Choosing a Caterer

One of the biggest expenses a couple will have on their wedding day is catering.  While there are so many caterers out there, how do you know which one to select?  The cool thing about caterers, especially if they are a selected few "preferred" caterers at your venue (where you have to select from only their list), is that they want your business.  That being the case, you'd never want to select a caterer based on a menu alone, or a price point alone.  Make sure you TASTE THE CATERER. 

I will share a personal story from this weekend. 

My hubby-to-be and I have been on the hunt for a caterer since selecting our venue.  We were given a list of three cater choices we could use - one on site and two others.  Since the one on site was the easiest to check out, we decided to line up a tasting with them.  This caterer was Cafe Merlot.  (More to come about them in a minute) and that's been lined up for quite some time.  We went to a local Bridal Bazaar and came across a caterer who said they just got approved as an approved vendor at Bernardo Winery, so we figured why not try them out too?  Although they were a bit more expensive in pricing, we figured it certainly couldn't hurt to have options.  Now let me tell you something about both of these caterers.  Both claimed to meet our budget expectations.  Both said they could make a customized menu for our wedding.  Both were friendly and offered up convenient times for our tastings.  I honestly thought we'd have a difficult time selecting a caterer at this point - especially if more expensive caterer was beyond better than the first. 

For any San Diego brides, I'd like to offer a quick review of both of the caterers we've selected to taste and why this becomes ever so important.

Encore Catering was the first caterer that we tried (the one that we ran into at the bridal show), and we had high expectations based on their price point.  We were asked to select 5 different appetizers to try (and she surprised us with 2 more based on some personal requests about what we wanted for our wedding).  We get there, and we walk into a warehouse that's decorated like various weddings (to give you an idea of how they can decorate).  Then you sit down and the girl started to give us item by item.  She explained, by title what the dish was that we were trying - and asked us questions as we were tasting it.  In my opinion, when forming any ideas of opinions of food or the services you're looking to bring on to your wedding - it is one of those things that you need privacy to discuss out of range of your vendor.  In this case, the girl sat in front of us, asking questions about our wedding, how we met, what we thought of the food etc.  Now, the food wasn't all that horrible - however, if you are paying a premium price you'd expect a lot more - not just something anyone can really whip up on a Saturday afternoon.  While the price point was similar to our next tasting and caterer, Encore Catering - albeit a "full-service" vendor (flowers, dj, coordination etc), they are providing the food and everything else is something that is additional costs.

Now, on to Cafe Merlot.  We came into this catering, expecting something similar to Encore ( I mean, how experienced were we?).  Our caterer (Toni) automatically sits us down and offers us a mimosa.  We're off to a good start at this point.  She proceeded to give us a tasting of about 10 different appetizers (literally full plated dishes) and would bring boxes as we go.  About half way through, she could tell we were getting full but let us know we needed to make room because there were about 6 other dishes coming our way.  The food was amazing.  The home-grown ingredients, succulent flavors and amazing presentation was too much to bear.  We were already leaning towards Cafe Merlot, but after tasting how she brought our menu to life and offered additional suggestions, we were sold.  In addition to the fantastic food - she left us alone at the table to discuss amongst ourselves (but secretly took note of our reactions and shared thoughts).  We walked out of there with 2 full bags of food that will literally last us several days (thankfully because we didn't make it to the grocery store this weekend).  Anyway, beyond all of that having a really realistic price point, Cafe Merlot also provides all of the linens, silverware and glasses (yes, even champagne flutes) at no additional cost - unlike Encore Catering.

I guess the moral of the story is to be sure to check into your options - because you never know what is out there.

Now, here are some questions to ask your caterer when researching for the meal you will serve on your special day!  Good luck!

1.  What is your philosphy on food preparationa and approach/style?
2.  How large is your staff?
3.  How will the waitstaff be attired?
4.  What is your experience like with weddings/events?
5.  When do you need the final count for guests?
6.  What is the cost difference for buffet vs. sit down?
7.  Do you provide alcohol or am I able to bring my own?
8.  How much per head for regular meals, child meals and/or staff meals?
9.  When is the tasting and what does it entail? (Additional Costs?)
10.  How many servers are available during buffet, passing hors d'oeuvres?
11.  What is the cost per person for wait staff?
12.  Are there any standard chefs fees? Tax and tip included?
13.  How are leftovers handled?
14.  Rentals? (if not already provided) and costs!
15.  What is the deposit and when is it due?
16.  What is the cancellation policy?
17.  How much is set up/tear down and are there fees included for this?

Well, that's it folks! That should be enough information to get you started.  Honestly though, from what I've seen with just the two caterers that I've met with so far in planning my wedding - you can tell the difference right from the get-go because a lot of them (seasoned and experienced) will provide this information up front.  But, these questions are helpful when you have one of the girls that I dealt with at one of the caterers.  Get all of the information up front, taste the food and make an objective decision before signing the dotted line!

Again, best of luck!  If you have any feedback - let me now!  Feel free to comment!