Caterer or Family… some food for thought
There is no doubt that weddings are expensive and whenever you can cut corners, why wouldn’t you? Does doing food yourself actually save you money though, and if so… at what cost? Here are a couple things to consider.
Hiring a caterer can actually save you money. This isn’t always the case but I think most people think of a caterer as an added expense. You are going to feed your guests anyways so food is an expense and I can’t tell you how many times people have realized after the fact they spent as much doing the food themselves (or more) as they would have hiring a caterer. Caterers know how to plan for the number of guests you invited and there is far less waste and they buy in bulk so get discounts on food to begin with.
Time. How do you put a value on your time? Wedding planning can be stressful if you let it. There are so many decisions to make. If you plan on doing food yourself, now you have to spend time making a menu, shopping, cooking, setting up and then cleaning up afterwards (aka washing all the dishes!). It’s possible you might only have a part in all of this… but undoubtedly this responsibility will be placed on a close family member or friend if you aren’t doing it yourself. Before, during and after the event they will be drawn away from celebrating with you. Can you place a value on that time?
Creativity. I consider myself to be a pretty good cook. I like to make creative dishes but I know how much time that involves and I also know I only have a few things in my wheel house that I can make really well. Caterers have a large menu to choose from and can give you many choices to caterer to your budget.
Reduced Stress. There is a certain piece of mind that comes with hiring a professional to just take care of things. Sometimes that is hard to let go of if you are a control freak but being able to check it off your list and saying … that is taken care of… eases your mind.
They think of stuff you might not. Hiring somebody that caterers on a regular basis they are going to think of stuff you might overlook because you are focused on too many things. They will make sure that you have adequate numbers of plates, silverware, glasses, decorations, linens etc… all stuff that you might not factor into the cost of things when trying to see if you can do it yourself cheaper.
Like I said in the beginning… it’s easy to think that doing things yourself can save you money… but hopefully the points I brought up gave you a little insight into things before you make your final decision. Good luck planning and of course… make sure you hire your DJ before anything else… click here to send me a message.
