Ask Jessica

How can I combine my Asian culture with my fiancée’s more traditional mid-western family’s preferences when it comes to preparing our catering menu? Claire F.

Hi Claire,

Creating a menu that combines the culinary trademarks of you and your fiancée’s backgrounds is a lovely way to share the union of your marriage as well as your families’ cultures. We like to incorporate a family favorite dish or two into our catered wedding reception menus. Buffet, multiple station and seated coursed receptions all allow for such creativity. With a singular buffet menu format you might want to offer, for example, Asian inspired butler-passed hors d’ oeuvres during your cocktail hour followed by a more traditionally inspired buffet menu. Classic wedding cake can be followed by late night tray passed Mochi, mango rice pudding or personalized fortune cookies. A multiple stations format would enable you to have an Asian inspired menu as well as a more traditional “meat and potatoes” style station for more conservative palates. As for seated coursed menus, you can alternate ethnic seated courses in addition to mixing it up with fusion inspired appetizers and desserts. Any way you slice it, the variety will make your guests happy and your wedding reception more memorable!

Many of my friends and family members are vegetarian, but my fiancé and his family are predominantly meat eaters. What is the best way to compromise on selecting our wedding menu? Nicole H.

Hi Nicole,

Fortunately you can mix and match your wedding menu to accommodate all such dietary preferences and restrictions. Start by offering a variety of butler-passed hors d’ oeuvres – we like to include at least one vegetarian, one seafood, and one or more meat options to cover all the bases. As for dinner service, the buffet and multiple stations formats allow for so much variety that everyone’s needs may easily be met. Remember that with buffet service (usually a menu comprised of five to eight culinary options including at least two protein choices) your meat eating guests will help themselves to the vegetarian option too, so make sure you have large enough food quantities to satisfy everyone’s appetites. As for coursed seated meals you can offer two or three entrée selections (meat, seafood and/or vegetarian options) in order to meet your guests’ catering requests. Be sure to put a (V) next to the vegetarian items on any printed station or buffet menus to make it easier for those guests to distinguish what they’re able to eat. A final suggestion: regardless of who you select as your wedding caterer, make sure that their wait staff are knowledgeable of all menu items in order to be able to properly inform your guests of their choices. Your on site chef should know every ingredient in every dish, especially in the event that allergy questions arise during the course of your reception.

How do we determine what our budget for catering should be? There seems to be such a wide range of offerings and pricing – we’re not sure where to start! Libbi Z. and Peter E.

Hi Libbi and Peter,

First of all, be realistic from the beginning about what you are willing to spend. Decide together what your priorities for the day are: is the venue more important than the caliber of the food and catering service? Once you have discussed your priorities (wedding venue, catering, event planner, photographer, videographer, florist, entertainment, officiant, invitations and on and on!), start with what is most important to you and budget from there. Venue selection and wedding catering tend to be the two most expensive ticket items for most receptions. Once you have booked your venue you’ll know what you have left for everything else! Most Bay Area catering services (ours included) come in a wide array of service options and pricing. We recommend you book your venue first, then approach caterers who are eligible to work in the venue you have selected (the majority of venues in the Bay Area have preferred vendor lists). Be up front about your catering budget and most wedding caterers will let you know right away if their services are in your price range. Remember that you get what you pay for!