Having catered for many, many weddings it’s our view that you’d have to be crazy to even contemplate ‘doing’ your own wedding catering!
As professional caterers our team includes top chefs, event management specialists and polished waiting staff – to ensure your big day runs as smoothly as possible. And while we may make it all look effortless on the day – trust us when we say that successful wedding catering doesn’t happen by accident. It’s the culmination of meetings, venue visits, countless emails, tastings and logistics planning – and that’s before our full time team of chefs sharpen their knives!
All else aside, established wedding venues are unlikely to agree to DIY wedding catering – requiring third parties (i.e. external caterers) to provide copies of environmental health certification and public liability insurance.
DIY WEDDING CATERING – FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Find a venue that’s not quite so strict – a village hall perhaps – and you may think it all looks perfectly ‘do-able’ but there’s an awful lot to consider:
First of all, who is going to be in charge of the kitchen? There’ll be a lot to do in a limited space and a short amount of time. Remember too many cooks spoil the broth!
Where – and when – is the bulk of the wedding catering preparation and cooking going to take place? Bear in mind community centres rarely have commercial grade facilities and access to the facilities is likely to be limited in the run up to the big day due to other bookings – don’t assume just because you’re planning wedding catering you’ll be able to elbow out the brownies or bingo!
If prepared off site, how will the food get to the venue and how will it be kept chilled/hot until required? Chances are we’re talking large quantities of food here!
How will the food be served? As a wedding guest do you really want to spend the day in the kitchen? Needless to say, realistically you’ll need to be prepared to skip the ceremony…
Who will organise the furniture and table ware? Who will set the tables, serve the food, clear up and wash up? Bear in mind that come midnight someone will be responsible for washing the kitchen floor and taking everything away – including all the rubbish…
And that’s before you consider other elements of a DIY affair – the drinks, flowers, wedding cake, table favours, room decoration etc etc…
It’s natural that some families want to get more involved than others and it’s certainly something to discuss with your caterers – but it’s vital to be realistic about how involved you should be. Your wedding caterers understand how to deliver great quality in a whole host of situations and circumstances and in our view it’s a job best left to the professionals.
Interesting and useful links:
https://expresso-online.co.uk/catering-weddings-civil-partnerships/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Marry-in-Norfolk/252102591641565
https://twitter.com/marryinnorfolk
http://www.norfolk.gov.uk/Community_and_living/Registration_services/Ceremonies/NCC156295
