Planning the perfect party can be a lot of fun – but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. While everyone starts on a positive note, the situation can quickly devolve into stress and anxiety as the date draws nearer and you haven’t got everything done you wanted.
Of course, some elements are more complex to plan than others, and food and drink are most definitely in that more complicated category. There’s a great deal to figure out here and a lot that can go wrong, so you’ll need to ensure you get yourself organized as early as possible.
In this article, you’ll gain a head start with three of the most important matters to be aware of when it comes to catering for a party.
1. Knowing Your Guests
First and foremost, you need to know your guests. Everyone has different likes and dislikes, some people may have allergies you need to be aware of, and there may be people present who have other specific dietary requirements (they might be vegan or vegetarian, for example).
While it’s impossible to cater to absolutely everybody’s tastes, you should do your best to get the basics down (catering for allergies is essential, for example, so have that top of the list).
Collect as much information about your guests’ preferences as you can before starting. A quick survey sent to everyone’s email address works great for this, as you can use these to get a handle on both big and small details (just to use one example of the latter, many people have taste and general health preferences between Dr. Pepper vs. Coke – the more you can drill into the details, the better).
2. Choosing the Perfect Style
Next up are the stylistic decisions, which encompass both matters of personal taste and logistics.
Buffet styles are always a great bet for keeping things simple and offering enough flexibility, but some venues won’t have enough space for that. Traditional plated service is a solid option for more formal occasions, and if you’re putting on an informal event with a lot of mingling, food stations dotted around the space can do the trick.
Carefully consider the vibe, venue, and guest list to make your final decision.
3. Planning the Budget
You’ll find food to be one of the most expensive considerations of all when planning a party, so it’s important to draw up a proper budget before you start spending any money.
Wherever you’re considering buying your food from, you’ll want detailed breakdowns of the costs to be able to sum up accurately, and you’ll need to do your best to factor in portion sizes so that there’s as little waste as possible.
If you’ve decided to work directly with a caterer, shop around and get a few quotes before settling on one.
Wrapping Up
While planning party catering can be a challenge, it’s always manageable. So long as you take care to start the planning well in advance and work through each element in a systematic fashion, you’ll throw an event that all your guests will remember for many years to come. Good luck!
