Questions to ask your Caterer

In the previous post, some tips on the selection of a caterer was given. They were along the lines of:

1.    Choosing someone you trust

2.    Book the well in advance for you wedding day and

3.    Settle on payment and service issues

     These are some great helpful tips, but along the way there are questions that you will need to ask your caterer before you hire them. They are:

•          Does the final charge include bartender, serving and alcohol?
•          How would you and your staff be attired for the event?
•          Do you have a license to sell and serve food and drinks?
•          Due to my guest list size can you suggest a menu based on my budget?
•          Will the caterer be providing services on the same day of your wedding for another event?
•          Do you provide a full service? E.g. serving, preparation, cleanup, bar services
•          Does full service require an additional charge?
•          Would the caterer also provide seating arrangements? Tables, seats, tablecloths etc.
•          What happens to the left overs? Will they be packaged for guests
•          Do you make specialty alcoholic drinks?
•          Do you have any other extra charges such as, security deposits, service fees, tax services?
•          Do you make wedding cakes?

These questions are important to be asked as it will inevitably affect your bottom line. It is essential to ensure that you and the caterer are comfortable with the answers to these question as these answers will be dependent on any future negotiations you may make or their eventual hiring.

What is also important to consider is viewing the website or a Facebook pages of these caterers.  Here you would gain some insight into previous similar jobs and customer reviews of their past jobs. By conducting your own research you may turn out with a better catering service option than you had hoped for or realize that the ones you were banking on initially to serve at your wedding may not be suitable for you.