Once you’ve booked your wedding venue, there’s usually a rather exciting moment where everything suddenly starts to feel real.
You’ve got a date, and you’ve got somewhere to get married…
And then you realise there are quite a few other people you need to book to make the whole thing actually happen – photographers, florists, bands, DJs and, naturally, the people responsible for feeding everybody.
So how far in advance should you actually book your wedding caterer?
As a broad rule, we’d recommend speaking to caterers around 12–18 months before your wedding if you can, particularly if you’re getting married on a popular Saturday during the summer.
But weddings don’t always follow tidy planning schedules and we know that sometimes they’re planned two years in advance and sometimes they’re on a much shorter schedule, particularly if you’re taking advantage of a cancellation at your dream venue.
Why Do Wedding Caterers Get Booked So Early?
Quite simply, there are only so many weddings a caterer can physically do.
Good wedding catering involves a considerable amount of preparation before anybody has even arrived at your venue. There are chefs to organise, waiting staff to schedule, ingredients to source, equipment to arrange and a considerable amount of planning behind the scenes.
And on the day itself, your caterer is completely focused on your wedding. That naturally limits the number of dates available, which is why popular Saturdays can disappear surprisingly quickly.
If you have your heart set on a particular caterer, therefore, it makes sense to speak to them reasonably early in your planning.
Now, onto whether you need the venue before anything else…
The reality is that knowing your venue makes the conversation with your caterer much easier because the venue influences almost every part of how the catering will work.
How many guests can it accommodate? Is there a kitchen? Is there refrigeration? Can catering vehicles get close to the building? Is there enough power?
You get the picture! None of these is particularly romantic questions, admittedly, but they make an enormous difference behind the scenes.
Some venues have everything a caterer could possibly want, while others are beautiful barns, marquees or dry-hire spaces where we essentially need to create a temporary kitchen from scratch.
What Information Do You Need Before Speaking To A Caterer?
You really don’t need to have your entire wedding mapped out, and we’d be slightly surprised if you did!
A useful starting point is simply knowing:
- Your wedding date
- Your venue
- An approximate number of guests
- And roughly the sort of atmosphere you’re hoping to create
Those early conversations are partly about helping you work out the finer details and at Kemp & Kemp, lots of couples come to us with ideas rather than a finished menu, and that’s often exactly how we like it.
Knowing what type of venue you’re looking at can be a big help, too. At an established venue with a commercial kitchen, much of the infrastructure is already there.
At a marquee in a field, we might need to think about temporary refrigeration, cooking equipment, water, generators, preparation areas and how everything will physically get onto the site.
Barn venues can vary enormously too, as some are fully equipped while others give us a lovely empty room and effectively say, “There you go!”.
That may be a slight exaggeration, but you get the picture!
The earlier we understand those practical details, the easier it is to build a seamless plan around them.
What Happens After You Book Your Wedding Caterer?
Booking your caterer doesn’t mean you need to finalise every dish immediately because there’s a process to follow.
You’ll talk about the style of your wedding, your venue and the kind of food you enjoy, and you’ll start to develop your menu (including any dietary requirements as you finalise guests).
One of the biggest advantages of booking early is simply that you have somebody experienced involved in those conversations from the beginning.
Good wedding caterers do far more than cook food.
They understand how the day flows and how food needs to fit around everything else that’s happening.
What If Your Wedding Is Only A Few Months Away?
Ask anyway! A caterer might have your date free, or there might have been a cancellation; there’s definitely no harm in having those conversations.
There’s very little benefit in assuming somebody won’t be available without actually checking. The only thing we’d say is that your choices naturally become more limited the closer you get to the date.
So, if food is an important part of your wedding, it’s worth getting those conversations started relatively early.
Remember, if you can, then booking 12-18 months beforehand is a sensible window, but there’s no magical date on which wedding catering suddenly becomes impossible.
The important thing is to find a caterer whose food you love, whose approach feels right and who you trust with the rather significant responsibility of feeding everyone you care about on one of the biggest days of your life.
Because once you’ve found those people, it’s quite nice to know they’re safely in the diary.
FAQs
How far ahead should you book a wedding caterer?
Ideally around 12-18 months before your wedding, particularly for popular summer Saturdays, although availability varies considerably.
Can you book a wedding caterer six months before your wedding?
Absolutely. It depends entirely on availability, so it’s always worth getting in touch rather than assuming it’s too late.
Do you need a venue before booking your caterer?
Usually yes, because your venue determines many of the practical requirements involved in catering your wedding.
Do you need to know your menu before booking?
No. Many couples book their caterer before deciding on the exact menu. Early conversations are usually about the style of wedding and the experience you want to create.
When do you confirm final guest numbers?
That will depend on your caterer and venue, but final numbers are usually confirmed much closer to the wedding once RSVPs and dietary requirements are known.
If you want to talk through some options for your wedding, drop us an email at info@kempandkempcatering.co.uk and we’ll discuss how we can make your food dreams a reality.
