Wedding Catering Etiquette

This will be a Do's-and-Don'ts type guide. It will cover all of the major issues that guests to weddings and even the brides may have when it comes to catering a wedding.

Gifts

• You are not required to open any gift in front of the wedding reception.
• You should not ask for certain things; especially not money (Even if you need it to pay for that fancy wedding catering).
  

Seating Plan

• Do NOT seat bickering relatives next to each other.
• You don't have to have specific seats assigned to different people. Assigning each person to a specific table will even be better for when you cater your wedding.
• Having a head table is not always required. You can do it if you want, or you can choose a more "casual" seating arrangement. It's your wedding so do what you want.

Paying for your Wedding Catering

• The Bride's family is expected to pay for the Groom's ring, the reception costs (general wedding catering), church fees, and invitations.
• The Groom's family usually pays for the Bridge's ring, the rehearsal dinner, and the cost of the clergy.

A few last things...

• If you are a guest, do NOT assume that the bride and groom know you are coming, even if you have had contact with them. Always reply to the invitation before the reply date.
• If you accept the invitation, you have to buy the couple a gift. If you don't accept it, then you should not be expected to.
• If you arrive late, you should wait until the bride has gone down the isle. Also, find a seat quickly on the outside isle; this isn't a time to dilly-dally.

Hopefully this will help both guests and couples with their wedding catering.

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More Tips on Wedding Catering

If you've ever been to a wedding you know that most of time something will go wrong. Whether its something like Uncle Bobby going on for 45 minutes during his toast; or something completely different, it will be ultimately up to the planners of the wedding and the caterers.

When choosing a wedding caterer, make sure you arrange a taste testing. Nothing is more embarrassing than having your big day arrive and half your guests aren't eating their food. Also, if possible, make sure they include not only main dishes, but sides as well. When you are tasting the food, try to pay attention to not only the taste, but the presentation. No one is going to try your heavenly tasting food if it looks like slop.

A sure fire way to save money is with a buffet over a traditional plated dinner. Just make sure that your caterers enforce a strict one-plate-per-person rule. Your guests should remember that they are here to celebrate your marriage, not to engorge themselves on shrimp and crab cakes.

At least some of the people that attend your wedding are sure to be vegetarians or diabetics and will need some sort of special meal. It isn't fair for them to have to sit there with a house salad as their main course while their fellow guests are chowing down on T-bone steak and lobster. Another detail to consider is that some caterers require that you pay for your vendor's meals. Some vendors have contracts that specify that they must be fed after X number of hours. Be sure to check with your wedding catering company.

Follow these wedding catering tips and your sure to have a wonderful wedding reception.

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Keeping Wedding Catering Expenses On The Low Side

If you want to keep your expenses on the "low side" can be accomplished by changing a few key items. You will have to make some sacrifices. And sure, some people may complain that there isn't an open bar, but you may have prevented that one uncle from getting a little too tipsy and ruining your big day.

Firstly, the food itself is a major expense. Pick foods that are in season. You want to stay away from the overly fancy food if you have a tight budget. This means no shrimp, lobster, etc; especially in the main course. Also, you'll want to stay away from foods that require a lot of work to prepare. Buffets also are great money savers, and let your guests have more to choose from. Finally, ask yourself if you really need a five course meal, or if less will satisfy your guests adequately. Its decisions like these that will save you the most.

Decoration also comes into play when catering a wedding. To save money, choose a white or one-tone color table cloth instead of an overly fancy pattern or design. If you need that much color, you can use place mats and your center piece. Another good idea is to get a catering company that will supply you with everything that you need, such as glassware, tablecloths, plates, trays, etc.

Use these tips well and you can save big. Remember, saving money on the wedding catering can lead to having more money to spend on other big expenses that are associated with a new marriage (a new house?).

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Catering A Wedding Reception

A wedding reception in the event usually held after the full event of the wedding has taken place. It is a time for celebration with only your closest family and friends. Most of the time it is held in a relatives house and is just a time to kick back after the wedding and wish the newly weds good luck. Most people expect that some form of food will be served. Whether this is in the form of a full course meal, or some trays of finger food is up to the person who plans it and the caterers. Also, you could forgo formal food and just serve appetizers and beverages.

The types of food and drinks to be served should be inline with local tastes and nothing too bizarre. Be sure to keep your budget and number of people you invited in mind. Another tip is that you should start planning for your wedding reception catering yesterday. If you don't have enough time, your special day might lack the luster that makes this day so special. You should also note whether or not your specified location will have kitchen facilities, as this may or may not be a factor in deciding your wedding caterer.

You should work on making a small list of wedding caterers. Then, compare their prices and the services they offer. When you have chosen one or two, you should have a meeting with them to discuss the details of the wedding reception. They may offer samples of food which is always a plus; its best to know first hand what kind of food they will have. And lastly, don't be afraid to haggle; this is the most important day of your life and it should be perfect.

Hopefully your wedding reception catering goes along smoothly and you and your guests have a wonderful time.

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Choosing A Caterer For Your Wedding

If you are reading this its safe to assume that you are probably here at Wedding Catering because you are planning a wedding (or maybe an office party) and you need some ideas on how to choose a proper caterer. Choosing the right caterer can be overwhelming because you have to make sure your in the right budget, as well as other things like the menu and the design of the party. Here are some ideas to help you in your search for the perfect wedding caterer.

First, making sure that the caterers you are looking at have the right credentials is key. You don't want Joe from the local meat deli who shows up in his thirty year old Volkswagen. You want to look for wedding caterers who have good reviews, be sure to check sites other than the actual caterers for reviews because unfortunately some reviews are paid. Also, some caterers specialize in things like weddings, so you would probably want to go with an expert wedding caterer over your average corporate catering company.

You need to have the right amount of food at your wedding. You won't want 60 plates if your only planning on having a small family only type wedding. You should try and create a tally of the people coming to your event and their ages and gender if possible (20 teenage boys will eat a LOT more than 20 grandmas). Another issue will be what type of food will you be serving? Different parts of the country will like different types of food, just like different age and gender groups will. Desserts of almost any kind are usually well received (although, I will say that thick chocolate cake with more chocolate ice cream is probably not the way to go). Also, make sure if your planning for an event like an office party you have a wide variety of food for all those picky eaters.

If you use some of the ideas on this page and some common sense, it shouldn't be too difficult for your wedding and (hopefully) your marriage to go excellently. And one last thing, don't be afraid to ask the caterers for advice! (Remember, its their job.)

I hope this helps all you nervous wedding planners out there!

Tags: caterer, caterering, wedding catering, cheap wedding catering, corporate catering, wedding caterers