Make your meeting efficient and successful by avoiding these bad habits.
Your wedding food tasting is one of the most important to-dos on your pre-nuptial checklist—this is the time when you’ll choose the perfect menu for your cocktail hour and reception. While the tasting itself is a fun and exciting experience, professional wedding caterers say that there are a few things to know before heading to yours, including several essential things the pros don’t want their couples to do.
To make sure you and your caterer are on the same page, and to ensure a smooth, efficient appointment, do your best to avoid the below.
Related: Things Your Caterer Wished You Knew
Don’t Invite Your Entire Wedding Party
“Do not invite the world,” suggests wedding planner Andrea Correale, founder, and CEO of Elegant Affairs. She suggests limiting your wedding food tasting to just the bride and groom—and maybe your parents—she says.
Don’t Be Tardy
“Don’t be late,” Correale says. It’s not just rude—it could also mean that you don’t get to have the full experience. “Be mindful that we often have other events and appointments scheduled,” which means if you show up an hour late to yours, your caterer might not be able to accommodate you because they have another client coming in later that day. Tastings should be two hours max, she adds.
Don’t Forget to Inform Your Caterer About Any Food Allergies
“If someone is attending the wedding food tasting that has any kind of food allergy or restriction you should let us know ahead of time,” Correale advises. Even if they won’t be attending the tasting, let your caterer know about food allergies they’ll need to accommodate before they craft the menu. Otherwise, you might end up tasting food that won’t make it onto the table on the big day.
Don’t Drink Too Much During Your Wine Tasting
“Be polite and taste the wine for tasting purposes, but don’t go through multiple bottles as if you were going out to dinner for the evening,” Correale says. You should have just enough to get a sense of how they’ll pair with the meal.
Related: What to Do If Your Caterer Can’t Accommodate Food Restrictions or Substitutions
Don’t Cancel at the Last-Minute
“Do not cancel the day of or the day before,” Correale warns. Wedding food tastings are costly for caterers and require a lot of preparation. It’s always important to be mindful of that.
Don’t Be Afraid to Try New Things
Don’t Be Afraid to Try New Things
“Don’t be opposed to trying something that’s outside of your comfort zone,” says chef John Zucker, owner of Cru Catering. The best weddings come from a collaborative effort between the clients, the coordinators, and the caterers, he explains.
Don’t Pretend to Like Every Dish Served at Your Tasting
There’s nothing wrong with speaking up during your tasting. In fact, your caterer wants to hear what you really think of the options. “Do not say you like something when you don’t,” says Carla Ruben, owner and creative director of Creative Edge Parties. The pros often learn more from what you don’t than they do from what you enjoy, she explains.
Don’t Ask to Try Everything on the Menu
While everything might sound delicious, asking to taste everything your caterer offers isn’t a good idea. “You will get too full,” Ruben says. Plus, it becomes hard to remember what you do and do not like—instead of making the process confusing, choose a wedding catering menu that sounds the best to you, then try a few alternative options in each category.
