Everyone knows about choosing a good menu, but there are a lot of other questions to ask potential caterers. Make sure you know what presentation styles are available, what  menus are available, and what’s included in the cost per person.  Ask a possible caterer to outline anything that isn’t listed in their company brochure.

Will the caterer provide tables, chairs, glasses, plates, and silverware for your guests, or is that up to you and your venue? What about extras, like chair covers and tablecloths? Will they have staff to set out your placecards and centerpieces? Some brides feel more comfortable after seeing what will be provided by the catering company, to make sure they look right and everything is in good condition. Make sure the venue and the caterer are on the same page with set-up and food preparation for your wedding banquet.

Find out if the catering company also provides alcohol and mans the bar. Or will you be providing your own wines and spirits? If so, find out in advance if there is a corkage fee.

Do you want your caterer to provide the wedding cake, or have you planned on having an outside baker do it? Find out if the caterer does wedding cakes, and decide if you’d like to go with your caterer or a baker. Is baking and serving the cake included in the per-head price of dinner, or extra? Can you use a different baker for your wedding cake? Is there a cake-cutting fee?

Check out possible caterers by Googling their names or checking in with the Better Business Bureau. This will let you know what other brides thought of the food, presentation and customer service.

Don’t forget the best part: taste-testing your possible menu options!

And, make sure you tell your wedding photographer to shoot some pictures of the food.  It may seem obvious, but it will help settle that bet you have with your spouse in 10 years when your memory fails you and you can’t remember what you served!  All you have to do is pull out your wedding album and look at your wedding photographs.

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