I was told by a catering manager that they're not sure if they can commit to our wedding in October citing current "labor shortages" and "price hikes with ingredients". They would follow-up with us by May if conditions improve. They don't commit to multiple clients for a single day, so I appreciate that they're at least honest about their uncertainty instead of promising something they can't do.
I would like to see if other users are hearing similar things from their caterers or vendors, either before or after signing a contract, to determine if this is a widespread issue as a result of general knowledge about the current job market and supply chain constraints.
I'd be less concerned about the wait if these challenges were across-the-board and it turns out it's something beyond our control. I've already heard similar challenges with staffing when I asked another potential caterer about it, and they said that they've had to hire additional servers through a staffing agency for events that require more workers.
