Choosing the Best Catering Team for Your Wedding Day
By Colin Smith
Making your special day stand out can be an overwhelming goal. In addition to selecting the venue that fits your personal style, the colors to fit your theme and your perfect wedding day attire, your guests will remember the wedding cuisine you serve more than anything.
Catering at your wedding has become one of the most important aspects of planning. Making the right choice for a wedding caterer can make or break your day. Here are some helpful tips in choosing the best catering team for your nuptials.
Referrals, Referrals, Referrals
As with most professional services, finding the right catering for your wedding takes diligent research, and starts with great word of mouth. Ask your friends or family who recently tied the knot if they can pass along a referral for their wedding catering company. Also, if you attended an event where the food was stellar, don’t be shy in asking for the caterer’s information. Word travels fast, and you will be able to find a handful of great options simply by asking around.
Make sure that the caterer you choose is fully licensed and insured. A really experienced caterer should be doing at least 25 weddings a year. A long track record and lots of references are good things. That means their staff is trained in weddings and wedding etiquette, and qualified to make your event shine.
Make Sure They Can Save Your Date
One of the most common struggles in planning your wedding day is coordinating schedules with venues, photographers, and most importantly, the company or individual serving your wedding cuisine. Even with outstanding referrals from friends or family, the catering company needs to be booked in advance for your chosen date. When making your selection, make sure you are able to get confirmation that the wedding caterer has enough time to prepare prior to your wedding.
If You Want Something Unique, Make Sure They Can Deliver
Brides are getting more creative with their wedding menu selections. Even though a personalized wedding menu can make your day that much more special, not every wedding caterer will be able to meet your demands for food items. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want, even if there are dietary restrictions. If the catering company is not able to deliver your specific food choices, it is okay to seek out a wedding cater who can. One of the coolest things I’ve been able to create recently was a full North Beach deli for a late night snack and a street taco vending station at a reception. Both are unique, fun and highly personalized.
What’s Trending
As a chef, I am seeing a great deal of more interesting vegetable preparations in wedding menus. A good example is roasted fennel and cauliflower gratin with brown butter croutons. Wedding parties and guests are still loving the incorporation of local and seasonal vegetables, and enjoying tasty takes on marinades, vinaigrettes and salsa.
Also, we are seeing a re-emergence of beef. Chicken is still the menu leader but beef is catching up.
One of the things I love using are global ingredients. Bold spices, and Korean, Thai or African-inspired touches can bring life to a menu. People are more educated on flavor and food trends, so they can experiment with more aromatics in their dishes with spices and spice blends to infuse a great deal of flavor. Cumin, Allspice, coriander and ginger are some examples on what’s being incorporated into these types of dishes.
And in order to really deliver a quality end result, an excellent caterer should have the proper holding equipment for heating and infrastructure, so your food stays hot. The food should be cooked just prior to service – not hours before and brought over in hot boxes.
Tasting is Key
The only way to truly know if your wedding catering choice is the best fit for you is to set aside time to sample the menu. During your visit, you should have ample time to customize your menu based on your preferences, and speak with your caterer about your desires for the big day. A catering company that is not willing or does not have time to schedule a tasting (or two) may not be the best choice for your wedding day.
Roundabout Catering & Party Rentals is a totally inclusive service. We have experienced professionals at every stage, from phone call to cake cutting. There’s nothing we cannot handle as far as quality, efficiency and volume.
For wedding registry needs, did you know that you can create a cash fund registry for catering or other wedding services? It’s a fun, easy and useful gift idea to cover wedding expenses.
The process of choosing your wedding caterer should be an exciting task when you have the right tools that will ultimately set apart your big day from the rest.
For all your catering and party rentals needs for your wedding, Roundabout Catering & Party Rentals is your one stop resource. To book an event or get a consultation on party rentals, please call 775-747-2090.