Catering - through your venue, or separate?

Our catering was in-house, and yes, we chose them because of their reputation for great food. Which it was! We didn't even get a tasting but I was honestly not concerned, because it always has rave reviews.

Most venues in my area are all-inclusive with in-house catering; very rare to find a place that lets you do things a la carte and bring in outside catering.

Through the venue, thank goodness.

I didn't want to have to deal with it.

Our menu was picked out when we signed the contract.

We were looking at a lot of venues that included catering, and we eventually settled on the preferred caterer for our venue without really knowing what they were, because the price was right. Turns out it's one of my family's favorite restaurants! Lucky us!

Our venue didn't have a caterer to begin with but one of the first things we knew we really wanted was to serve southern style BBQ. We found an absolutely incredible caterer through our wedding planner and I'm so happy we didn't have a venue where we were stuck using their food! We are going to have a customized menu that our guests are going to love with tons of options and a pit master to smoke and cut the meats right there in our venue to ensure perfect temperature and freshness.

We went with our venue because of the rave reviews about their food. They provide the catering in house and we were not disappointed with anything that we tasted during their bridal tasting! We're so excited for the food!

Our venue is semi-inclusive. We chose them more for the location and atmosphere of the place (it's a historic mansion on the river), but later learned that their food is excellent too. Since we booked our venue, we've heard from so many people that they have had weddings there or have gone to weddings there, and they all say such great things about the food and the staff. And, our tasting was very good.

Also, my cousin who is a professional florist said that it has the cleanest kitchen of any venue she has delivered flowers to (not sure why she would be in the kitchen - to use the sinks I guess). FH loved hearing that since he's in the restaurant business.

Catering through our venue. Our venue didn’t have an in house caterer till last year. They brought on an executive chef who used to host his own show on the Travel Channel and recently cooked at the James Beard House. We are really excited for our food! It’s also at a winery so he does unique pairings like Syrah short ribs.

We hired a separate caterer who specialized in the meal we wanted to serve.

My FH and I decided to do smaller catering orders from different restaurants we have spent time at over the years. We found this is a way to save money. We're getting from Round Table Pizza, Rubio's, Panera Bread (our first date!), and El Camino (a Mexican restaurant we both love), and of course, as a dessert and where we met, Krispy Kreme. A little bit funny, but totally us!

Our venue has three exclusive caterers that we could work with. They are separate catering companies that are not part of the venue, but the only ones the venue will allow in.

Our caterer was through our venue. The food was super yummy.

My caterer was separate from the venue but an exclusive vendor so we had to use them, but they're #1 in the Central FL area so we're super excited!

We were required to use our venue for food & booze as well! Our top venue choice was slightly more important to us than our catering decision, and my husband's family belongs to the country club where we got married so they knew the food was good!

Mine was through my venue. When I got down to two venue options, both of which included in-house caterers, I made my final decision based on which had the best reputation for their food. My venue was actually the home location for a popular local catering company, they are a caterer first and foremost and so I felt confident we'd get the best meal for our guests by going with them.

Ours is through our venue! We refused to look into venues that didn't include booze and catering. Everyone we have talked to said the food is awesome, and all of the reviews note that the food is excellent as well. So we're excited about that!

We specifically chose a venue where we could bring in an outside caterer. We wanted a BBQ meal so we chose our caterer, who was also actually recommended from our venue which was great!

Our venue is all inclusive which was why we went that route...that and pressure from parents. We haven't had our tasting yet but we took FMIL to dinner at the hotel before we officially decided, secret shopper style!

Neither. I won't be having any caetering at all.

One of the must-haves for us is to get a flexible venue that has the option of bringing in our choice of caterer. Getting locked into a caterer that we don't like and can't do a tasting until months after the contract is signed is not an option so we refused to look at any venues that have required in-house catering.

I was super lucky that my reception venue has a caterer/chef on-site that is WAY more affordable than any outside catering. He has many really excellent plated entree choices, ranging from $12-$14 per person. That was a big factor in choosing this location, plus it's a beautiful, elegant banquet hall that specializes in these kinds of events.