Using a Restaurant for Wedding Catering

Previously for our wedding food, we had really wanted the Carnival, Indian food van, but unfortunately they won’t drive from DC to VT.  So I found two other vendors, one which was a typical caterer and one which was an Indian restaurant.  We met with the caterer first and I was really disappointed.   My married friends had told me that meeting with caterers was the best part of the planning process because of the tastings. All the caterer showed up with was a trapper keeper and blank paper. We had written many emails back and forth to discuss what J and I were looking for and I was surprised at her lack of preparedness.  She didn’t even have a sample menu to show us, much less pictures or any food.

Next, we went to Spice Root, the only Indian Restaurant in the area, and while the owner was a little late, it was a much better experience.  I had been a little worried that they wouldn’t be comfortable with a same-sex wedding, but after a moment of confusion everything was fine. We sat down with their menu and choose 4 appetizers, 3 entrees, and 2 non-alcoholic drinks. We ordered out the three entrees that we had selected for the wedding, with a small discount.  J’s parents had never had Indian food before, so this seemed like a good way to make the wedding food less scary.

We went back at Thanksgiving to sign the contract, at which time we had a complimentary lunch buffet.  The buffet was great, but made me question our chosen entrees, because some of the other ones were really tasty. I did have a moment of doubt when I bit into a cardamom pod, but none of the dishes we ordered have that spice so I am just pretending to ignore it for now.  Right now, we are serving vegetable samosas, plain naan, garlic naa, chicken tikka masala, aloo gobi, matar paneer, mango lassi, and Arnold Palmers (1/2 green ice tea and 1/2 lemonade).  The other bonus is that we get all of this food, with servers included, for $16 less a person than the cheapest caterer I could find.

We went back and forth about whether or not to do a meat dish since we are both vegetarians. In the end, it seemed that if we were surprising our guests by serving Indian food maybe we should include something more familiar.  Also, this way we have a carnivore, a vegetarian, and a vegan dish, so everyone can eat something.  The other bonus is that they will rent us all of their dishes, silverware, water pitchers, etc. for 40 cents a piece, which is cheaper than the rental company. Their dishes are really pretty, but they come in five different colors and I only want the red ones (our wedding colors are red and turquoise). I feel like I sound crazy and I haven’t asked yet, but I will once I get over sounding like a bridezilla.

Have you decided to serve something that you don’t eat?