One More Question To Ask Your Caterer Before Hiring

Ok, if you are bringing in your own caterer to your reception (not using the venue’s caterer) then this a tip for you.  Sit down, get a piece of paper and take notes. 
Let’s say you have found a caterer who you can afford, who offers the food you want and is available on your day.  Great, but there is one more big question you need to ask.  How long will they be there on the wedding day?  Are they going to be there to the end of the event?

 I can hear you asking does it matter.  Oh, yes it matters.  Let’s say you are planning a cocktail hour followed by a buffet dinner and then partying the night away.   You need caterers and servers not only for food but to bus your tables.  Otherwise who is picking up the dirty napkins, empty glasses, and empty plates? Same is true after dinner; the catering staff will be the people that remove plates and glasses from the tables. They will be rinising dishes and repacking them to return to the rental store.

Ok, great you say, they need to stay until after dinner and then they can leave.  The answer is no. Once the dancing starts and your guests are getting drink after drink from the bar, if the caterer and his staff is gone, who is going to pick up the glasses?  Who is going to rinse these glasses and pack them back up for the rental company to pick up at the end of the event?  In most cases, it’s not going to be the bartender, he’s just hired to run the bar.  It’s not going to be your buddies who said they’d do it and then started drinking and forgot all about it.  It’s going to be your poor Mom and Dad after everyone else has left and left them with a mess.

Don’t let this happen to your parents.  Hire a caterer that is there to the end to clean up.  It is so worth the difference in cost.