Hiring Self-Employed to Cater

MollyAlisha

My fiance and I will be having a backyard wedding not hiring a caterer. Our plan was to hire 3-4 people in there 20's, after rigorous interviewing who are self motivated and hard working to do the serving, set up, take down type things...Is anyone else doing or has done this? 

What do you think?

MyNameIsNot

MollyAlisha said:

My fiance and I will be having a backyard wedding not hiring a caterer. Our plan was to hire 3-4 people in there 20's, after rigorous interviewing who are self motivated and hard working to do the serving, set up, take down type things...Is anyone else doing or has done this? 

What do you think?

My cousin hired some former co-workers from a restaurant to do this. They came early, set up the buffet, served the guests, bartended, and cleaned up at the end of the night. Since they were restaurant employees, they knew what they were doing. She ordered food from a local BBQ joint that didn't really do catering, so they didn't have the staff and all that. The servers were responsible for picking everything up from the restaurant and setting up while everyone was at the ceremony. She saved a good amount of money on food, but the extra supplies that she had to buy (serving dishes, sterno, etc) added up to more than she was expecting.

I'm going to assume that you're getting food from somewhere and not trying to cook it all. If so, I'd be very diligent about making sure that your quote includes all the serving and set up equipment you'll need, so that you know what you're doing when you budget. I would also look for people who have some sort of restaurant or catering experience. The untrained body is going to get overwhelmed in that situation, no matter how self motivated or hard working. Training is important.

If you think you're going to cook it all yourself, forget everything I just said and hire a caterer.

bananasplit472001

There are plenty of personal event companies that are reasonable that you can get to cater.  Hiring unskilled non-professionals is a bad idea.  There are many considerations to hosting a party, big or small,  especially outside.  It is important that you hire people who understand how to keep food items warm and cold is an outside environment as food borne illnesses are common.  Spending a little extra money to hire professionals that come with their own equipment is worth it.  It is not as easy as just setting up, serving and cleaning up.  Caterers know how to do everything in any situation.  What if it rains on your wedding day or in the middle of your reception! it is extremely costly to get every little piece for the wedding.  A caterer has all of the equipment that they use for many events so they do not need to pass that cost along to you.

mikenberger

MollyAlisha said:

My fiance and I will be having a backyard wedding not hiring a caterer. Our plan was to hire 3-4 people in there 20's, after rigorous interviewing who are self motivated and hard working to do the serving, set up, take down type things...Is anyone else doing or has done this? 

What do you think?

Hire a caterer. The money you'll be "saving" by doing it on your own isn't worth the effort. You have to put value on your guests comfort, your comfort and the food safety for everybody.

Eta: there's a difference between a self employed caterer and a bunch of self motivated twenty-somethings running food around. One of them is a professional and this is their job and the other is someone you are paying to provide a service that possibly, they will never ever do again or may not even want to do in the first place. They may just be after a paycheck.

southernbelle0915

I don't think it's a good idea, sorry. If there's one area where you should ensure it's done it's food. Both from a food safety perspective and service.

I would literally save money anywhere else before I'd try to save on food. I would buy a cheap dress, forgo decor, cut the guest list, not have transportation, not stay in a hotel, etc....all before I would skimp on food. The 3 things that make an awesome wedding: food/drink, music, and a comfortable atmosphere.

amelisha

What everyone else said. Good food service and safety is really important, and what little money you might save not going with a catering company is certainly not worth the risk and all the extra planning (getting all the catering equipment etc.) And if proper food-handling procedures aren't followed and, for example, something sits at room temp too long and gets people sick, it will DEFINITELY not be worth it.

Caterers aren't always expensive. I know in my city there is a huge variety of companies, both large and small, that will do everything from 10-course plated dinners to a hot-dog-and-burger buffet in a park. You can find something that fits your more casual needs at a reasonable rate, honestly. 

Jen4948

I think you should hire someone who has professional skills and credentials to do your catering. Not to is to take very big risks involving health and safety with your provisions and their preparation and service that your guests shouldn't be expected to bear by way of "cost-cutting." The costs of using unqualified persons to do this might end up being even more than those of professional catering if something goes wrong that your low-cost people are responsible for that professionals would have known how to avoid.

zitiqueen

Are these self-motivated, hardworking 20-somethings also going to have to provide the catering equipment? Large serving pans, spoons, knives for carving, Sterno to keep food hot, ice tubs to keep food cold, ice to keep in the ice tubs, coffeepots, cream/sugar, teapots, etc?