Wedding Catering: Everything you need to know
Are you still undecided on your wedding menu? Join us as Clare, founder of Doggart & Squash, a wedding and events collective, answers all your wedding catering questions for creating a truly memorable feast. Photo Credit: Benjamin Wheeler
Read time:
6 minutes
Planning a wedding catering is the perfect opportunity to make your special day truly personal. From navigating how many canapés to serve, to the burning questions you should ask your caterer, to how to make your wedding catering as low waste and sustainable as possible, our friends at Doggart & Squash, share their top tips on what you should consider when creating a bespoke wedding menu.
TOP TIP TO CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSING A WEDDING CATERER
When looking for a wedding caterer, always look for a company that is flexible, understands the different requirements of your special day, and shares the same values as you. Being on the same page from the very beginning is the most important thing when planning wedding catering; everything else effortlessly falls into place that way, and you'll have fun along the way too!
Credit: Beatrici Photography
TOP 5 QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR WEDDING CATERER
1. How do you find your staff? Do you use agency staff?
We pride ourselves on knowing all our catering staff and not using agency staff.
2. Do you charge corkage?
This is a really important question to ask your wedding caterer if you are sourcing your own alcohol.
3. Where do you source your produce from? Who are your suppliers?
We are really proud of our suppliers and want to sing about them and share their stories with our couples. Where possible, we use local suppliers who share our passion for low waste and sustainability.
Credit: Kenekt Studio
4. Will you help us establish a timeline for the day?
A timeline for your wedding day is essential. Establish this around the key timings of your day, including ceremony times and when you want to serve food. We are instrumental in helping couples establish a timeline for the day, as this allows us to meticulously plan the preparation of their food and drink to ensure everyone stays well-fed and watered!
5. Will you provide an Event Manager to run the day?
This is a service that we offer every couple from the offset and is crucial for the wedding day to run smoothly. Even when we are only running the catering side, we will still make sure we have a manager for the day.
Credit: The Smiths & Co.
HOW MANY WEDDING CANAPÉS DO WE NEED?
There are lots of variables to consider when choosing your wedding canapés, such as the timing of your wedding ceremony and the length of your wedding reception. As a general rule of thumb, we suggest 6–8 types of canapés and a larger bite, such as a sausage roll. Guests are always starving after the wedding ceremony, so these larger bites always go down well!
Wedding canapés can be one of the most memorable parts of your wedding food, and as Clare admits, at Doggart & Squash they love to work closely with every couple to make sure they have options that are personal to them and will make a lasting memory for your wedding guests.
Credit: Dominika Miechowska
HOW CAN WE MAKE OUR WEDDING CATERING SUSTAINABLE AND LOCAL?
Clare's advice is to work with your wedding caterer to find out where their produce is sourced and try to keep it as local as possible. Think about your entire wedding menu. Are there ingredients that can be used throughout the different elements of your menu? At Doggart & Squash, they recently created a canapé that was zero waste, using up all the leftover ingredients from other elements of the event menu.
Also, don't forget the value of English suppliers for your alcohol. There are some amazing English producers of sparkling wine and craft beers.
WHAT TIMINGS SHOULD WE ALLOW FOR CHAMPAGNE RECEPTION, SPEECHES AND FOOD?
Clare Doggart normally recommends the following timings for your Wedding:
- 2 hours for your Drinks Reception
- 30 minutes for guests to take their places
- 45 minutes to 1 hour for Speeches
- 45 minutes to 1 hour per Food Course
Credit: Dominika Miechowska
Credit: Binky Nixon
DO YOU NEED A WEDDING EVENING SNACK?
"100%! They are great party fuel," says Clare. From Doggart & Squash's experience, Mac N Cheese or Cheese and Ham Toasties always go down well, but you can’t beat a traditional crispy bacon butty! The Beef Shin Nachos are delicious too and have been a real hit with their couples and wedding guests this year.
HOW CAN YOU MAKE YOUR WEDDING CATERING A BIT DIFFERENT?
Make it personal to you. Tell your wedding caterer what you love as a couple, and they will think of ways to incorporate this into your wedding menu. Don't try to overcomplicate it, and trust your wedding caterer if they advise you that something may not work on a large scale.
Credit: Chloë Winstanley Photography
"Delicious, ingredient-led food always works best! One of our largest weddings did a take on bangers and mash, and there were so many lovely compliments about it!"
Credit: Binky Nixon
ARE THERE ANY WEDDING FOOD TRENDS YOU SHOULD AVOID?
Controversially, Clare thinks plated food works much better than sharing platters. "Everyone gets a good portion of everything, and conversations aren’t interrupted by passing plates around." She also suggests that, by doing so, you will also save money on hiring extra dishes and serving spoons.
Inspired by Clare's tips? Read more about her West Sussex wedding to explore Clare's little black book of wedding suppliers and the couple's edit of favourite wedding presents from their gift list with The Wedding Present Company.
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