Wedding Catering!!

I went into catering tastings thinking this would be simple. Pick a chicken. Maybe a vegetable. Smile politely. What actually happened was me judging mashed potatoes like I was on a reality cooking show with absolutely no qualifications.

Step 1: Suddenly, I Have Standards

On a normal day, I will happily eat:

• Leftovers
• Snacks labeled “mystery”
• Something directly out of a bag

But the moment I sat down at a catering tasting? Is this chicken dry? Who am I?

Step 2: The Menu Is a Personality Test

You think you’re picking food. You’re actually revealing your entire identity as a couple.

Questions start flying:

• “Are you formal or fun?”
• “Elegant or laid-back?”
• “Plated dinner or buffet?”

Meanwhile I’m like: which options include the most carbs?

Step 3: The Chicken Dilemma

Every wedding has a chicken. It’s the law.

But now you must choose which chicken:

• Lemon herb chicken
• Garlic roasted chicken
• Chicken that sounds identical but costs $4 more

And everyone acts like this is a life-altering decision. Or maybe that’s just Aunt Sophie.

Step 4: The Sides Get Competitive

You think sides are just… sides. They are not. They are where opinions get intense.

Mashed potatoes vs. roasted potatoes becomes a full debate.

Someone always says: “People LOVE a good mac & cheese!

And suddenly mac and cheese is the main character.

Step 5: The “Will People Like This?” Spiral

At some point, you stop thinking about what you like.

Now it’s:

• “What if someone doesn’t eat this?”
• “What about picky eaters?”
• “What about that one cousin who only eats beige food?”

You cannot win. Someone will always want something else, like Aunt Sophie.

That is their journey.

Step 6: The Fancy Food Identity Crisis

You’ll be offered dishes that sound like they belong in an art gallery:

• “Deconstructed seasonal vegetables”
• “Infused reductions”
• “A foam of something”

And you’ll sit there wondering: “Can we just have pasta?”

Step 7: The Realization That People Just Want to Eat

Here’s the truth no one tells you:

Your guests are not expecting a five-star restaurant experience.

They are expecting:

• Hot food
• Enough food
• Food that doesn’t confuse them

If it tastes good and they’re full, you’ve already won.

Final Thoughts: Feed People, Not Expectations

If you:

• Overthought every option
• Changed your mind 12 times
• Ended up choosing something simple

Congratulations! You are doing it correctly.

Your wedding meal doesn’t need to:

• Be groundbreaking
• Be trendy
• Impress food critics who are not in attendance

It just needs to make people happy.

Bonus Advice (From Someone Who Judged Potatoes Too Hard)

• Always include a crowd-pleaser (yes, this is your mac and cheese moment)
• Make sure there’s enough food (people remember hunger)
• Don’t skip dietary options. Your vegetarian friends will love you forever
• And please… feed yourselves. You deserve to actually eat at your own wedding

At the end of the day, wedding catering is simple: Give people good food, let them celebrate, and no one will remember whether the green beans were roasted or sautéed.

But they will remember if there was mac and cheese.

Choose wisely.