Wedding Catering 101: Part 2

Wedding Catering 101

After going over the logistics of wedding catering in the last blog, now it is time to go over the bread and butter of catering your wedding. The table settings may be perfect and you may have all of the specifics figured out. But, if you do not make sure every guest is fed at a specific time and is fully satisfied, the catering could still not go as planned. When attending a wedding, guests plan to be fed. Here are a few tips to assure that the guests are satisfied and the event goes smoothly.

The Food

Most importantly, you want to make sure everyone is fed. Have a guest list prepared with how many guests will be attending and present it to your caterer well in advance. Decide what kind of food you would like to have, then, make a decision about appetizers. Not all weddings have appetizers, even though it helps keep the guests happy during the period between the service and when the reception actually starts. Decide how many appetizers you would like to be served and for how long. It is also extremely important to be sure that the appetizers are served in a separate spot than the main meal. If they are served at the same table as the main meal, or close to the main meal, guests may presume that it is okay for them to go ahead and start start sampling the goods.

Also, decide upon how the food will be served. Is the food going to be served on individual plates by waiters or will it be laid out buffet style? Furthermore, if the couple chooses to go with a buffet style where guests can come by and pick and choose what they would like on their plate, they need to decide if someone will still be serving the food. If the food is laid out without a server, guests could pick up bigger serving sizes than were planned for. Of course, you wouldn’t want to run out of food before everyone is served. Having the food served will help monitor portion sizes.

Pop the Champagne!

Alcohol is a tough decision to make at a wedding or any catered event. Sometimes, the alcohol is included with the wedding catering company. Sometimes, it is not included. Just like the buffet-style food setup, the alcohol needs to be monitored at a wedding so guests are not taking advantage, especially with an open bar. A self-serve option with alcohol is not suggested as it can be difficult to monitor. Something to consider is what kinds of alcohol you will be serving. Will it be an open bar, or will it be just beer and wine? Many wedding parties decide to have champagne served for toasts. If you decide to have champagne served make sure either the party that is providing the alcohol will be providing champagne flutes or if you need to get them from a separate company.

The Best Part

The cake. Everybody loves wedding cake! No matter what flavors you choose, the cake is always a hit and almost always gets devoured. Just as important as it is to pick a time for the appetizers and main meal to be served, it is important to pick a good time for the cake to be served. Usually, you don’t want the cake to be served right after the meal. When this happens, your guests are already going to be full and won’t want to eat the cake. The cake is usually served towards the end of the reception.

Additionally, the time when the cake is delivered cannot be overlooked as a small detail. The company the cake is ordered from will usually deliver it for you. Many times, the cake needs to be kept within a certain temperature for it to stay nice and pretty, because sometimes the icing and frosting can melt when temperatures get warm enough. So make sure you take this into consideration when deciding the time the cake is delivered and served.

Are You Ready to Start?

Now that you have the logistics prepared and have some tips on how to make sure your guests are fully satisfied, are you ready to start planning your wedding catering? Contact Four Seasons Catering and Eatery to get started today!