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Catering
For Your Wedding Reception |
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Now
that you have decided on the type of reception venue you
want then it is time to choose between using the in-house
catering on offer, hiring an outside catering firm or catering
yourselves.
Many venues have in-house caterers that provide all the
food and drink services for celebrations held there. These
caterers will be familiar with the styles of meal that their
chefs specialise in and will also be able to provide tables
and chairs, linen, crockery, glasses, waiting staff and
some decorations.
If you have specific catering requirements like needing
Halal or Kosher meals then the venue may not be able to
accommodate your wedding or they may allow you to book outside
caterers. Similarly, if there is no in-house catering then
ask for recommendations from the venue or friends or relatives.
Also check the Yellow Pages and local newspapers for contacts.
Draw up a shortlist of potential caterers and arrange an
appointment to discuss your specific requirements and compare
prices and services. Ask to see specific example menus,
price list and testimonials from other brides and grooms
and inquire about the type of wedding packages they offer.
Ask each caterer the same questions about their service,
ingredients and any added extras so you get comparable quotes
from each.
- Do
you only have set menus or can we create our own?
- How
many options can we offer for each course?
- Can
any special dietary needs can be dealt with?
- Can
we taste a sample of your food?
- I
am holding my reception at home/in a marquee/in a hall.
Will my food will be pre-cooked and prepared or do you
need any cooking or storage facilities?
- Is
wine included in a package with food?
- Do
you charge corkage if we buy our own wine?
- If
wine is provided, will we be charged for the amount
of bottles ordered or for just those that are opened?
- How
many other drinks are included in the package? What
soft drinks are included? (Some include a drink as the
guests arrive and then a certain number of bottles of
wine per guest, along with fruit juices).
- How
much clearing up will be done after the reception? (Some
caterers will clear only the kitchens while others will
wait until the end of the entire evening and clear everything
away. In-house caterers will usually clear up more at
the end of the evening.)
- Do
you provide for waiting staff in your quote?
- How
near the wedding date can we confirm final numbers?
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This is now the least popular option
because most couples feel they have enough to worry about
on their wedding day without being responsible for the finer
details of catering. Taking care of the food for your wedding
is a big responsibility, but a highly-organised bride with
a dedicated team of helpers should be able to manage. You
will need to make sure there is plenty of food for your
guests, that it is well presented and that you cater for
any special dietary requirements. There is a limit to the
amount of food that can be prepared in advance. The setting
out of the reception will have to be done at the same time
as the preparations for the ceremony, and it is here, if
nowhere else, that helpers can come into their own. |
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choosing this option, ask yourselves a couple of questions:
Do you have the time and experience to cope with planning
menus and catering for large number, access to the right
kind of equipment in large enough quantities, and a supply
of willing friends and relatives to help with this mammoth
task? Perhaps one friend could take overall responsibility
for the catering with the rest of the team reporting to
him/her rather than you. This will take some of the strain
off you, but keep the cost of catering down.
It is more simple to self-cater a buffet as it is easier
to estimate the quantities of food you need and you can
provide a variety of hot and cold items that do not need
to be cooked and served simultaneously. As a guide, professional
caterers allow approximately fifteen to twenty items of
food per guest, so simply multiply this by the number of
guests you invite. Make sure you have enough furniture,
china, cutlery and glassware or hire from a catering firm for the day. Some off-licences offer a discount if you hire
glasses at the same time as ordering your wine.
When it comes to presenting your buffet food, the simplest
way is often the most effective. Ask the staff at your venue
if they have any table linen you could hire, or buy paper
tablecloths and napkins in the colour scheme of your wedding.
Basic plates are fine for displaying your food, and use
a few some simple flower or candle arrangements to decorate
your tables.
If you decide to have a sit-down meal you will need to consider table settings for all of your guests and provide waiting
staff to serve your food. It is possible to hire waiters
and waitresses but this can be an expensive option. Consider
asking friends of teenage bridesmaids to help, and delegate
responsibility of organising them to someone else.
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