Create a dining experience they will remember forever for all the right reasons. Since making your wedding unforgettable hinges on the experience you create, catering is an important decision. These tips for wedding catering should help you plan a flawless event they will never forget.
Wedding Catering Services
There are different types of wedding catering services that couples do not always realize, and each creates a very different experience. There are additional services that might be essential for the type of event you are planning. Before you rush out to secure a wedding catering company, you should consider your vision for the wedding day you want to create and know what you need to make it all happen. Ask yourself whether you desire a drop-off service or full-service catering with plated meals. To answer this question, you should communicate with your wedding venue and determine which services are included.
Drop-Off or Full Service
Drop-off catering and full-service catering are two very different services with a different cost. Drop-off catering is designed to deliver your cuisine to banquet staff and food managers within a venue. This hands over the service to a buffet-style event. Booking an all-inclusive wedding venue with food managers and banquet staff can provide additional services and eliminate extra catering costs. Full-service catering is exactly what the name implies, complete service. This involves setting up, breaking down, plated meals, staff services, bartender services, and a much wider range of menu options. If you are booking at a venue with bartenders, staff services and food managers, you should choose a drop-off service. This will provide you with the most savings.
Coordinating Perfection
Coordinating perfection is the only reality you should accept on your wedding day. Perfection will mostly be about perception, but there are a few general events that could drastically change the outcome of your day. One of the most critical errors would occur if food never finds its way to the venue. Next to that experience would be food arriving late. Beyond timing issues, food can be cold or provided in insufficient quantities, falling short of feeding every guest in attendance. Nothing could be more important than quality and presentation, except for coordinating the timing of it all.
Your wedding catering should arrive on time with proper presentation and portions for every guest in attendance. Perfection is achieved with experience. Always use wedding catering companies that are recommended by your wedding venue. They have cultivated relationships with caterers by working on countless events together. Make sure your venue has food managers and day of event coordinators to help you create the flawless moments your special day deserves.
Choosing the Cuisine
Think about your wedding day, the setting and the theme. This will help you make decisions about the type of food you want to serve. Sometimes it is a favorite dish, but it can also be related to your theme. If you are recreating romantic Tuscany or a trip to Paris, you will set your table from a different menu. While the most common dishes are poultry, you can choose seafood, beef, pork and vegetarian dishes. There are no real rules, unless dietary restrictions, religion and allergies come into play. Everyone has a unique palate; therefore, you will never please everyone. However, you should think about the theme and balance it with other decisions based upon what you think the majority of your guests will enjoy. You should not be searching for wedding catering. Instead, you should be searching for diversity, customization, creativity, experience, flavor and presentation.
Wedding Catering Expenses
Wedding catering is a significant part of your wedding celebration. It is risky to base the decision solely upon the price of a plate, but keep in mind that skimping in this area risks disaster on your wedding day. A professional caterer with a reputation will cost between about $20 and $40 per plate on average. Catering can cost less or much more. Avoid skimping on the dining experience. Negotiate and customize your packages to receive the most savings. Having a drop-off service that works with the banquet staff at your wedding venue can deliver a superior dining experience and save on the expensive full-service options.
Beverage Packages
Some catering companies have a liquor license and offer bar packages. Beverage packages can be expensive and require some smart negotiating. Sometimes a catering company can create unique packages to help you save. If you are hosting your wedding at an all-inclusive wedding venue with bar services, it makes more sense to stock your own bar and utilize the bar services at the venue. Not every bar package involves alcoholic beverages. There are also juice and coffee stations. Get creative with your caterer and build a package that fits your vision for your wedding day.
Crystal Ballroom at Veranda
Crystal Ballroom at Veranda is an all-inclusive wedding venue that bundles the venue, furnishings, décor and services into an affordable luxury wedding package. This saves you thousands on your wedding day, while providing an upfront cost for almost the entire event you are planning. Upgrades can help you customize your wedding to match your budget. Crystal Ballroom at Veranda includes an in-house design team to decorate the entire ceremony space and reception ballroom, a bartender service, banquet staff, furnishings, chinaware, all the linens, centerpieces and décor. Crystal Ballroom also has food managers and day of event coordinators to manage your entire experience. Crystal Ballroom makes it easy to plan a fairy tale and build a vendor team all in one place.
