Catering Woes

This is tough, because (I'm sure everyone here can attest) that sometimes a better option or the option we really want is out of our reach due to budget! I think you still have some options here:

1. Go with this caterer, understand that it's a decent meal at a good price, and make sure you can live with that. Honestly, no guest is going to walk up to you and say "yea your ceremony was beautiful but dang if that wasn't the driest lamb I've ever had" whether it's true or not!

2. Still schedule tastings with some of these other caterers, just to see! Once you're there, talk to them about your budget and if they have ways to make that work - maybe that means cutting down to 3 apps instead of 5, choosing different sides, skipping the coffee service, etc.

3. Work with your venue and see if they have a list of preferred caterers; I found that some vendors would actually give me a 10% deal, etc. because they had a contract with my venue. Consider expanding your options or going with a newer caterer...you do run the risk of not having millions of reviews, but could be worth the reward!

4. Re-evaluate your budget - if food isn't a big deal to you, then this guy is totally fine! If you and FH are huge foodies, splurge in this category. Maybe flowers aren't a huge deal to you, or you choose more basic china and linens to spend a little extra for the food

Good luck!!

I would definitely be concerned. If a caterer can't provide their very best effort for a tasting (when they are basically "auditioning" for you), I'd assume whatever they do the day of the wedding won't be better than that, and may be worse. I get them not being very experienced with lamb, but a US caterer who struggles with chicken is definitely a red flag -- that's the most basic caterer choice, so if they can't do it well? (I get there is a LOT of bad chicken out there, but that doesn't mean you want it served at your wedding.) Honestly, that may be the reason their prices are SO much lower than all the other options -- they just aren't very high quality. Also, I get that lamb is important because of your heritage/nationality, but it isn't a typical choice in the US, so if that's a high priority for you, you might need to look for (and pay more for) a caterer who is more skilled and specializes. Good luck!

Personally, I'd say discuss your concerns with your caterer. Put everything out there and see what he says. If worst comes to worst, start looking at other caterers, even if there is a chance you'd have to pay a little more. We're having catering from a local restaurant and we've had them booked for a while. Well, they also catered my FSIL's wedding and were 2 hours late to set up. They were supposed to arrive at 1:30 to start setting up. Her ceremony was to begin at 3, with the cocktail hour to start at 3:30 (which they were also providing food for). They did no show up until 3:30, putting her ceremony and cocktail hour back a little over an hour once everything got started.

After her wedding I brought up my concerns with the catering manager for the restaurant. He assured me what happened at my FSIL's wedding is not normal for them and even shared that he significantly discounted their total for the wedding (which was none of my business but was nice to hear).

I wouldn't worry about this. Wedding food just isn't great. I think you're going to have the same warming situation anywhere you go.


Around here, everyone jokes about wedding chicken. You go to a wedding, you get the wedding chicken. It's not the best, but itsit's chicken. Throw it in the mashed potatoes and its fine.
No body is going to remember their meal.
And idk how many people are invited, but an extra $40/pp to my wedding is over $10k. No way.

I think if you can still get gravy or condiments on the side it should be ok.

This would bother me. Honestly, I would expect the food at the tasting to be better than the day of the wedding. They are trying to impress you at your tasting. If their "best" wasn't good, I would be worried what the wedding day food will taste like.