Before booking a caterer, you should do research to ascertain price points and get recommendations from people who have had experience with the names you come up with. As with any estimate, the general rule is to contact three or four vendors that are appropriate to your estimated number of guests and budget. You don’t want to limit your options too much, but you also would not benefit from overwhelming yourself and wasting time with a dozen or more. Unless your engagement is several years long, you simply will not have time to interview every kosher caterer in the New York area.
Then the first test is how promptly and courteously each caterer responds to you. If your calls are not returned within a business day, then this caterer is probably too busy to give you the individualized attention required. The courtesy should extend beyond the first call, though. You do not want to be "sold' on a person whose sole job is to get you to sign on and then has nothing more to do with you. (I experienced the frustration of that experience with my first mortgage.) To be certain you will have someone you can call on who will not brush you off with "it's not my department," you must get the name and full contact information of the person responsible for your affair and make certain that he is to be on site and accessible on the day of your wedding. Knowing the key terms (see -NY-Jewish-Bridal-Examiner~y2010m2d7-Selecting-your-caterer--key-terms-to-know) and coming in prepared with a firm idea of what you want and the number of guests to be served will reduce the chance of unpleasant surprises later on and clarify accountability.
Schedule an appointment to discuss your vision, your budget, and your concerns. Be sure to ask about base prices, extra costs, overtime, and hidden fees. You can also negotiate. Many vendors are anxious for your business, and if they don’t have a wedding scheduled for that date, they would be much happier to have something than nothing going on then. How much negotiating power you have depends on when you schedule your wedding. See Controlling-catering-costs Don't count on getting big discounts for a wedding set on a national holiday. However, if you are scheduling one in the weeks surrounding the holiday of Pesach [Passover] when weddings are uncommon, then the caterer should be rather inclined to cut a deal.
Buyer beware:
Certain things should give you pause. If you schedule a daytime reception, and the hall is booking another wedding immediately after yours, your wedding will have to be limited to the time allotted to you. On the upside, that means no overtime charges. However, if you would rather incur overtime but not feel your own celebration was curtailed, then you should seek a place that can assure you of having sole use of the place on your wedding day
Watch out red flags. If the hall is not in good condition when you see it, move on the next one on your list. Don't accept assurances that it will be spruced up in time for your wedding. Renovations are major project planned far in a Also if something about the place or the person you are dealing with just strikes you as wrong, look elsewhere. One of the things that should strike you as wrong is a caterer's refusal to put your agreement in writing or to add in changes agreed to on the written contract. They may prove to have a faulty memory if there is no written proof. You also do not necessarily want to make your deposit in cash, lest someone forgets exactly how much money changed hands and how much is still due.
For the question to ask before even scheduling a meeting, see Make-it-a-dozen--questions--for-the-catering-hall and Another-dozen-for-the-caterer
You can find additional money saving ideas on the site Wedding advice page at http://kallahmagazine.com/WeddingAdvice.html and vendors and gmachs (which can save you thousands on gowns, centerpieces, and more) at www.kallahmagazine.com/serv04.htm
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