wedding catering
Five Money Saving Tips for
Choosing the Right Wedding Catering
If your wedding plans include a wedding reception, then
you definitely need to serve food and drinks to your
guests after the ceremony. After all, celebrations are
never complete without food and drink, and what is a
wedding but a celebration? This is why wedding catering
is one of the most important items that you need to
consider when you are planning your wedding.
Most wedding planners have it that wedding catering
takes up at least half of an engaged couple's wedding
budget. That is understandable, as wedding catering is
not just about food and drink but also includes the use
of tableware and table decorations. Since you are bound
to spend a lot on feeding your guests, you need to make
sure that you are getting your money's worth.
Here are a few ideas that can help take out some of the
hassle of choosing the right wedding catering and save
you some money in the process.
1. Determine the time of the wedding reception. You have
the choice of scheduling your wedding reception to
coincide with a mealtime or not. If you want your
reception to coincide with a mealtime and your wedding
budget is limited, you should avoid holding the
reception at dinnertime because dinners are expensive
and are bound to burn a big hole in your pocket.
Instead, you should consider brunch or lunch.
On the other hand, you can also serve appetizers, finger
foods and hors d'oeuvres if your reception is between
mealtimes. Some of your guests may think that you are
trying to save on your reception, but if you do this
tastefully, they will not mind.
2. Consider the serving style. Is it going to be a
sit-down service or a buffet service? Going with a
seated service is good if you are trying to control
costs, but your guests will be able to pick the food
they want to eat if you go with a buffet.
3. Figure out your guests' preferences. You need to make
sure that the food you serve is something that your
guests can enjoy eating. Thus, you may have to find out
if your guests have eating preferences and factor it in
when you choose the menu for your reception. Some of
your guests may be vegetarian while some are allergic to
certain types of food. Coming up with a menu does not
have to be complicated. The easiest solution here is to
provide some variety in the courses so everyone is sure
to be able to eat something.
4. Choose the best caterer you can afford. Wedding
catering can be expensive, and so you need to make sure
that your caterer is giving you your money's worth.
Before you choose a caterer, make sure that you ask for
their references first and give these references a call.
Also, schedule for a tasting session to check on the
quality of service that the caterer provides. You should
also check a few details like the quality of the
tableware they use, the cost of the table decorations,
and the ratio of servers to guests.
5. Do not self-cater. If you are trying to stretch your
wedding budget, the idea of self-catering can be very
tempting. But most brides who have gone through the
self-catering route believe that this is a bad idea. You
cannot cook for your own wedding party without losing
your cool on your wedding day. Just let others do this
for you so you can sit back, look pretty and enjoy your
wedding day.