Bay Area Caterers specializing in Weddings: How to pick the best one for your special day

Your wedding will be the most amazing, spectacular day of your life and everyone you love and care about will be there to help celebrate it with you.  Among the hustle and bustle of the day’s activities, a large part of the reception is carved out for the dinner portion, where toasts are made, stories are shared, memories are relived.  Having your wedding properly catered can make or break the flow of the event, so picking the right caterer for your special day is crucial.

Luckily, the San Francisco Bay Area has numerous catering companies who specialize in wedding and vow renewal services.  All of them are eager for your business, but choosing one can often be difficult.  Here are some guidelines to help narrow down your choices.

Wedding catering tends to be somewhat tricky, as it’s often a multi-course meal served to a very large group of people, all at the same time.  You’ll want to work with a wedding catering company that has a proven track record of being able to handle a reception of any size and ensure food is presented on time, hot (or cold) and that all guests are accommodated for.  It can be a somewhat of a monumental task to take on, especially for large wedding parties.  What sets most wedding catering companies apart from a traditional caterer is their ability to set up and cook food wherever the venue may be.  This usually involves transporting large quantities of food, some pre-prepared, along with specialized catering equipment to help finish cooking, preparing, serving and cleaning up the reception.

Logistics play a key role in choosing a wedding catering company, as they need to be close enough to your Bay Area reception to ensure proper arrival time, and then follow through with appetizers for the down time between the ceremony and reception, then stay on track for the food service during the reception.  Seek out companies with established business models that specialize in just these tasks.

Two of the most common ways of doing a catered wedding reception are buffet style and served.  Both have advantages and disadvantages and there is no right or wrong, but there is a right for your type of event.  Talk this over with prospective caterers to help determine which option makes the best choice for your wedding reception.

Lastly, the overall theme of your wedding and the food served should all be considered when catering the event.  If there are specific diet needs, foods that can or can’t be served or a specific style, say kosher or vegetarian for example, ask the wedding caterer what experience they have doing this.  Most catering companies can accommodate many different styles and regional cuisines, but doing a tasting will confirm the quality and level of precision they perform them at.

While unemployment rates are up, catering jobs are still plentiful.  Take this into consideration when hiring though, as more and more start-ups are in the Bay Area, ensure they have enough experience to handle the specific needs of your wedding, and follow through to make the catering a seamless part of the day.