Top wedding catering tips
Planning a wedding is equally exciting and stressful but our guide to what you should cover with your caterer will help it be more fun and less daunting. If you are at the beginning of your wedding planning journey, our guide to choosing a wedding caterer and how to choose a wedding caterer will help. Once you have secured wedding catering services, make sure the following points are covered.
Discuss dietary requirements
In October 2022, the Vegetarian Society estimated that 4.5% of the UK population are vegetarian or vegan (just over 3 million adults and children over the age of 18 months), so it is essential that your caterer understands and has experience in the preparation of vegetarian and vegan diets. Similarly, if you have guests with medical conditions such as coeliac disease or a dairy intolerance, their needs must be met safely and responsibly.
Finalise exact numbers
In a perfect world, you would know exact guest numbers early on in the planning process. Sadly the reality can be very different so give your caterer your best guess and finalise precise numbers at the earliest time possible. This way, your caterer can give you an accurate price quickly to help you budget.
Establish caterer/venue links
Talk to your caterer about your venue, asking if they have catered for weddings there previously. A good venue that knows your catering company will be willing to help with food on the day and an experienced catering company who knows the venue and has an existing relationship with them, will be able to find their way around quickly and efficiently. If the caterer is independent of the venue, will they use their own equipment or is there an opportunity to use the venue’s resources?
Consider the type of service
If your food choices will need serving staff to deliver them to guests, will the venue provide waiters or can your caterer? Sometimes, venues will offer reduced costs where no staff is to be provided so always ask the question. Where guests will be serving themselves, ask who will be responsible for setting the food up and are there cost implications for you?
Will there be evening catering?
The wedding breakfast is the traditional meal served to ceremony guests but discuss whether other food is required, for example canapes for guests when there is a period of time between the ceremony and the main food. Also, if evening guests are being catered for, discuss options – a less formal, more relaxed menu may be appropriate.
Wedding catering services from The ALS Group
The ALS Group is a longstanding and experienced wedding caterer in Lincolnshire that offers a fully comprehensive service. Our fully qualified chefs will create a bespoke menu to suit your exact needs and satisfy any dietary requirements, or you can make a selection from our traditional wedding breakfast menu. We can supply waiting and bar staff where required, and we have many staff members qualified in silver service for the most formal of occasions. We can also provide a full table linen hire and crockery service too.
For evening guests, your food choices are limited only by your imagination! Of course we offer the more familiar evening options of BBQ wedding catering and evening buffet wedding catering, but have you considered hog roast catering or wood fired pizza wedding catering? From canapes and grazing platters to afternoon tea wedding catering, the ALS Group can help you create the perfect day.
To find out more, simply email us or call our friendly team on 01526 397995.
