Anybody familiar with catering quotes? Help :)

elliemonster2012

I have looked at tons and tons of "all inclusive places" (ha) but am dabbling in rentals and bringing in our own vendors but do not have the SLIGHTEST idea what I should be looking at in a caterer.

 Anybody wanna school me on this?

LANAYJ

I am finding that caterers can be the glue that holds everything together OR that can just be responsible for the food.  This will be your most daunting task no doubt about it.

The first thing you want to know is if they are a full service caterer, meaning can they provide rentals for tables, chairs, linens, equipment, etc.

Have they ever worked in your venue space before?

If you are having your ceremony and reception in the same space, how long will it take them to "flip" the room?

A hidden cost can be the cake cutting fee, some places charge per guest.  Ask your caterer if they will charge for this service.  Another hidden cost is the corkage fee for champagne and wine served during the reception. 

Have an idea of what foods you'd like to serve, even if you don't have an idea of how you want it prepared.  It still helps them give you an estimate of cost.

What style of service will the food be presented? Plated, buffet/food stations or family style? 

Ask how many staff members will be on site the day of the wedding?

The more information you present to your potential caterers the better they will be able to assist you.  My fiancée and I created a questionnaire template and we used that to email all the caterers on our list.  Depending on the caterer, we only had to make minor changes depending on food service style and menu choice. 

I am finding many caterers are willing to serve as a day of coordinators (no extra charge) to ensure everything runs smoothly.

I really hope this helps.  If you have any more questions, I'm glad to offer my advice as we've just selected our caterer after looking for over a month.

ncwenze

 LANAYJ who did you chose? we are currently going through the process

elliemonster2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_illinois-chicago_anybody-familiar-with-catering-quotes-help?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:72Discussion:bca5d7dd-1dd6-4744-b246-2a85ae75eff5Post:91c19245-ec8b-4103-8344-45211264d72f">Re: Anybody familiar with catering quotes? Help :)</a>:
[QUOTE]I am finding that caterers can be the glue that holds everything together OR that can just be responsible for the food.  This will be your most daunting task no doubt about it. The first thing you want to know is if they are a full service caterer, meaning can they provide rentals for tables, chairs, linens, equipment, etc. Have they ever worked in your venue space before? If you are having your ceremony and reception in the same space, how long will it take them to "flip" the room? A hidden cost can be the cake cutting fee, some places charge per guest.  Ask your caterer if they will charge for this service.  Another hidden cost is the corkage fee for champagne and wine served during the reception.  Have an idea of what foods you'd like to serve, even if you don't have an idea of how you want it prepared.  It still helps them give you an estimate of cost. What style of service will the food be presented? Plated, buffet/food stations or family style?  Ask how many staff members will be on site the day of the wedding? The more information you present to your potential caterers the better they will be able to assist you.  My fiancée and I created a questionnaire template and we used that to email all the caterers on our list.  Depending on the caterer, we only had to make minor changes depending on food service style and menu choice.  I am finding many caterers are willing to serve as a day of coordinators (no extra charge) to ensure everything runs smoothly. I really hope this helps.  If you have any more questions, I'm glad to offer my advice as we've just selected our caterer after looking for over a month.
Posted by LANAYJ[/QUOTE]

Thanks lanay, that was super helpful!

I think I've narrowed it down to J&L or Froggy's.  Both seem pretty all inclusive and affordable.  Our venue provides the tables/chairs/place settings so that is a plus and we can bring in our own liquor.

Dierko

Thing to watch out for caterers is them upcharging so much for table/chair rentals and in the end its not even them who own the tables and chairs. They just mark it up. In my initial state, I remember a catering company asking $20.00 per chiavari chair when all the rental companies were under $10!

As much as its nice to get stuff at one place like a caterer, sometimes, as I found out for me, it was better for the caterer to handle food as well as servers, etc but rentals of tables and chairs I found elsewhere.