Choosing a Wedding Caterer

One of the benefits of working in a dry hire venue is the ability to bring in your personal choice of caterer. Some venues will have a ‘preferred list’ which you may be able to buy out of for a small commission - sometimes the list is purely recommendations with no buy out fees at all. Most of the venues on the Urban Weddings list will allow you the freedom to choose your own catering team, but where do you start when choosing a caterer?

Define your budget and style

As with all of your wedding suppliers, caterers come in all shapes and sizes. If you’re looking for a simple pie & mash supper there’s little point in choosing a caterer who proudly boasts that they are regulars at Hampton Court Palace. Be aware of food costs and budget for staffing, catering hire and chefs on top. This is can feel a little counterintuitive, you don’t pay extra for plates and cutlery when eating in a restaurant for instance, but remember that a restaurant that is open 7 days a week and turns tables every night is using the same crockery 20+ times every week. Most small caterers operate from small industrial units and require that all equipment for the event is hired as a one off.

Think about the cost of a meal out, in even a casual London restaurant and use this as guide for your budget. Remember that raw ingredients costs are only part of the picture, chefs need to get paid whether they are grilling lobster or making beans on toast.

Think about the style of eating that suits you as a couple as well as the vibe of your wedding. Whether that is tapas style, formal dining, shared platters, hearty meat & three veg style meals - working out how you would like to eat will go a long way to helping you choose a menu.

Once you’ve defined cost and style it’s easier to narrow down your choice of caterer.

Choosing your Caterer

If you’re working with a seasoned planner, then this should be a priority conversation. Rely on their experience and contacts to dig out those special suppliers that aren’t necessarily paying for the first slot on Google. If, however, you are relying on search engines, then research is key. Ask the caterer for venue references as well as customer testimonials - do they work regularly in your style of venue? (Lots of dry hire venues will use break out spaces and even gazebos as kitchens. If your caterer only really works in venues with fully equipped banqueting kitchens they may not cope so well). Look at Google reviews rather than just website based testimonials - but also remember that amateur on-line critics sometimes have an unreasonable axe to grind. Ask for a range of previous menus, study their Instagram, scrutinise their ethos.

Street Food Weddings

If you’re looking for a casual wedding meal without table service (maybe even without a dining furniture set up at all) then street food style catering can be a lot of fun. Whether you have an outside space for food trucks and gazebos or maybe an interior where food stations can be used, street food style eating can allow for a range of casual dishes from around the world whilst your guests mingle. Be sure to allow for a reasonable amount of time as an eating window as many street food caterers are cooking to order rather than pre-batching.

If you’d like table service and a seating plan there is little wisdom in relying on a street food truck to serve all of your guests in a timely manner. Our advice in this situation is to use an experienced caterer who can provide a casual style menu but work from a kitchen with a team of chefs. Your favourite street market caterer just isn’t going to knock out 150 perfect meals from his converted ambulance with anything like the kind of efficiency needed for a seated meal.

If street food is your thing, then do go a step further and define your market favourites. From biryani to burgers, pad-thai to paella, street food can encompass almost any cuisine. Speak to your planner in detail about how the indivudual trucks or stalls are to be managed and what level of service needs to be incorporated from floor staff.

Have fun designing your menu

We’d always advise that chefs are the alchemists who will bring the wow factor to your menu ideas. Give guidance on the ingredients and cuisine styles you like but let the catering team run with them and work their magic. Talk to your team in detail about your crazy ideas, those insane food moments you’ve had - whether in a Michelin Star restaurant or from a street vendor in Hanoi - and let them run with their culinary instincts to create something unique for you.

Need more advice?

Don’t hesitate to contact The Wedding Arrangers to discuss your wedding catering requirements. They’ve worked with a huge range of caterers, street food vendors and restrauteurs to provide food at weddings in a career spanning 15 years. They’d be only too pleased to help out.

Thankyou!

Thankyou for taking the time to read our catering guide. Watch out for more exclusive planning content arriving in your inbox soon and don’t forget to bookmark this page for reference.

Good luck!

UW x

All pictures on this guide are from real weddings produced by The Wedding Arrangers. We do not feature styled shoots or stock images