What should I know...

Laceyrc06

What information should I know when I go talk to the caterer? I know the caterer personally because I used to work for her as a server for other weddings. So, it won't be the typical interview kind of thing, but I would like to be able to get an estimate (as accurate of one as possible) & menu choices. It's my understanding that you should at least know about how many people are being invited in order to do this.

I have a guest list from my side of the family, but not from my fiance's side yet. His mom is saying to go ahead and schedule the appointment with the caterer and go talk to her. Fiance is saying to assume that his family will invite 50-60 people, which I could do, but I'd really like to be able to plan as accurately as possible since we're on a budget.

I'm sure I'm just in panic mode and it seems like a bigger deal than it should since I've been going on little sleep what with work, school, homework and stress in general. My main question is what information do I need to know when I go talk to the caterer and get an estimate?

clseale13

A number of guests would help...but it's not a deal breaker. They'll give you a per person price. If you have a ballpark they should be able to do it. It's the same thing w/linens and china/silverware. It's a per piece price so you can figure out your estimate from there depending on how many people you end up inviting. The only thing that might be off for you is the staff. The number of staff needed will change depending on the number of people they have to serve and tend bar for. Still though, they should be able to tell you how much for each member of the wait staff and then you can figure out how much it would cost to add one or take one away depending on your head count. Hope that makes sense!

Laceyrc06

Alright, thanks so much. It's not stressing me out so much now. I get so busy trying to figure things out that at first they're kinda stressful 'til I get a plan going in my head.