimental dining. Don’t forget your catering team will be trying to serve a large number of people, in one go, often from a tent. Go with their recommendations and experience – you can’t go wrong with a modern take on the classics.
Remember that unless requested, most catering companies will assume that guests will pour their own drinks at the table. If you want wine to be poured you’ll need to communicate this with your caterers and they may need to book extra staff.
For weddings and events you’ll usually need to hire a large quantity of glasses and tableware. This will usually be done via your catering company. Following the wedding these are returned to the hire company – you will have paid a deposit on this to cover breakages. It’s very unusual that nothing gets broken, so just be prepared that you’re unlikely to receive this particular deposit back in full.
For evening food, as unaesthetically pleasing as it is, carb filled stodge always goes down a treat. Burgers, fries, mac and cheese, pasties, pizza – these are the things guests will want to eat. If you really can’t bear the thought of this being visually off brand for the wedding, have a look at customised food grade carboard packaging, serve everything in miniature, or ask your catering team if they can circulate with evening food on trays, rather than setting everything up as a buffet. A cheese board is a good compromise, as this can be beautifully presented, but also hits the tangy / salty / crispy cravings of drunk people.
And finally, try to enjoy the food at your wedding! So many couples are busy chatting to guests, making sure that everyone is having a wonderful time, that they forget to eat. It’s a long day and you’ll need your energy to see you through the party, so definitely try to sit down and eat something.