I'm looking into caterers (still no venue at this point, just canvassing the prices for things) and I'm not that impressed. I'm not a fancy meal person, so we were thinking along the lines of BBQ. Anyway, a friend mentioned that you can get a food truck (or two) to cater weddings. Has anyone seen this? What is your opinion? I've only seen food trucks at horse shows and they are right up my alley, but that's a horse show and not a wedding.
Re: Food truck
I think having your entire wedding catered via food truck is a potentially bad idea. The main issue I have heard of with this is TIME. The amount of time it takes people to wait in line, order, and be eating is typically too long. If your guest list is really small (like 25 or less maybe?) than this wouldn't take too long...but most of the time this isn't the case.
I would start looking into venues before you get too set on anything. There are a lot of venues, that in my experience, have a set caterer or list of caterers that you are permitted to use. If you find a venue that allows for outside catering I would opt for a simple meal that is buffet style to feed your entire guest list rather quickly and then have a food truck or two come in for a late night snack option. This can be done in lieu of or in addition to a dessert course.
Food trucks are super trendy right now. But you don't need them to get good, tasty food that isn't your standard beef/chicken, broccoli and mashed potatoes.
Look into bbq places, look into restaurants that you like (Italian, mexican etc.) They will be more likely to be able to produce large amounts of food quicker than a food truck.
I do like the idea of having an late night food truck or maybe an ice cream truck in lieu of dessert. We aren't planning on having a wedding cake but were thinking of a dessert table or maybe cup cakes.
Food trucks are awesome, but are best reserved for the cocktail hour or late night buffet. The logistics for feeding a large number of people a main course is a bit of a nightmare. The main issue is they can only prepare so much, so fast.
Think about horse shows- how many people are in line at one time? How long does it take still? DH and I go to rib fests a lot in the summers, and they usually have the meat mostly cooked but throw it on the BBQ again to heat it through with sauce. The line ups are very long and you can wait 10-15 mins just to order and another 5-10 mins for your food.
I know that as a guest I do not want to stand in line beside a food truck and be served through a small window, which I then have to carry back to a seat while dressed up-especially if the weather isn't good. As PPs have noted, having to do this in a line of 100 or more people makes this even more annoying.
I think you'll find there are restaurants in your area that cater, including BBQ restaurants. Look into that if you're not liking what you see from caterers. You'll be getting something a little different without sacrificing the comfort of your guests.
Also, it generally works out better if the truck has items that are prepared ahead of time and then served sort of buffet style - which really sort of defeats the food truck vibe unless you just really happen to love that truck's food and/or they are the only option in your budget. The weddings I've been to that have had food trucks as the main caterer with made to order items were horrible with respect to food. People were waiting 30-45 minutes or more for food (many just gave up and some tables just sent one person to stand in line) and eventually they couldn't keep up with demand so they just focused on one menu item at a time. I stopped at Taco Bell on the way home.
It really is something that is much better suited to a cocktail hour where not everyone may partake and you're not kept to a schedule (other than the start of the reception) or a late night snack (where many people have already left so it's smaller volume and again not everyone will partake and they aren't kept to a schedule).
If you want BBQ, there are many restaurants that cater or more casual caterers (the type that would do graduations, open houses, corporate picnics) that often offer BBQ options. Caterers aren't all formal dining meat/veg/starch options only.
The thing to remember with caterers is do your homework ahead of time. One that is more expensive but doesn't have 80 tacked on fees may in the end save you money. OTOH, you do need to plan for and ask about any added fees which can raise the cost substantially (Service fee, venue fee, taxes, gratuity, etc.)... Also, caterers do offer a budget friendly option. Typically it's a fried chicken/chicken breast meal, or pasta, or "you get what you get and you don't throw a fit" meal (the venue/caterer we used for my parent's anniversary offered essentially this, for $13/pp it was their Saturday 2-meat buffet or for $21/pp we could have what we wanted on the buffet)...
Not only are the logistics of feeding 100+/- people at a time a concern, but weather is too. DH and I planned an outdoor wedding and reception but we had an indoor space if rain decided to show. What would you do if it was pouring rain and your guests had to trek outside to order their food? Umbrellas and even tents from the building to the truck would would still have their issues for your poor guests. You'd have to be in an area that is pretty consistently dry during that time of year. NE Ohio is unpredictable, so we ruled it out.
OP, you mentioned wanting BBQ, we did this. We bought precooked rubbed ribs, raw chicken, and hamburgers. Then my cousin (who is a private event planner for a local country club) hired an associate to run the grill and heat/cook everything. We paid her $200 to run the grill (we doubled the original agreement because she stood for hours over a grill on a 97* day). We also hired two servers to set up and keep the buffet stocked. Our immediate families offered to make side dishes, but I know many of the local grocery stores make their own pasta salads, fruit salads, veggie trays, etc. They could cover your sides if you don't want to do it yourself. There are ways to make it work if you don't have a venue with their own catering.
I couldn't resist!!