Wedding Catering Insight from the Pros at Brancato’s
Venue— check!
Date— check!
Food— LET’S GET ROLLING!
It is no secret that we are Brancato’s Catering’s biggest fan. I (Elizabeth) have used Brancato’s for personal events and will always, always always turn to Brancato’s first for any catering or rental need. Not only do we encourage #HitchedAtHawthorne couples to utilize Brancato’s for any food related service, but if you want to mix in banquet tables for guest seating, uplevel your event with a boxwood wall or beautify your place settings with gorgeous gold flatware we send our couples to…..drum roll please….BRANCATO’S! They truly provide the best full service catering experience in Kansas City and we are SO excited to share with you some words of wisdom from Brian, a seasoned professional in the wedding industry, with Brancato’s.
Take it away Brian! :
“The three most critical decisions for your wedding reception are selecting a venue, deciphering an
alcohol (or non-alcoholic) package, and selecting a caterer. Not only do these three things set the tone
for your guest experience but they also tend to “eat” (pun intended) the bulk of your reception budget.
We are here to help guide you through the process of locating, vetting, and securing a caterer for your
big day.
The first step in locating a caterer for your event is selecting your venue. As you are reading the
Hawthorne House blog congratulations on selecting one of the premier venues in the Kansas City
market. We are the preferred catering provider at Hawthorne House and truly love the partnership that has developed
over the years. A venue’s preferred catering company would be someone that is the most familiar with
the rules and expectations of that venue.
There is no hard and fast rule for a time frame to book your catering. The top caterers and the most
popular months (May, June, September, and October) typically require a 10 – 14 month advanced
booking window. The other months I would say that the average client books 6 to 8 months in advance.
In preparing to contact and book a catering company there are a number of things you should have
discussed with your partner prior to reaching out. I would recommend the following topics prior to
reaching out to a caterer:
Guests list for the event and total number of anticipated guests (70-80% of what you invite is a pretty good rule of thumb)
What type of feel do you want at your reception? Casual? Formal? Fun?
Do you have a preference on Buffet style vs. Plated vs. Family Style vs. Food Stations?
Is there a specific style of cuisine or food item you have to have at your wedding reception? i.e BBQ, American, ETC.
Is there a specific style of food or type of food to avoid all be it for dietary restrictions or simple lack of enjoyment of that food?
Discuss a per person range you are comfortable spending on catering services as a part of your whole budget.
Typically a catering company will not allow for you to attend a private or group tasting until a proposal
has been built to ensure that you are tasting food items that align with your tastes and budget for this
event.
A lot of couples in 2023 are incorporating personal touches and sentiment into their catering selections.
Whether they are doing stations menus based on his favorite food, her favorite food, and their favorite
food or planning stations around cities that have meaning to them (i.e. a Chicago station, Dallas station,
Kansas City station). You can always look to add your favorite late night snacks to close the night and we
even offer boozy milkshakes! All of the elements of your wedding including food, décor, DJ, etc. are a
reflection of your personality and style. I always remind people that even the esthetic of your event is
important as that will be carried through in every photo you receive of the reception so if you don’t like
the chairs change them as they will be in almost every reception picture taken.
As health and wellness have evolved in the early 2000’s we have seen a large increase in dietary
restrictions for guests attending your event. Please make sure and have space on your RSVP for those
guests to express those restrictions. As a caterer we will work to hopefully provide a dish at your event
that encompasses all dietary restrictions in that one dish. We will plate that dish for your guests and
deliver it to their table if you can let us know where those guests are sitting.
As for the planning process you will experience at Brancato’s Catering we have coordinators assigned
specifically to venues so that they know the ins and outs of the space as well as the needs and wants of
the venue team. Hannah Hulett is the coordinator for Brancato’s assigned to Hawthorne House. After
making contact with our team you will experience the following:
Initial consultation to go over our packaging and discuss menu and budget
Finalizing a menu and service level selection so that a tasting can be scheduled
Tasting to take place at our offices where you can discuss additional items we have for rent
Finalizing your menu and service option 30 days prior to the event
Final guest count and final payment due 14 days prior to your event
Brancato’s catering is a full service rental company as well offering rental items such as specialty linens,
7 patterns of china, 5 patterns of flatware, 9 different chargers, and much more. We are happy to
provide these items even if you are not catering with our company.”
Thanks to Bailey Pianalto Photography for the beautiful images of this Brancato’s Catering wedding!
Happy planning from Hawthorne House!