My team and I have the opportunity to work with many different caterers during the course of wedding planning. Sometimes couples are fortunate enough to choose their caterer and sometimes they're stuck with an in-house caterer. From my perspective, caterers can make or break a wedding.
Granted food quality is the number one priority for everyone however service ranks right up there in the number two spot. Couples assume service is fairly standard from caterer to caterer and this is where problems can arise. Good service is expected but not a guarantee and when we encounter a caterer providing sub-standard service my team jumps in to cover what is lacking.
Let me provide examples of situations we have encountered and what we did to bridge the gap. A budget caterer provided a tasty buffet of Italian food at a very affordable price. However the caterer also provided minimal staff which meant the buffet was often understocked and guests waited in long lines. Catering staff would not serve alcohol in any form - in other words they would not butler pass wine or champagne immediately following the ceremony, nor would they pour wine for guests during dinner. The guest tables were a mess once meal service was over because the catering being woefully understaffed ran behind clearing plates, silverware etc. The same caterer did not cut and serve wedding cake. Fortunately for my bride and groom I learned ahead of time about their alcohol and cake policy so added my own additional staff to make up the shortage. My team at Fete Perfection butler passed wine and champagne to 200 guests immediately following the ceremony so these same 200 would not have to stand in line at the bar. We cleared dishes off the guest tables, cut and served wedding cake and ran food from the kitchen to the buffet so guests were not feeling as though they were in a cafeteria.
At another wedding we coordinated, the catering staff packed up and left shortly after dinner service, even though the reception was several hours from completion. No one bothered to tell me they were leaving which was my first clue they knew they shouldn't...Apparently they thought since dinner was over, their job was finished and were not at all concerned with who would clear tables, glassware and dishes of leftover cake. My staff covered the rest of the evening so our couple and their guests weren't left to wonder why the room was a disaster.
Under staffing seems to be the common denominator with under-performing caterers. At another reception with multiple food stations, plates and forks were frequently out. Guests were left standing at the stations to put food on napkins. When we see these things happening we jump in to help with whatever we can - after trying to locate a server and finding none, I jumped into the prep area and began loading up on plates and forks to restock the stations. One of the servers happened to see me and snapped that he would take care of this. I explained that I would help him since two out of four stations were completely void. Rather than thank me he yelled that he didn't need my help. I was stunned...he clearly needed my help and yet was indignant about accepting it. That same evening the banquet manager came over and berated me and my staff for "helping" and implied its not our job and that we are to enjoy ourselves at the wedding.
She was right about one thing, technically stocking food stations, clearing plates and keeping guest tables clean isn't our job, however if the catering staff isn't keeping up, then it becomes our job. I'm going to dedicate another post to asking the right questions when choosing a caterer and if your wedding is at a venue that doesn't allow flexibility of choice, what questions to ask and clarify when working with that venue.
Frankly, working with the right caterer has the biggest impact on your reception and since close to 45% of your entire budget is dedicated to the reception this is not an area for mistakes or misunderstandings.
