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Long Island weddings are like no other. Im more so surprised by the AMOUNT of food on the menu. Really do we need all this. I didnt grow up here and I definitely didnt attend weddings here until we moved. The weddings from where I am from are nice, but not like this... I understand thats what people expect but its hard for me to comprehend the need for 7 full pages of food for the cocktail hour?!? what really?? We booked here because its where we live now, and so it is what it is but Im afraid my family is going to be super uncomfortable when they arrive. sigh. Ive seen donut bars, mashed potatoe bars, and a seafood boat larger than my office... but not trailmix or potato chips... pretty sure it would never happen in LI... they would be out of business before they could blink
We had a destination wedding in Thailand so for our at home reception we are doing all Thai food. I approached 2 caterers about doing an all Thai food menu. One came back with a menu with sushi and samosas. I called them them and said "you do realize that asia is not just one big country, right?" They said because Japan was "near Thailand" they thought it would be okay.
The weirdest thing I've seen is the mashed potato martini bar. After we saw it on the menu, my FI and I would constantly make fun of it. Mashed potatoes in a martini glass are still mashed potatoes-plus half of the toppings looked awful.
The first venue we chose had a mandatory catering contract. We weren't thrilled about that, but loved the venue enough that we decided to try to make it work.
However, just before we signed the venue contract, FI (a chef) looked at the caterer's facebook page, and one of the dishes they seem to be most proud of is a bundh of carrot sticks sitting in a wine glass filled with ranch dressing.
Sadly, we had to chose another venue, as this was not the theme FI wants for our reception.
@nmsoonerbride: OMG, that's sooooo tacky! Seriously? Carrot sticks in a glass? All chefs are not created equal. Your poor FI must have been in shock when he saw that.
@cakegal Did you see the mashed potato bar on the menu or at a wedding? I've been to 2 weddings so far with mashed potatos in martini glass bars and I love them! They really turned out well and looked really nice! If I were doing stations or a buffet I would definitely have gotten one!
I am a chef so I am probably more critical and I know mashed potato bars seem to be popular for weddings right now.. But to me, mashed potatoes in a martini glass are just like carrot sticks in a wine glass. It makes no sense and is an attempt to make a dull food "fancy" in a really lazy way. Plus I picture big vats of premade mashed potatoes being scooped with an ice cream scoop.
I haven't been all that impressed with a lot catering companies. There are really good catering companies out there, but those ones are just not in our budget. We chose restaurants we love to make our entrees and we'll have a friend (who is a chef) make our apps, sides and a couple of desserts. We are doing buffet-style so this will be much easier to accomplish than with a plated dinner.
Scottielass, I've noticed as well that catering companies really look at food differently than restaurants. Some of the higher end ones do more interesting food, but many seem to just try to be inoffensive rather than good-much like airplane food. That's why there are so many rubber chicken dinners-while no one may love it very few people will really hate it either.
@cakegal: Ditto on everything you said, cakegal. It's interesting for us because we are looking at different types of food vendors for our food service: grocery stores, restaurants, and full-fledged catering services.
There are different responses across the board from
I go from having a quote of under $20 per plate (for our 140-150 count) for awesome dishes from a popular local restaurant to a caterer quote of almost $9,000. Talk about sticker shock. I think I stopped breathing for a second there. But just the difference between catering companies is interesting...some have unimpressive/inoffensive offerings, some don't deviate from what they are used to doing, and some have large and creative offerings.
@Scottielass: Oooh, I am so tempted to do our own appetizers! Mostly because I just re-disovered grissini haha
@cakegal: Ahhh, the ice cream scoop. So useful for more than ice cream!
@nmsoonerbride: "mandatory catering contract"...eeew. haha That idea makes me sad sometimes but I understand how that can be wasy for the venue and/or the couple. But, no for me!
