Your wedding reception is easily one of the biggest costs of your wedding, so it’s very important that you have a clear, and well documented, contract with your banquet sales representative and/or wedding caterer.
If you don’t do this and you simply go with the first caterer that pops up in the Yellow Pages, you’re leaving your most special day to chance and worse still, the last thing you want is your wedding guests forever remembering your big day because the food was so horrendous!
Here are some of the things that you need to iron out with your wedding caterer before you go sending them your check:
- Does your caterer have a license?
- Has it met local health department standards?
- Does it have liability insurance?
- Does the fee include just the food or additional services like tables, chairs, silverware?
- Do you need to pay extra for seat covers, place settings, equipment?
Will the caterer provide waiters?- How many people will each waiter serve?
- How many people will assist at the buffet table?
- Does the package include place cards, centerpieces, guest book?
- What is the caterer’s experience in food styling? (Ask to see photos of prior settings.)
- What drinks are included?
- Will you need to pay corkage fees if you bring in your own sodas or liquor? (Compare the costs of an open bar, corkage fees, or set drinks.)
- What are the special fees not included in the cost of menu? This includes sales taxes, service fees, bar fees, security deposits, corkage, etc. Always ask for the total package cost and check against your wedding budget.
- When is the downpayment and final balance due?
- What is the cancellation and refund policy?
- What date will the caterer need a final headcount?
- Who will oversee the event on the actual wedding day?
- Can you have a special menu for kids or friends with dietary considerations?
For more wedding planning checklists to ensure that your wedding day goes without a hitch, check out the wedding checklists section of my website — no charge, they’re FREE! 🙂
You might think that’s this is all a little OTT, but trust me on this… more weddings are spoiled by disorganization in the catering department than anything else, so just print off this list, hand it to all of your prospective caterers and make an educated decision based on their answers.
You might be thanking me for it later 😉
Really a wonderful post. Thanks for writing and sharing all this important information with us. These are very important things to ask before hiring a catering party.