Planning the perfect wedding: from wedding caterers to consultants and beyond

What to Consider

While wedding caterers may be some of the most helpful agencies willing to help with your wedding, you'll have no trouble finding a number of people qualified to lend a hand (for a small fee of course!) - from bridal consultants, to wedding caterers, to wedding consultants to event planners. If you know what you want and have the money to get it, planning your wedding can be a breeze.  But if you're like many people, having a fairytale wedding (complete with the wedding caterers, wedding planners and wedding consultants!), and fitting it within your wedding budget may not go hand in hand.

Don't despair! There are dozens of ways to have an affordable wedding  and still get what you want. The key is to be prepared and be specific. Sure, you can hire a wedding planner to help plan your wedding and give all the grueling tasks to him or her. But sometimes a much more economical way is to pick and choose the tasks you do, and the tasks you delegate.

Before you can even decide to "do or delegate" you have to knock out some of the basics. You'll need to:

• Pick a date
• Decide on a ceremony venue
• Nail down a wedding budget
• Choose a wedding theme

Once you've done all that, you can move on to some of the more fun things: checking out wedding flowers, picking your bridal attendants, putting together a wedding registry, and of course, finding the perfect dress.

Wedding Caterers Make Your Life Easier

When you get to the point where you've decided what you want to do, and what you want to delegate, it make be a good time to pick wedding caterers. Wedding caterers are some of the most basic - yet most helpful - additions to your "entourage" as you plan your wedding. As is the case throughout the wedding planning process, you'll need to be prepared when you go to meet potential wedding caterers, or party caterers, and have catering ideas in your mind.

Catering Qualities

When you go to meet your potential wedding caterers, think about what you want them to be able to do, and how much you're willing to spend.  For example:

• Will you have an indoor wedding or a garden party theme?
• Do you want a seated meal or a buffet or only appetizers?
• Do the wedding caterers include a serving fee or will it be an extra charge?
• Do the wedding caterers include a cake in the wedding packages and pricing?

Fitting your demands inside your budget

Once you've answered these questions and decided on anything else you'd like to bring up with prospective wedding caterers, you'll have to shop around a bit (or ask around or call around) to figure out what catering companies are on the higher and lower ends of the spectrum in terms of price and quality. It may be best to buy some services a la cart if you can't afford a whole package. If the wedding caterers are individuals or a smaller company you may be able to come up with a per-person flat fee as opposed to a packaged rate.

If you plan ahead and shop around, you should be able to plan a wedding utilizing wedding caterers that's elegant AND economical!