Choosing your wedding caterer can be such a traumatic experience. Unless you’ve selected the company through recommendation or have tried and tested and know they can fulfil on all criteria, it can be an unnecessary stress.
What you don’t want of course is fantastic food but no one on hand to ask for more drinks, or the alternative, attentive waitress but chewing that same piece of beef well into the first dance.
The ideal balance is sometimes difficult to find, so if you don’t have first hand experience of a caterer you know will provide the service and food you are looking for, then do your research. You wouldn’t buy a car without first comparing price, history and performance so don’t settle for the first caterer you come across.
Testimonials are a great way of getting to know your caterer, some will have them proudly on their website others you may have to ask and some won’t know what your talking about.
Also, look for testimonials that are relevant, it may be that someone who has provided fantastic food and service for parties or events of around 30 guests, falls flat at anything over 50 with plates still being served as the evening guests arrive.
Speciality food, if you are having a themed wedding, for example, I recently attended one with a ‘china town’ theme, the whole wedding including food was of Chinese orientation and so professional. Make sure your caterer is experienced in the food type of your day. Mr. English may not make a good Mr. Chinese.
Once you’ve got your list down to a few that seem to have a good reputation with at least half a dozen relevant satisfied customers, and at a price that is right for you, then taste!
The deciding factor in selecting your caterer should be taste. This is your big day, don’t let anything go to chance, especially when you could have spent an hour to sample some free food!
An excellent alternative to the traditional wedding food is to have a Hog Roast. These can be run both indoors or out so don’t feel pressured by weather restrictions.
If you have budget restrictions or just want a less formal affair, then a spit or hog roast could be perfect for you. Remember, that doesn’t restrict you to having a massive pig on a spit, these days there are various options. From the traditional pork to beef, lamb, chickens to venison, you can be adventurous even with an elaborate bbq!
Again, make sure you are happy with the hog roast company before committing. They are not all the same and neither is the meat, if you want quality meat then make sure it’s free range. To be really sure, provide the meat yourself from your local butchers. Don’t just settle for whatever they can source.
So, the moral of the story is, do your research first!