My wedding was six months ago and people are still asking me about the food. Not the dress, not the flowers – the catering. Apparently when you nail the food at a NYC wedding, everyone remembers it forever.
Getting there wasn’t easy though. When Jake and I got engaged, I figured catering would be straightforward. Pick some good food, sign a contract, done. Three months of tastings later, I learned that wedding food in New York is basically its own universe with rules nobody tells you about upfront.
We went to probably fifteen different tastings before finding our caterer. Some places served us tiny perfect plates that looked nothing like what they’d actually serve 150 people. Others gave us cafeteria-style portions that tasted fine but looked terrible. The one we picked understood that wedding food has to work for a crowd while still being special.
Wedding Catering In NYC
The Sticker Shock Nobody Warns You About
Let me just say this upfront – wedding catering in NYC costs way more than you think it will. We saved up what felt like a reasonable amount based on some googling, then discovered that decent catering starts at double that number.
My first reaction was to look for cheaper options. We tried three budget caterers that all had good online reviews. The tastings were rough. One place served us chicken that was so dry I needed three glasses of water to get through it. Another had great reviews but apparently those were all from corporate events, not weddings.
Here’s what took me a while to understand – the expensive caterers aren’t just charging more because they can. They’re using better ingredients, hiring experienced staff, and actually know how to execute service for large groups. The cheap options cut corners on stuff that matters when you’re feeding your wedding guests.
Venue Drama
About half the places we looked at only let you use their preferred caterers. At first this felt limiting, but some of those in-house caterers were actually amazing because they knew exactly how to work in that space.
The venues that let you bring outside caterers seemed like they’d give us more options, but honestly, it created more headaches. We had to coordinate between the venue and caterer, figure out kitchen logistics, and handle details that exclusive caterers already had worked out.
Finding Someone Who Gets Weddings
The biggest difference between good and mediocre wedding caterers is understanding that feeding 150 people at once is totally different from running a restaurant. The timing is different, the presentation has to hold up longer, and you’re dealing with way more dietary restrictions and picky eaters.
We did tastings where caterers served us these gorgeous individual plates that would never work for mass service. Others showed us exactly what our guests would get, which looked more realistic but sometimes wasn’t as impressive during the tasting.
The caterer we ended up with, Griselle from Alfonzo Catering, brought sample plates that showed us exactly how the food would look on our actual wedding day. She explained how they’d keep everything hot, when each course would be served, and how they’d handle our three vegetarian guests and one person with severe food allergies.
The Questions That Mattered
Griselle was the first caterer who seemed genuinely excited to talk logistics. When I asked about timing, she pulled out a detailed timeline showing when cocktail hour would start, when dinner would be served, and how they’d coordinate with our DJ and photographer.
Other caterers gave vague answers about timing or seemed annoyed when I asked practical questions. Griselle had answers for everything – backup plans if something went wrong, how many servers they’d bring, what would happen if guests took longer than expected to find their seats.
Making Service Work in Small Spaces
Manhattan venues are cramped, which affects your catering options more than you’d think. Buffet lines take up space and create bottlenecks. Plated service requires precise timing but keeps people seated and mingling.
We went with passed appetizers during cocktail hour and plated dinner service. This kept the cocktail hour moving while making sure everyone got hot food at the same time for dinner. Griselle suggested this approach after seeing our venue, and it worked perfectly.
Cocktail Hour Strategy
Don’t mess around with cocktail hour food. This is when your guests are hungriest and when they form their first impression of the catering. We skipped the standard cheese and crackers routine and went with more substantial passed appetizers.
Griselle’s team did these amazing mini beef sliders, bacon-wrapped scallops, and stuffed mushrooms that were almost like mini meals. People were happy and satisfied, not hangry and grabbing dinner rolls before the salad course.
Budget Reality
Wedding catering in NYC is expensive no matter what you do, but there are ways to get great food without going completely broke. We found Alfonso Catering through a friend’s recommendation..
We also made smart choices about where to spend and where to save. Instead of top-shelf liquor for the bar, we put our money into amazing dinner courses. We skipped elaborate dessert displays and went with simple wedding cake plus a few signature desserts that Griselle made.
Watch Out for Hidden Costs
This caught me off guard – most caterers quote base prices that don’t include service fees, gratuities, or equipment rentals. Griselle gave us all-in pricing from the beginning, which I appreciated because we could actually budget properly.
Some caterers wanted to charge extra for things like cutting our wedding cake, which seemed ridiculous. Others had rental fees for basic stuff like plates and glasses that added thousands to the final bill.
Tastings Are Everything
Go to tastings even if you’re sure about a caterer. The food might be great, but you need to see if it matches what you want for your wedding. We did our tasting at 2 PM, which is when our actual reception dinner would be served, to see how everything held up timing-wise.
During our tasting with Alfonso Catering, we paid attention to how the food looked because wedding food gets photographed constantly. Everything had to taste great and look great under different lighting.
We also asked Griselle to show us exactly how much food each person would get. Some caterers serve tiny portions during tastings, then give guests even smaller portions at the actual wedding.
Griselle understood that great wedding food brings people together. Our reception felt warm and celebratory partly because everyone was raving about dinner. Six months later, my cousin is still asking for the recipe for those stuffed mushrooms. That’s exactly the kind of impression you want your wedding catering to make.
