Wedding Catering
For many, a key component of a wedding celebration is food.
Once you have set the date and picked a venue for your wedding celebration, it is time to start thinking about how you want to approach serving food on your special day.
Are you looking to spoil your guests with an exclusive, plated dinner or do you envision a cocktail reception with small dishes served?
While some venues have an in-house kitchen or catering service that you are required to use, others will let you select your preferred caterer yourself.
Wedding catering is of course centered around food and drinks, apart from the table setup, waiting staff and all ancillary arrangements.
Drinks
In some countries like the U.S., it is very common to have an open bar at a wedding.
Guests can order almost any drink they like, including long drinks, cocktails and shots.
In Germany, it is much more common for wedding venues to charge a drinks flat rate per person per hour.
The rate usually includes a selection of soft drinks, hot drinks, beer and wine.
Within each of those drink categories, they tend to offer a variety of two to four.
That would be roughly three different beers, a red and a white wine and then various (diet) sodas and water, along with coffee, cappuccino etc.
In addition, a customizable selection of cocktails and long drinks can be made available based off of a preset menu of drinks.
Wedding Food Options
Along with choosing what type of food (cuisine) you want to serve at your wedding, you will have to decide on the meal style.
Many venues serve food as a buffet-style dinner.
That is either because of their kitchen setup (not having enough room to set up so many individual plates),
personnel considerations, or simply preference.
Some other venues however, do not have a kitchen on the premises and will work with the caterer you choose.
A great list of questions to ask your caterer can be found here.
Wedding Meal Styles
Let’s start by discussing what a wedding dinner typically includes. It would start with:
- Appetizers (salad, soup,…) followed by
- Entrées (typically meat / fish and vegetarian/vegan options) and
- Dessert, along with a slice of
- Wedding cake
These courses can be served in different ways - there are commonly four wedding meal styles:
Plated Sit-down Dinner
A plated meal is the most traditional and formal option.
All guests are seated and food is served plated in two courses (appetizer and entrée)
plus dessert (unless there is a separate dessert table).
While it limits variety, it is an efficient way for everyone to eat at the same time.
Family-style dinner
An alternative is to serve food family-style.
Everyone is seated and the dishes are passed around the table in big platters and bowls.
It is a more communal dinner style but also more costly and therefore probably best suited for smaller wedding parties.
Buffet-style dinner
A buffet is a classic way of presenting a variety of food in large (heated / chilled) trays on long tables.
Every guest can pick and choose the foods they like and serve themselves at the buffet.
While you can offer a greater variety of food, there tend to be lines at the buffet and it is difficult for all guests to eat at the same time.
Cocktail-style dinner
A cocktail-style dinner is served as small bites that are passed out on trays or laid out on a table for guests to pick at.
Although it is the most affordable, modern and less stuffy way to serve food, guests might be unaccustomed to it.
Service Personnel
Along with finding a great caterer, you will want to make sure that the venue or caterer provides you with enough servers to take care of you and your guests.
If you opt for a plated, sit-down dinner, Brides.com recommend that there be about one server for every 10-15 guests.
When it comes to food stations, one server for every 25 guests should be enough.
Wedding Catering in Berlin
If you are ready to jump into the search for the right caterer for your wedding, check out the following list of select event caterers in Berlin. They are grouped by category, starting with full-service caterers.
| Business (Website) | Brief Summary* |
|---|---|
| Food Truck Catering | |
| Beef&Co Catering | Beef & Co Catering offer a food truck catering service for weddings and other events. They have a wide range of BBQ options, burgers and sandwiches available, along with veggies, vegan options and finger food. |
| kopka | kopka offer individualized food truck catering services for weddings and other events. Their menu options include burgers, BBQ food, finger food, deserts, etc. |
| Vegan Catering | |
| Bloom & Echo | Bloom & Echo provide event catering, including services for weddings. They put an emphasis on plant-based foods (vegan options). |
| German Food | |
| Dilg's Partyservice | Dilg's Partyservice provide German food catering for events. They are experts for pig roasts and also offer buffet options. |
| Mischke Catering | As a 4th generation family business, Fleischerei & Catering Mischke combine tradition and passion. They offer catering for every occasion. Their in-house production guarantees freshness, quality and modern creations, as well as individual and flexible offers. |
| Full-service Catering | |
| MBC Event & Catering | MBC EVENT & CATERING offer complete wedding catering services. Starting with providing a welcome drink at the reception and finger food, coffee and cake, to the evening buffet and midnight snack. You can also hire crockery, tents, tables, stage set-up, decorations and lighting from them. |
| Ney's Partyservice | Ney's Partyservice offer full service catering for events with many German food options. They can also provide you with bar personnel, "live cooking", tableware, tents, etc. |
| Party-Service Otte | Party-Service Otte provide full service catering with several buffet options, finger food, canapés and desserts. They also rent out tables, table ware, etc. |
| Salut Mediterranean Food & Catering Berlin | Salut provide full-service catering for events. Their focus on Mediterranean food including finger food, antipasti, BBQ, soups and desserts. The company can also provide you with decoration and rental equipment, such as bar setups, tables, tents, etc. |
| Silvana Kiepke Catering & Events | The company offers classic, full service catering and can provide service personnel, as well as decorations, tableware, etc. as rentals. |
| Waligora Event & Hochzeitsservice | The company provides full service catering for events. Their food offering ranges from buffet options to menus, finger food and BBQ. They can also provide you with bar catering, service personnel and a DJ, and have rental equipment (tents, chairs, tables, etc.) available. |
*The descriptions are a brief summary of the information that is provided publicly on the website of the respective vendor/business. Status: May 2024.