Important Questions to Ask Your Wedding Caterer

Whether your wedding venue already has a caterer in house or you're researching and selecting your wedding vendors and wedding food yourself, you will naturally want to pick the best wedding caterer you can afford. A catering company that can help with wedding planning, be available on your wedding date, be aware of your wedding budget and hopefully manage those last minute requests with ease! Choosing your wedding catering company is just as important as selecting your wedding venue and picking your wedding photographer. These are big ticket items that could make or break your wedding day. So, with that in mind, let's get stuck into the most important things to ask your caterer. From liability insurance, to wedding reception options and wedding cakes, keep reading for a comprehensive list of questions to ask your wedding caterer.

Essential questions for your potential caterer

Are you available on my wedding day? How many weddings do you cater for per year? How long have you been wedding caterers at my wedding venue? As a catering company do you supply multiple events and other events? Do you cater for a sit down meal or family style? Can I have food truck wedding catering? Am I able to have a menu tasting? If so, when do your menu tastings usually take place?

Wedding food and meal service

Do you provide vendor meals? What about guests' dietary restrictions? Do you offer package upgrades or a bulk fee at your catering company? What are the food options? Is there a price difference between different styles of food? Do you serve hors d'oeuvres? Do you offer a custom menu? As wedding caterers do you supply children's meals? What do you do with the leftover food? When can I make my food choices and final menu choices? How long does the meal service at the wedding reception last for?

Bar services

Do caterers offer bartending services? Do you charge a corkage fee for serving alcohol? Do you charge based on the alcohol consumed or simply serve alcohol and we pay later? Can you assist with the champagne toast? Can we provide alcohol and bring in our own sparkling wine? Do most catering companies have a liquor license?

Questions to ask your potential caterers

Do you have liability insurance? Can you make me a wedding cake? Is there a cake cutting fee? Even if you provide the wedding cake? How many guests do you normally cater for you? What's your cancellation policy? How much space do most caterers need? Do you need to see my guest list and final guest numbers? Do certain caterers charge overtime fees? What happens if the wedding overruns? Can I bring other people to the food tastings? When do you need all the details? Once you are able to ask a wedding caterer all of these important questions and you're happy with the answers you can go ahead and book hopefully the best wedding caterer for the job! But remember to have everything in writing and follow up with them on the run up to your wedding date too. Food is such an important part of a wedding day that you want to make sure that everything goes as smoothly as it possibly can with your chosen catering company.