Questions to ask a wedding caterer
Not just what to ask — what a good answer sounds like, and what should worry you.
Catering quotes are the hardest to compare in wedding planning, because two caterers can quote the same per-head number for completely different amounts of food, staff and equipment. Every useful question here is an attempt to make the quotes comparable.
These are specific to wedding caterers. The questions worth asking every vendor — contracts, deposits, cancellation, insurance and referral fees — are on the main questions page, and you should ask those too.
Making quotes comparable
What is the all-in cost per guest, including staff, rentals, service charge and tax?
What to listen forInsist on one number for your guest count. A $65 quote with rentals and staffing excluded can land above a $95 quote that includes everything, and no couple has ever been told this by the cheaper caterer.
How many staff will be working, and what is the ratio?
What to listen forRoughly one server per 10-12 guests for plated service, fewer for buffet. Low staffing is how a cheap quote stays cheap and how dinner takes ninety minutes to serve.
How do you price children, vendors and anyone not eating a full meal?
What to listen forVendor meals are typically half price and children's meals less, but both are frequently left off a first quote entirely - and vendor meals are contractually required more often than couples realise. Ask for the headcount breakdown, not just a total.
The food itself
Is the tasting the same food, by the same chef, that we will get?
What to listen forTastings are sometimes cooked by a senior chef in a test kitchen for four people, and your wedding is cooked by a line for 140. Ask who is cooking on the day.
How do you keep 140 plates hot?
What to listen forListen for specifics: hold cabinets, a staggered fire, service in waves. This is the technical heart of wedding catering and vague answers predict lukewarm dinners.
How are allergies and dietary requirements handled on the night?
What to listen forYou want named plates, a seating-chart cross-reference and a captain who knows. 'We will have some vegetarian options' is not a system, and it is how a guest with a serious allergy ends up eating bread.
Bar
Can I see both a package price and a consumption estimate?
What to listen forWhich is cheaper depends entirely on your guests, and a caterer who only offers packages may be selling you the more profitable option. Ask for both.
What happens when the bar gets busy at 9pm?
What to listen forBar staffing ratios and a second service point are what prevent a twenty-minute queue during the part of the night you are paying most for.
Common questions
What should I ask a wedding caterer?
Ask for the all-in cost per guest including staffing, rentals, service charge and tax; how many staff will work and at what ratio; whether the tasting is cooked by the same chef who will cook your wedding; and how allergies are handled on the night.
How many staff should a wedding caterer provide?
Roughly one server per 10-12 guests for plated service, fewer for buffet or stations. Understaffing is the usual reason a cheaper quote is cheaper, and the visible result is dinner taking far longer to serve.
Is a catering tasting the same food we will get?
Not always. Tastings are sometimes prepared by a senior chef for four people while your wedding is cooked by a line for 140. Ask specifically who will be cooking on your date.
Why we can publish this
Most wedding sites are paid by the vendors they list, which makes a page about spotting a vendor who is managing you a difficult thing to write. Lazo charges nothing per lead and nothing per booking, and rankings can't be bought at any price — so we have no reason to soften any of the above. If a wedding caterer gives you one of the answers we've flagged, that is worth knowing before you pay a deposit.
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