You have the perfect fiancé, perfect date, perfect guest list, perfect wedding squad, perfect outfit. Your wedding is planned. But do you have the perfect wedding caterer? Here are the top three biggest wedding catering mistakes and how to avoid them, from the experts at Dalton Catering, who have been catering luxury events since 2003.
Whether you are looking for a relaxed or formal style of wedding catering, the caterer you select is the most important decision you make to ensure that the entire delivery of your wedding reception is perfect.
The perfect wedding requires perfect food, it’s a non-negotiable. Why is food so important? Frankly, breaking bread with our ‘new’ family and friends ‘by marriage’ directly following a wedding ceremony is ingrained in our DNA, we have been doing it for thousands of years and there does not look like there is anything to suggest that we are going to stop falling in love or eating!
“On one of the most important days of your life, who are you going to entrust to feed your nearest and dearest? Who is going to make sure that the most important part of the most important party that, quite possibly, you ever throw is perfect?”
We have all been to a wedding where all appeared to be ‘perfect’ … and then came the food… Here are some criticisms that we have heard from clients who have attended other people’s weddings, with not so perfect catering, and are now looking at booking their own wedding catering:
Not enough food
Let’s face it, a wedding is a big commitment for everyone involved, not just the wedding party. Guests often need to travel, get to hair and makeup appointments, check-in to accommodation and generally run around like mad all day ensuring that their own families are taken care of whilst they are out toasting the newlyweds.
The reality is that most guests, like the wedding party, forget to eat or skip lunch, arriving hungry and in need of something to absorb all that congratulatory champagne! Don’t think that your guests can comfortably wait until dinner time to sate their hunger pains, ensure that there is something to eat either directly prior to the ceremony or straight after, this will ensure everyone eases into the festivities, will be comfortable and relaxed and can enjoy the rest of the evening without rumbling tummies. Let’s also not forget that, whilst the wedding party gets photos post-ceremony, guests are left to mingle and are more often than not, hungry!
We are huge fans of post-ceremony grazing tables, it instantly feeds those that are hungry, brings people closer together as they gather around to grab a plate of charcuterie or a quick sliver of cheese and bread. Invest time and money in wedding catering that has the guest in mind, we suggest something to eat post-ceremony, then a 2-3 course meal + cake and if you’re nearest and dearest LOVE to party into the wee small hours, think about having something available for those midnight hunger pangs.
The food was bad
With the 21st century entrepreneurial spirit at its peak, there are a lot of so-called ‘caterers’ out there. It takes an immense amount of skill to prepare, transport and then serve food outside of a commercial kitchen environment safely, please… please ensure that you select a caterer that is experienced and specialises in out-catering and can do so safely. Choosing the wrong caterer is one of the worst wedding catering mistakes you can make.
When searching for the perfect wedding catering, be wary of “the cheapest option’, the cheapest option means that sometimes you are sacrificing flavour and quality. Some of our couples are quite often surprised at how much good wedding catering costs, we ask them to head to their local supermarket and endeavour to buy the ingredients that they wish to have on their menu to get an idea of how much good, fresh food truly costs. Remember, perfect wedding catering requires restaurant quality food to come out of a gazebo tent, a garage, a carport or the back of a van; so your caterer really needs to know what they are doing!
“Like anything in this world, you get what you pay for. If food is not important to you or you don’t have a big budget, think about holding your wedding reception outside of traditional mealtimes and provide something lighter, for example, a champagne high tea or a brunch.”
Spent too long at the table and not enough time partying
If there is one piece of feedback that we get from 100% of couples about their wedding day, it’s that ‘the day went too fast’… We are seeing a trend for ceremonies starting earlier, particularly in the winter months, this means that the good times at the reception will have just as much time, if not more, than the time required for formalities. Nobody likes to be chained to their table setting when there’s mingling to be done and shapes to be cut on the dancefloor, we recommend breaking up the dining style for your wedding catering. We suggest having all food served prior to the main course served as ‘stand-up’; think dreamy grazing tables, chef attended food stations or, of course, fun and inventive canapes.
“For the last decade, at least, we have a 90% demand for ‘shared dining’ main courses because this allows for a relaxed and social dining style, encourages people to chat with each other at their table and for the entire reception to be able to eat at the same time. More recently dessert is being taken over by ‘petit four’ styled options, this means 2-3 mouthful desserts that are served individually with a spoon, or, even desserts that can be picked up and eaten directly.”
If you need any inspiration for your wedding catering then please feel free to reach out to Dalton Catering to discuss your perfect wedding with the best wedding catering that South East Queensland has to offer.
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