Four Reasons You Shouldn’t Cater Your Own Wedding
Think about when you first started your current job. You had to be shown how to do basic tasks, and you probably made some mistakes and had to do something over. Now, you can do the same tasks in your sleep, because you’ve done them hundreds of times. However, when they were new, they were challenging.
The same thing applies to catering a wedding reception.
You get married. Let us do the catering.
Too many couples decide to eschew a catering service in order to provide their own wedding reception meal, usually with the help of family and friends. It seems like a way to save money, but professional caterers know how to execute a reception flawlessly and when you do it without them you can easily run into snags that cost time, frustration and even money. Here are four reasons you should get out of the kitchen and leave the wedding catering to the professionals.
1. Save stress. We put this one first for a reason. Preparing a large scale meal is one of the most stressful jobs under even the best of circumstances, all the more so when you’re already coping with all the stress of your big day. The actual cooking itself is only a fraction of all the work that goes into it, from getting supplies to coordinating everything so that it comes out at the right time. Don’t put yourself (or mom) through it. Instead, let your wedding be a time of enjoyment.
2. Save your relationships. Something unexpected is always going to happen. Maybe you have to add 10 more guests at the last moment, or maybe a delayed flight means the whole meal needs to be moved back four hours. Professional caterers are used to being thrown curve balls, and they have the resources to come up with a solution. When it’s Grandma and Aunt Jackie in the kitchen, it’s not so easy to drop the bomb. And, heaven forbid, what if you sample something and don’t like it?
3. The equipment. Caterers have all the stemware, flatware and silverware needed to bring a reception to life and make it look just like it does in movies and photographs. When a couple talks of catering their own meal, they often forget the added cost of getting all these dishes. Likewise, caterers have professional kitchen equipment or can rent it for a low price.
4. Presentation. As they say, it’s not just how the food tastes but how it looks. Caterers can take a menu and turn it into an entire experience. This ranges from the practical, like where to situate the buffet table to keep the line moving, to the aesthetic, like where to drizzle a tiny bit of aioli to make that plate look perfect. Everyone’s had a home-cooked dinner before, but it’s rare to have that gourmet moment and perfect atmosphere. If there’s one time you should treat yourself to it, it’s your wedding.
Don’t recreate your first day of work at your wedding. Trust a caterer to make it happen for you. If you’re in the Washington, DC or Northern VA area, call Saint Germain Catering and see how we can make your big day magical without breaking your budget.
Do you have any stories of self-catered weddings? Share them with us we would love to read your stories.
