Planning a wedding or large event can be difficult when there are so many different details to nit-pick and coordinate. The food, venue and decorations are only the beginning when planning a party. With hundreds of catering companies and venues to choose from, it can be hard to decide which is best. Searching online is a good place to start, but how are you supposed to decide who will do the best job? Here are some things to consider when picking the best catering company and purveyors for your wedding or event:
Type of Party:
The first step in planning a party is deciding what type of party to have! Is it a wedding, birthday or corporate get-together? How many people will be there? Is it inside or outdoors? Casual or fancy? These are important questions to ask yourself and considerations to make that will dictate your catering needs. By deciding on these specifications, you can determine if a company is capable of doing the job, just by preliminary research.
Budget:
Your budget for the event is the next factor that will dictate which purveyor you will use. Are you wanting a five-course meal or just hors d’oeuvres to tide your guests over? Will bar services be necessary? Your budget will determine these things and the type of service you will receive from the catering company. With a larger budget, you will have more room to customize your menu specifically to your tastes. Also, it will give you room to explore more creative options. By communicating your expectations with the company beforehand, you will know exactly what you’re getting with your money, with no abrupt surprises.
Venue:
It may not seem like it, but your venue and menu go hand-in-hand. Lots of venues include catering packages or suggestions for you to choose from when you book the dates. It’s important to consider the space of your venue and how easy it would be to serve food in that setting. Some venues are exclusive with its catering and won’t allow other purveyors. Be sure that your venue will allow whichever catering company you want to use.
Flexibility:
We know that anything can go wrong at any moment when planning an event or throwing a party. It may rain on the day of your garden party or the venue might accidently be double booked. Not everything will go perfectly, so it’s important to choose a caterer that will be flexible with last minute changes so all your expectations are met. Your caterer should be able to customize its menus for the special occasion or any dietary restrictions. If necessary for your event, be sure to communicate to your caterer that you will need a team to set up the food and clean up after.
Experience:
When you’ve narrowed your catering options down to just a few choices, the decision maker will come down to the experience of the company. Is the company new to the industry and working out its kinks or does it have years of experience in the business? It takes experience to know the ins-and-outs of an industry; and when something goes wrong, you’ll want the expertise that is needed to fix the problem. Look at online reviews on websites like Facebook, Yelp and Google to read reviews of real customers and their experience using the company.
Are you planning an event and looking for the perfect caterer to execute your needs? Look no further than All Occasion Catering! AOC has years of experience, catering weddings and events, making your special event as great as it can be. All of our menus are customizable, and we offer an assortment of venues for you to choose from. To learn more about All Occasion Catering, or to book your next event, visit us online.
I like that you suggested checking how experienced a catering company is to make sure that they know the ins and outs of the industry. My husband and I are planning to hire a catering company for our wedding reception party. We want to have a stress-free wedding reception, so it’s crucial for us to find a wedding caterer that’s well versed in providing quality catering services.
I agree that it’s best to hire a catering company that’s willing to customize their menus to make sure that they can meet all your expectations. My fiance and I are looking to hire a wedding catering company. We want to make sure that all our guests will enjoy the meals that we will serve, so we want to find a catering company that will take into consideration what our wedding guests want.
You make a good point that you want a caterer that will be flexible since things can change at the last minute. This is helpful since my sister will be getting married in the fall, so I’m helping her find a caterer. We’ll have to find one that can deal with weather changes since we plan to be outside but may have to move if it rains then.
I like how you mentioned that when it comes to looking for a catering service, there should be some degree of flexibility involved in the service proper–like what if a sudden weather change affects the outdoor venue and you have to move inside, or it’s a heavy snowfall day–they should be ready to adapt at a moment’s notice. At the same time they should also have a wide variety of food available, with options available for those who have dietary restrictions. If I had the chance to cater for a wedding then I would definitely make sure that the team would be prepared to react to any kind of emergency during the event proper.