Questions to Ask Your Wedding Caterer Before You Book

A good tasting tells you the food is genuinely delicious. It doesn't tell you whether that same quality holds up at full scale for two hundred plates instead of two, what happens if load shedding hits halfway through service, or how confidently your caterer handles the three different dietary requirements on your guest list. That's what these questions are for.

About the food and the tasting

• Is a tasting included, and how many dishes can we try? Confirm whether it's free, charged, or credited against your final invoice if you book, and how far in advance of the wedding it happens.
• Does the tasting portion match what we'll actually be served? A beautifully plated tasting sample doesn't always reflect what comes out of a kitchen serving two hundred people at once. Ask how they maintain quality at scale.
• How do you handle dietary requirements, allergies, and cross-contamination? Get specific: separate preparation areas for allergens, clearly labelled dishes, and a real answer rather than "we can usually sort something out."
• By what date do we need to confirm final numbers and dietary breakdowns? Most caterers need this a few weeks out, not a few days, so confirm the deadline early.

About service style and logistics

• Plated, buffet, or family-style, and what's the staff-to-guest ratio for each? Service style changes both the guest experience and the staffing cost, worth understanding before you compare quotes.
• Do you bring your own equipment, or does the venue need to provide a kitchen? Some caterers are fully self-sufficient with warming equipment and generators; others need a working venue kitchen. Confirm this matches what your venue actually offers.
• What's your backup plan for load shedding or a power outage mid-service? A caterer without a real answer here is a real risk, not a minor inconvenience, particularly for anything requiring continuous refrigeration or warming.
• How much setup and breakdown time do you need, and does that come out of the venue's contracted hours? Worth cross-checking against your venue's own timeline so nothing double-books the same window.

About the contract and the money

• Is pricing per person, all-inclusive, or itemised separately? Get a full breakdown of what's included, linen, crockery, cutlery, glassware, and what costs extra.
• What's the deposit, and is it refundable? Confirm the full payment schedule through to the final balance, in writing.
• Is there a cake-cutting fee if we're bringing in an outside baker? Some caterers charge this even when they're not supplying the cake itself, worth knowing before you book a separate cake vendor.
• Is corkage charged if we supply our own alcohol? Ask for the exact per-bottle or per-guest rate, since this can add up meaningfully on a larger guest list.
• What happens to leftover food? Some caterers box it up for the couple or family to take home; others don't. Worth asking if it matters to you.

About fit and reliability

• Can we see photos or references from a wedding of a similar guest count? A caterer excellent at intimate dinners for forty doesn't automatically scale smoothly to a plated service for two hundred.
• How many weddings do you typically run on the same weekend? Understand whether your event gets a dedicated team or shares attention with other bookings that same day.
• What's your plan if a key staff member is sick on the day? A professional caterer should have a bench to draw from, not a single point of failure.

Red flags worth taking seriously

Vague answers about dietary handling, load shedding backup, or the final-numbers deadline are worth pressing on rather than letting slide. Catering is one of the few vendors where a real failure is immediately, visibly obvious to every single guest at the reception, so it's worth the extra diligence upfront. Pricing that seems unusually low relative to your region and guest count is worth a direct question about what's actually included, rather than an assumption that it's simply a good deal.

This is one of several category-specific checklists. See also our questions to ask your wedding cake baker and wedding DJ or band, or browse the complete vendor questions checklist for every category.

Once you've found a caterer whose answers check out, browse wedding caterers on The Wedding Directory to compare real quotes, and log the cost against the rest of your spending in our free wedding budget tracker.

Frequently asked questions

What's the most important question to ask a wedding caterer?

How they handle dietary requirements and allergies, and what their backup plan is for load shedding or a power outage mid-service. Both are the kind of thing that becomes immediately, visibly obvious to every guest if it goes wrong.

Is a tasting usually included when booking a wedding caterer?

Often, but not always, and sometimes it's charged or credited against your final invoice if you book. Always confirm this upfront rather than assuming.

How far in advance do caterers need final guest numbers?

Typically a few weeks before the wedding, though this varies by caterer. Confirm the exact deadline early so you're not caught off guard trying to finalise numbers at the last minute.

What should be included in a wedding catering quote?

A full breakdown of per-person or all-inclusive pricing, what's covered (linen, crockery, cutlery, staff), and what costs extra, corkage, cake-cutting fees, and any equipment or kitchen requirements.

Do wedding caterers handle alcohol and bar service too?

Some do, some only handle food. Confirm this directly, and if you're supplying your own alcohol, ask about corkage fees upfront.

What's a red flag when choosing a wedding caterer?

Vague answers about allergy handling, no real backup plan for power outages, or reluctance to confirm pricing and inclusions in writing before you sign.