Suggestions to ask Caterers/Bakers?

romanticoz

My fiance and I are meeting with caterers and bakers soon, my goal is to find a caterer and baker we like by the end of July. I've done a little research on prices and I have narrowed it down to some places I like and I am curious about... 

This discussion is for those with some experience in all this jazz, have already booked theirs, and/or just got married...

What are some things you would suggest I ask the caterers and bakers before I book them?? What questions do you wish you asked if you could go back? And what helped you decide on which you like best?

We are both kind of open to all the options. We know our wedding theme, venue ...all that and our guest count (100 roughly). We are not stuck on a cake flavor or menu theme yet. We are trying to keep an open mind because we like alot of different things. We do kind of like the idea of a cupcake cake but we are open to a tiered one depending on a "cutting cost". Anyways... what advice do you suggest for someone trying to choose theirs soon? 

Also there is one location that both caterers and bakes... but most are separate... do u suggest anything specific for that place??? 

lnixon8

Don't assume that cupcakes means cheaper. You can do a cutting cake and supplement with it with sheet cakes from the back if you want a less expensive option. 

Have a budget and be upfront about it. Bring pictures from pinterest etc. "My budget is X and we like these styles of cakes but we have 100 guests. What can you do with that?" Sometimes a cake looks simple to us, but not to a baker (ie enormous naked cakes)

southernbelle0915

We only considered one caterer because we know and trust the owner, so our experience was a little different.

I would make sure you ask:

- Are linens included? If not, how much? If so, are upgrades available? Do you have samples?

- Are plates, flatware and glassware included? If not, how much? If so, are upgrades available? Do you have pictures?

- What sets your business apart from other caterers?

- What is your specialty?

- Can we customize a menu or do we have to pick from your canned menu?

- Do you also do bar service? If yes, pricing list? Can you do custom signature drinks? How do you feel about tip jars when the B&G are already covering gratuity?

- Do you also provide bakery service? If not, do you have recommendations of good bakers?

- If we do a buffet, do you service the buffet or is it self-serve?

- If we do plated, what's your method for servers knowing who gets what?

- What is your server to guest/table ratio?

- How much experience do require for your servers?

- Can servers provide table side wine service?

- What's your cake cutting fee? If we do sheet cakes for serving, is it cheaper? 

- How do you do coffee service? Self-serve or table side ordering or both?

- Can we take leftover food (likely the answer will be no) and cake (probably yes)?

For bakers:

- Do you have a flavor menu?

- Here are some inspiration pictures. Approximately what how much extra would it cost for a design like this if we do X tiers?

- Do you have cake toppers we can use? 

- Can we provide our own stand?

- Is delivery included?

- Do you do faux tiers? How much?

That's all I can think of..

[Deleted User]

For caters

• Is your pricing for guests under the age of 13 different then the regular adult price?

hashtag43016

Erikan73 said:

For caters

• Is your pricing for guests under the age of 13 different then the regular adult price?

That's a good one. As well is, "what are your prices for vendor meals?" Because some of your vendors may require a meal. 

kvruns

Ask what is included - plates, napkins, silverware, etc.

Does your venue provide buffet tables/linens or do they?

How much space is required for the set up

Is gratuity/tip automatically included, if so how much

Are there additional delivery, set up, clean up fees or is it included in the price

Do they offer vegetarian/vegan meals? What are the options and how does it affect price?

Are there kids meal options?

When are final counts and payments due?

Do they have a bar service option if you need it

can you customize the menu or do you just pick from preset options

hyechica81

as a hobby baker and at home baker in my spare time cupcakes can be a great alternative to cake. with cupcakes you want to order 1.2 per guest so around two cupcakes per person dont go crazy on the flavors stick with two or three flavors so you give them some options but not alot you want to have enough so you don't run out.

with sheet cakes they can be just as expensive as having a small cake to cut..

the most inexpensive cake you can get is a chocolate vanilla or marble cake as your base with a buttercream filling, inside and out, basic buttercream roses or flowers on the side and some scroll work 

once you start adding things into the cake like fruit fillings, ganache and mousse fillings it starts to bring up the price. it varies by location. sugar flowers fondont covered cakes or fondont decorations can really bring up the price. 

also make a budget go into the bakery and say this is our budget for the cake what can you do for us. also ask for cake samplings, before you commit 

i got married last june our cake came with the venue package we had a choice of ten different cake designs that could be customized, we had a choice of vanilla, chocolate or marble cake,. buttercream inside and out or chocolate mousse inside and buttercream outside. my quote for raspberry mousse which is one of my favorite flavors was going to cost us 100 more if we wanted to go with something not included