How Far Ahead to Book Wedding Catering
Of all the questions couples ask us, this is the most common, and the one people most often get wrong.
The honest answer is earlier than you think. Not because we want to rush you, but because good wedding catering depends on time, and the best dates go first.
The short version
For a wedding in peak season, roughly May to September, twelve to eighteen months ahead is sensible. For dates outside that window, nine to twelve months is usually comfortable. If your wedding is already close, do still get in touch. We can sometimes accommodate shorter timescales, and it is always worth asking.
Those are guidelines, not rules. What matters more is understanding why the timing works the way it does.
Why the best dates book up first
A wedding caterer can only be in one place on any given Saturday. Popular summer dates, particularly bank holiday weekends, get claimed a long way out. Book early and you have the pick of dates. Leave it late and you are working around what's left.
There's a quieter reason too. The couples who book early tend to be the ones who get the most considered menu, because there's time for a proper tasting, time to refine, time to source something special for the season.
What happens between booking and the day
Booking early doesn't mean deciding everything early. It means securing the date, then shaping the food over the following months. A typical rhythm looks like this.
First, a conversation about your day, your guests and the feeling you want.
Then an initial menu proposal, designed around the season and your tastes.
A tasting, usually a few months before, where we refine together.
Final numbers and dietary details in the weeks before the wedding.
The date is the thing to lock in. Everything else has room to breathe.
A note on seasonal menus
Because we cook around what's best at the time, booking early also lets us plan for the season your wedding falls in. A June wedding and a October wedding call for genuinely different menus, and knowing your date well ahead means we can build towards it.
If you're only just starting to plan
Don't let the timings worry you. Even a loose idea is enough to begin a conversation. We would far rather hear from you early, while your plans are still forming, than have you assume it's too soon to ask.
We cater weddings across Hampshire, Berkshire and the surrounding counties. If you have a date in mind, or are still choosing one, tell us about your day and we'll take it from there.