Catering Invoice

ashleighm9

Hey Ladies,

I was wondering if I could get some advice.  I've been looking over our catering invoice and there are just so many line items.  I'm wondering what stuff I should ask them about since some of it seems weird. 

They have line items for extra rentals like convection oven, lines for bar rentals (glasses of all kinds), rentals of china/silverware, coffee service for every guest (including cups, sugar, etc).  Also, tablecloths are 25 bucks a piece!  I think we can buy them for less than that and our florist said she can rent them to us for 10 bucks apiece. 

I'm curious how you girls dealt with your caterer and asked about pricing, what items are necessary, etc.  This is the first and only time I've been married:) so working with wedding vendors is new territory.

Thanks!  And, our wedding is a few weeks away so I'm not trying to haggle over a final invoice:)

Mrs.B6302007

Ours did packages and everything was included.  All we had to do was decide which package we wanted and choose colors.

I think $25 sounds ridiculous.

ashleighm9

That makes it a lot easier to figure out!

Ditto: 25 bucks sounds crazy to me but wondering if that is what other brides are seeing.

waltzingmatilda13

It seems like they are charging for ridiculous stuff. All of that should be included since it's sorta required. You need glasses to drink out of, right?

tldh

Ask what kind of tablecloths they have on the invoice.  Our caterer gave us a few different options in different price ranges.  As for the china, silver and glassware, these are all things that are going to be needed with the food.  If the caterer supplies them, they bring them, set them us and take them away to be washed.  Whatever they are charging you for that is better than supplying and handling them yourself.

Mrs.B6302007

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_catering-invoice?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:88bab1cf-74c2-44bc-99fa-cafa8863ff41Post:91a1193b-f638-4555-be16-27b58163ef90">Re: Catering Invoice</a>:
[QUOTE]It seems like they are charging for ridiculous stuff. All of that should be included since it's sorta required. You need glasses to drink out of, right?
Posted by waltzingmatilda13[/QUOTE]


Not to mention making it a lot more difficult for themselves. If it's standard and a necessity, it needs to be included. Why keep it on a list?  Upgrading can certainly be on an itemized list.

squirrly

I would just ask them to sit down and explain things to you, line by line.  Ask what is required, what can be skipped (table cloths, etc.), what can be up or down graded. 

I'm curious about what the price is for food, though, if they're showing prices for the flatware, china, and glass ware separately.  Understandable that they may need to rent it, depending on how their business normally functions, but I'd validate that with them. 

TurtlesAllTheWayDown

When I met with our venue (all-inclusive venue), they asked how many people we were having and what our budget was (over all and per person). Then some specifics about what we were looking for - sit down or buffet dinner, colored linens, bar package, etc. Then they did some adjusting and fit it all in. So I'm unconcerned about specific line items because whatever it is, it adds up to an amount I'm comfortable spending. I would try that approach if you can. "I'm really looking at a total catering budget of $xxx. What can we do?"

wadingmoose

We booked a venue that did its own catering so we avoided much of those problems.   I know when I was looking at other venues and outside caterers a lot of those additional costs added up in weird ways.  I didn't want to bother with it.  Sorry, I can't help.

loop0406

I would ask what is a requirement and that you have an outside vendor you would like to use for linens (renting linens is probably best way to go in my opinion)

polichik

That sounds.... weird. We're having our reception at a restaurant, so all we're paying for is the food, booze, and a service charge, which is awesome. I'd probably go through the whole thing with them and ask what rental company they're using. Most rental companies have multiple options for each piece, so you might be able to cut costs by choosing less expensive china, even three weeks out.