Important Questions to Ask Your Caterer Before the Big Day

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, your wedding day deserves to be as special and unique as your relationship. You’ve booked your dream venue and you’ve conceptualized how your big day will unfold, but now it’s time to bring your one-of-a-kind vision to life.

There are several significant steps throughout the wedding planning process, but when it comes time to determine your plan for food and beverage service, there are a few key questions that you can ask your caterer that will ensure your event goes off without a hitch.

What’s The Process?

Your caterer should have a tried and true process and timeline to match, perfected through catering dozens, if not hundreds of previous weddings. Find out if your caterer includes a tasting as part of their planning steps, if there’s a cost for the tasting, as well as if they will permit other key people, like your wedding planner, parent or member of your bridal party to attend the tasting with you and your partner.

An expert caterer will be able to give you a rough idea of key dates and deadlines when you meet for your initial consult: when you’ll have to lock in the menu, provide final guest counts and dietary restrictions, and confirm your wedding day timeline. Once the contract is signed they’ll be able to provide specific dates for all your deadlines.

What’s Included (and What’s Not)?

If you’ve never had experience planning a large event before, it can be overwhelming when you realize the varied logistics there are to think of, and inexperienced couples will sometimes make the mistake of assuming their caterer or another vendor will be responsible for something outside of their scope. An experienced caterer will be able to clearly tell you if they have a minimum spend, along with the services they will be able to provide within your budget, the ones they are unable to provide, and the add-ons they would be able to provide for an à la carte fee.

At Savoury City, we coordinate all the rentals needed for your event (including tables, chairs, linens, china, cutlery, glassware, ice, bar equipment, and cooking equipment, along with their pick-up and delivery) by partnering with a number of trusted vendors in the Lower Mainland.

We can also provide alcohol and beverage transportation, kids’ meals and vendors’ meals for a fee, and always offer complimentary cake cutting, plating and serving of your wedding cake.

Our experienced team of event caterers are equipped to excel in almost any environment and can design tailor-made event menus that showcase the high-quality, chef-driven cuisine Vancouver is famous for. 

Can Menus be Customized?

No two people are exactly alike and your guest list will presumably be no exception, so finding out whether your caterer can accommodate dietary restrictions and special requests will help to ensure that no guest leaves unsatisfied.

Most caterers will be happy to help with special requests if you let them know in advance, so we recommend using this opportunity to work with your caterer on any additional options that might be available.

Taking some time during the consultation process to convey your vision for your big day can not only be a great way to cultivate culinary inspiration for any potential ideas you might not have considered, it will also help to give you some much-needed peace of mind knowing even the most minute detail won’t be overlooked.

Discussing beverage options with your caterer to decide what type of bar service works best for you is another important part of the planning process. Whether it be a hosted bar, a cash bar, or BYOA package, finding the ideal delivery system for your guests’ libations can make a big difference to the overall experience.

No matter which route you elect to take, our catering consultants will work closely with you and your fiancé(e) to get a sense of your vision, priorities, and budget to create a personalized or custom experience that reflects your unique tastes and desires.

What Do They Need from the Venue?

Our versatility is a point of pride at Savoury City, but before you settle on a specific service style for your event, we suggest working with your catering consultant to make sure the venue you’ve selected is capable of accommodating your vision.

Are you serving a traditional plated dinner? If so, we recommend asking your caterer what they would need from the venue to make that happen. Will they need access to water? And how many access points for each? Parking? If you envision your event as more of a free roaming social affair, you’ll likely want to know if the space lends itself to serving canapes and cocktails.

We strongly recommend working with an experienced wedding planner to work in tandem with your caterer and other vendors to provide a seamless and stunning wedding and dinner service. Ask your caterer if they have any preferred vendors or wedding planners they recommend working with who have a proven track record of putting together successful events at similar venues.

Can They Attend a Venue Walk-Through?

In addition to being one of the best ways to ensure the service goes as smoothly as possible, asking your caterer to attend a venue walkthrough with your wedding planner and other vendors will help you determine the ideal flow for the wedding day. You can also use this time to identify and address any last-minute logistical challenges you might face with regards to the venue or other vendors.

With nearly 20 years of experience crafting memorable custom experiences for couples in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland, our approach will always be to begin with a blank slate, and to work in unison with couples to ensure their dream wedding becomes a reality.