Things To Look For When Choosing Wedding Caterers

There's no getting away from it, planning your wedding is an exhausting and stressful task with so many different elements to organise. Apart from the wedding ceremony itself, the wedding reception is the next biggest part of the day with the food being one of the highlights. Unfortunately if you fail to make a good choice from the many wedding caterers available, then your day could be less than perfect. So, with this in mind, here are a few guidelines to choosing a caterer that will deliver great looking, tasty food, which will live up to your expectations and wow your guests.

Personal recommendations

In my opinion nothing works better than a recommendation from friends or family who have experienced great food at first hand. Ask them what was so good about the food and whether the catering staff was attentive to everyone's needs. In addition do a Google search for your area and then spend some time looking on various wedding directory websites. Have a look at wedding caterers’ recent testimonials to see what people are saying. Are there any photos of their own food on the site? Do they cook all of their food from scratch? Do they specialise in one particular style of food? Contact those caterers that appeal to you and check their availability.

Meet in person whenever possible

If you're getting married abroad, then this can sometimes be a problem, but whenever possible I would recommend that you meet prospective caterers in person. This way you can toss ideas around as to the type of food you are looking for, as well as listen to any ideas they might have. You'll also get an idea of whether this is the type of catering company that you would be happy and comfortable dealing with. Do they talk with excitement and passion when describing their food? A good caterer will always be attentive to the needs of their client and be passionate about what they do.

Price doesn't always guarantee quality

There's a saying that “you get what you pay for” but this doesn't necessarily apply when hiring a caterer. You see some caterers will charge over the odds just because of where your venue is located. If you're hiring a top end venue they may assume that your budget knows no limits. If you've apportioned a certain percentage of your budget to food and drink, then it often pays to let the caterer know how much you are willing to pay and ask what they can realistically provide within that remit. Also, don't be scared to ask if you can sample some of their food before making a decision.

Finalise all your details

Before you pay a deposit make sure that you have your chosen menus in writing and that your wedding caterer is aware of any other duties that you would like carried out. For example do you require someone to pour the drinks as well as put the food on the table? Naturally, the more you ask for, the more you will be charged, but you need to be clear on this from the start. Also make your timings clear. No-one wants to be hanging around waiting for the food to be served. Hopefully these guidelines will help with your choice of wedding caterers and you will be provided a beautiful and delicious array of wedding food that leaves everyone happy and smiling.

SAWeddings is a dedicated wedding directory with all the information you need to plan your wedding in South Africa. Search listings of wedding caterers in South Africa, for delectable food professionally produced on your wedding day.

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