Just a thought... but do you think that the reference could be about table snacks or homemade chips... I have been to beautiful weddings that provided a little basket of chips and pretzels at the tables and had bowls of nuts provided as well. Most of the time, the wedding guests may be hungry upon arrival at the reception hall. (They may have delayed eating lunch or dinner because they are planning to eat at the reception.) The tradition is to wait for the bride and groom to begin serving the meals, so providing a little snack at the table is often greatly appreciated. I know that appetizer trays and other treats are also appreciated, but the having chips and trail mix is just a basic thing. And I bet that for some guests (thinking about families with kids) is probably really appreciated beyond the other things.
@Missbliss: I think that that may have been the case for those snacks. I've since discarded that menu (!) but there were other, heavier appetizers. I think the sticker shock combined with the chips/trailmix got me in a tizzy!
@eseds: we went to a wedding on LI last year and i have seriously never seen so much food at a wedding in my entire life. the problem is, FI's family is from NY and we live in NY too, so FI thinks all of our NY guests are going to be expecting that level of food. well too bad, we're getting married in maryland where catering packages just don't come with that level of food. oh well. it's not like they're going to starve, there's still a cocktail hour and then a 3-course meal. (to put it in perspective, FI's godparents threw their daughter a wedding with a 7-course seated dinner. no joke.)
I'm from Greensboro too! I got married in August, and that was a HUGE problem that we had, I hated all of the catering companies in town! We ended up getting married at the JH Adams Inn in High Point, and their food was in house catering, and was amazing, but the service at the Inn was horrible.
When we were looking for an outside caterer early on the best one we found was Sage Brush in Kernersville. They had awesome food and were super friendly (and super budget friendly!). Even though we didn't go that way, we would have if our wedding was held at another venue.
Hope that helps!
I'm from Greensboro too! I got married in August, and that was a HUGE problem that we had, I hated all of the catering companies in town! We ended up getting married at the JH Adams Inn in High Point, and their food was in house catering, and was amazing, but the service at the Inn was horrible.
When we were looking for an outside caterer early on the best one we found was Sage Brush in Kernersville. They had awesome food and were super friendly (and super budget friendly!). Even though we didn't go that way, we would have if our wedding was held at another venue.
Hope that helps!
Our venue I have not had any of these shock experiences yet. I think the owners would cringe at the word mashed potato buffet. They are both culinary school grads.
My fiance went to an event at our venues where they showcase thier upgrades. They had sliders there, and my FI was apalled. I thought it was cute, then I tried one and had to spit it out because it was unbelievable disgusting. They have fine dining down, but not so much with the comfort foods. Also on the menu was grilled cheese (for adult, not kids). Weird.
I went to an appetizer reception where they had a mashed potatoe bar..it was DELICIOUS..but then again I love mashed potatoes. This was not a cheapo affair either, it was at a private home in Newport Beach on the harbor..it was unexpected but really, really good. They had other apps, like mac n cheese w/beef inside a grilled cheese with chibatta bread and I thought that was nasty though. And they had other stations that were less than stellar..but the mashed potatoes were my favorite by far.
I am just amazed at the lack of simple food. My parents are not adventurous eaters and will not eat unusual items, foods with roulade, truffle oil, glazes. Even gorgonzola is a stretch. I have so far been doing most of my research on the internet and it's so hard to find somewhere that just serves something simple like (really good) mashed potatoes or beef!
I just looked at a catering menu that boasted, honest to god, potato chips and onion dip! I'm going for a picnic / bbq theme but really??
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Other than price :)
Shocked may be too strong of a word but...
...when I saw potato chips and trail mix on a dinner menu, I was UNimpressed.
We are mainly looking at restaurants and even Whole Foods to cater our meal, and I have been more impressed with their selections than the selections of most caterers.
I've been to many catered affairs. Since working with non-profits, I've heard the words, "rubber chicken dinner" and have arranged events with those same dinners. It seems like as fancy as a catered event may seem, sometimes they are just corny. I don't want to just serve a rubber-chicken dinner.
The reception dinner is one of our top priorities as it is for many weddings (as well as a top cost). For various reasons, I don't want to DIY cater. We have very specific concerns since we are looking for decent if not extraordinary vegan selections. We are on a tight budget.
Have you ever been shocked/surpised by something on a caterer's menu?