The food cost is half of your budget. Make sure you spend it correctly.
Costs are always a sore point for any couple who must face the expenses for their wedding and want to stay within their budget. When you receive various quotes and you have to decide which suppliers to use, often the price remains the main (sometimes even the only) criterion of choice. Especially when we talk about the choice of catering company for your wedding in Italy, as the food aspect is crucial for every Indian couple. On the other hand, couples are not wedding professionals, and it is absolutely normal to adopt this approach. And here’s where the figure of the professional comes into play, such as the wedding planner whose job is to help the couple understand the value behind each price, the reason for that specific price and how to evaluate those proposals that at first glance may seem the same but which in reality are not.
During a menu tasting experience with one of our Indian couples, they had to decide which catering company to use for their wedding in Italy. Having already met the couple previously, when they came to Italy for the choice of the venue and numerous times in video call, I had already evaluated their needs and also understood what kind of couple they are and the type of wedding they expect. Therefore, I had already foreseen a caterer who – in my opinion – is perfect for their event. Later on, speaking with the couple, they asked me if there were cheaper options to evaluate. Therefore I proposed them a second caterer with whom we collaborate, and which offers lower prices.
Two similar proposals at a first glance, but then…
Apparently two very similar proposals:
- both have Indian chefs in the team and therefore they can do Indian cuisine;
- both also offer Italian cuisine of course being Italian companies;
- both are catering companies that cook on the spot bringing their own kitchens as well;
- both offer all the services included in the package (waiters , tableware, cutlery, glasses, dishes and so on) to ensure that you have everything you need for a proper wedding in a Villa that offers spaces only.
Obviously, the menu is built at the customer’s request. Therefore, the two menus proposed were the same or very similar, especially for Indian dishes. They just had different things for the Italian side, since the two caterers come from two different regions and therefore have different culinary traditions.
How do you justify the price difference?
First of: the distance. One catering company is closer to the Villa chosen by this Indian couple, and therefore they have no extras for the trip. While the other company is further away and has a fee for transport. However, apart from this, the cost of the menu was still different. I always say that it is important to have a term of comparison. And even if in my head already from the first appointment with a couple I already know which could be the perfect villa for them, the perfect caterer for them, the perfect suppliers for them … Of course I have to give the couple a choice. I don’t like to impose suppliers; I can only recommend the best for them. And in 99% of cases, my advice turns out to be the right choices made by couples. But in this way, couples can see and decide independently.
As a matter of fact, with this couple we did two menu tastings by going to the headquarters of both catering companies. We tasted both Indian and Italian cuisine, we looked at the mise en place, the service, the food … And at the end of this experience the couple was grateful to have tasted both options. Because if they hadn’t tried the second caterer, they would have been left with the doubt that they were paying too much for the first caterer or that maybe there were better or cheaper companies that weren’t proposed to them.
How did they end up with their final decision?
This tasting were decisive, not only for the choice but also for the awareness of the couple to know what exactly they are paying for. Both companies are excellent caterers we work with for our Indian weddings. I can recommend them both with my eyes closed, knowing that the customer will be satisfied either way. Except that I also know to whom, to what kind of client to recommend one rather than the other, to add that extra touch that a specific wedding requires.
It is often during the menu tasting that the differences between one catering company and another are noticed. This is in the service, in the presentation, in the choice of the mise-en-place, in the dishes, in the number of waiters, in the attention to detail, in the style of the cuisine … All this can only be seen by coming to Italy and trying everything in person. And often in the quotes it is not clear why a company charges more than others. It can also happen that a high price is quoted but at the tasting you realize that the value for money is not worth it.
Here comes in the ability of the Specialist
As already said, the role of the wedding planner is essential to select companies to work with based on the taste of the food, variety of the menu, flexibility of the management, organization of the company, attention they pay to their work, honesty and responsibility towards the customer, and above all professionalism. These are the most important values for me when choosing the partners to work with, including catering companies.
Certainly a first discriminating factor may be the inability to prepare authentic Indian food. So once this is ensured, all the others become extremely important to be certain that every couple has the right catering company for their Indian wedding in Italy, the right quality of food, the right price and the right service. It is difficult to understand this not being a specialist in the sector, not being a wedding planner and not knowing the Italian reality of this industry. And this is where Best Indian Weddings Italy comes to the aid of Indian couples.
Do you want to know more about the different food options you can have in Italy? Check our dedicated section here>>>
YOU MIGHT ALSO BE INTERESTED IN THESE OTHER POSTS:
