Categories
Updated 3-08

Catering

Pieces of Knowledge
in Amanda's opinion

This is a big element.  A lot of event details can be compromised on, but if you don't feed them well your guests will remember it.  It's also a big chunk of the wedding budget, and people tend to see this as an area they can cut corners.  While that is possible (and covered later) it is not necessarily wise.  Please allow me to explain:

Catering is about so much more than the food.  It's about the artful presentation of that food, setting it up, and putting it away before it becomes a health hazard.  It's about arranging the plates, silverware, napkins, & beverage cups.  It's about providing ice water, punch, & coffee and keeping them refreshed.  It's also about chilling the toasting beverages and bringing them out at the appropriate time, and possibly doing the same for your alcoholic beverages.  It's about cutting the cake quickly and getting it out so guests will actually eat it.  It's about clearing your tables and taking out the trash in a manner that won't disrupt your event, but also won't cost you overtime or damage charges at your facility.  Whew!

With these details in mind let me cover the three main options for providing food at your event. 

• One, you can hire a full-service caterer who will do all of the things listed above, including providing professional bartending service. 

• Two, you can hire a food-only caterer who will bring tasty food, serve it, and depart after dinner.  This leaves a few gaps that must be filled with hired assistants or family and friends.  You'll need to set up all of your beverage accessories, provide all of your own beverages so you have them throughout the night, hire your own bartenders if necessary, find someone to cut your cake, and clean up after yourselves. 

• Three, you can provide your own "family and friends" food.  This is a very labor intensive option.  Keep in mind that even if dad is a great chef, he cannot be in two places at once.  He needs to be at the ceremony location for pictures, not setting up the food at the reception.  He needs to anticipate walking his little girl down the aisle, not worry about whether the coffee is brewing.  Lots of people don't think of this dilemma, and I've seen it cause a lot of stress, so I'm hoping to spread the word as much as possible that this is NOT a great idea. 

Still need to do the food yourselves for budget reasons?  Consider these easier options: 

• One, have your ceremony and reception in the same location to make set up more practical.

• Two, stick with cold food trays - rolls, meats, cheeses, fruits, veggies, antipasto (olives, etc.) and maybe a pasta salad or Caesar salad to make a varied buffet with something for everyone.  No refrigeration on site?  Consider shallow dishes the same size as the trays filled with ice & covered with linens.  Coolers work great for refill-foods in ziploc baggies. 

Keep in mind that the trays will not arrange themselves on the food tables or refill on command.  You will have to organize ahead of time who is going to do all of those things a caterer would usually do, such as dealing with napkins, forks, plates, cake plates, cake napkins, cake forks, beverage cups, beverage napkins, coffee, punch, water, etc. etc. etc.  I have seen this work well, but I've also seen it be a complete train wreck, so choose your options carefully & keep it simple. 

SERVICE ASSISTANTS:  If you're hiring a limited-service caterer, or doing the food yourselves, I highly recommend hiring a couple of service assistants to take care of the extras so that your family does not have to work your wedding.  They can arrange beverage cups, arrange the buffet table, make punch & coffee, refresh food trays, clear tables, take out the trash, replenish non-alcoholic beverages, cut your cake and pack up the leftover food.  Where do you find these handy people?  Talk to the late-teen children of your parents' friends, call the culinary school at Spokane Community College, or post a notice at the other local Universities.  Expect to hire at least two of them if you're doing your own cold food and keeping it simple, and to pay them $75-$100 for a 6 hour stint.  It's a LOT of work, and totally worth it to make your event successful.

Be sure that what your caterer provides (food, service, time, etc.) is in writing.  It is very easy for any vendor to forget little particulars that they've offered to do for you but may not take care of on a regular basis (such as providing all of the ice.)  It's helpful to re-affirm these details the week before the wedding, just to make sure everything is going smoothly. 

All caterers charge out their services differently, so make sure you're comparing apples to apples when you look at the value provided by different caterers.  Some include china plates, others include disposables, others expect you to take care of this element.  Some provide table clearing staff at no extra charge, others will charge separate staffing fees based on your number of guests and needs.   Other elements to ask about include bartending services, cake cutting services, rental arrangements, linens, ice, coffee/punch/water, and trash duty. 

As with most vendors, personality counts.  You'll be working fairly closely with your caterer, and how you get along on a personal level can add warm-fuzzies to a great experience or create an unnecessary  level of exasperation.  Not all personalities mesh, so make sure you LIKE your caterer.