Can you Ask Caterers For References?

[labbielove]

Hi everyone,
We''re in the process of selecting a venue/date for a fall 07 wedding and will be going to visit an amazing place on 9/9 when we are back from vacation.
It''s actually a living museum, that is a working 19th century country village, 65 acres composed of stores, churches, houses complete with heirloom garden, vintage baseball stadium and various shops (general store, blacksmith,etc.) that were restored from various local towns of our area and moved to this "village". It''s so neat! They also have an art gallery and nature center on site, as well as modern banquet facilities.
I love it there and it never dawned on me that we could have our wedding at the church, photos outside the mansions, and then stroll over to cocktails and dinner at the reception hall.
I''m hoping it works out.

Since they don''t do their own catering, they provided a list of 4 or 5 caterers. We''ve found one that looks great on paper but I don''t know anyone personally that''s been to one of their events.
I know venues with their own catering often do samplings for you- is that standard also for a caterer who only does off-site stuff? Also, is it normal to ask for references from wedding clients they''ve had? Although that makes me leery- as opinions are all relative.

Has anyone else gone through this? I assumed we''d go with a hotel or something, but this idea is so much more "us" .
Thank you!!

 

[sumbride]

Of course! You should be able to get references as well as do a tasting. With references, maybe focus on how the set up went... were there enough staff? Were the tables set up properly? Was the food plated well or the buffet clean and adequate? Those are the things you can''t find out in a tasting. You''ll also want to know if they were easy to work with, allowed substitutions, etc....

And your venue sounds AMAZING! So unique! YEA!!!

 

[codex57]

Can''t hurt to ask. Normally, there''s a tasting tho so you personally try the caterer''s food. After all, everyone''s taste bud''s are different.

However, doing a tasting for a few people is far different than serving like 100. That''s where the references come in handy. Lets you know if the caterer will show up on time (or if at all), whether the food is cold, etc.

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 8/23/2006 9:23:21 PM
Author:labbielove

I know venues with their own catering often do samplings for you- is that standard also for a caterer who only does off-site stuff? Also, is it normal to ask for references from wedding clients they''ve had? Although that makes me leery- as opinions are all relative.

Yes, I''ve done this. My reception was on a schooner, so we hired a caterer who could meet our requirements of "no sterno" on the ship.

Not only did they have us come in for a tasting (which was YUMMMMMMMMMMMMY), but they also gave us 3 references to phone......and we did. One of them was fabulous - explained size of her wedding, challenges she faced in meeting her needs for a caterer, and how well the caterer did meeting those needs. Plus good feedback about food - was it tasty, was it hot when served, was it according to contract, etc.

 

[FireGoddess]

Absolutely get references on the caterers....you need to know how smoothly their other events have gone, and how the food tasted!! (It''s a big difference cooking for a few people versus cooking for hundreds!)