Why a timeline helps
Wedding catering involves a lot of small decisions spread over many months. Most of them are easy on their own; the stress comes from leaving them all until the last few weeks. This timeline breaks the job into stages. Adjust it to your own plans, and check your caterer’s own deadlines for final numbers and payments, which will be in your booking terms.
12 months or more before
- Choose your venue and date.
- Ask the venue whether outside caterers and food trucks are allowed, and whether there’s a fee.
- Decide roughly how you want to eat: a sit-down meal, a food truck, a taco bar, or a mix.
- Shortlist caterers and ask for quotes. Summer Saturdays book up early.
9 to 12 months before
- Book your caterer and get the booking confirmed in writing.
- Share the caterer’s details with the venue so they can talk about access, power and water.
- Decide whether you want evening food, and whether it’s the same caterer.
- Think about drinks: is the venue’s bar staying open, or do you need a drinks bar? If alcohol is being sold, check the licensing early.
6 months before
- Agree a draft menu. For Mexican street food, that usually means two or three fillings plus a vegan option, salsas, guacamole and toppings.
- Decide the serving style: from the truck, a taco bar or sharing platters to tables.
- Add a question about diets and allergies to your invitations or RSVP cards.
- Start a rough running order for the day.
3 months before
- Confirm the site plan with your venue and caterer: where the truck parks, access, ground, power and water. See our space and power checklist.
- Agree a wet-weather plan. See our wet-weather guide.
- Check what’s included: plates, napkins, cutlery, tables, staff, clearing up.
- Ask your venue what paperwork it needs from the caterer.
1 to 2 months before
- Collect RSVPs and chase anyone who hasn’t replied.
- Send your caterer a written list of diets and allergies, with names and how severe each allergy is.
- Finalise the menu and quantities. Our guide to how many tacos per person helps.
- Finalise the running order with times for arrivals, drinks, food, speeches, cake and evening food.
2 to 3 weeks before
- Confirm final numbers by your caterer’s deadline.
- Share the final timetable with your caterer, venue, MC and planner.
- Give your caterer the name and mobile number of your contact on the day, so you don’t have to take calls.
- Check arrival times for all suppliers so vehicles aren’t competing for the same space.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Booking the caterer before checking the venue’s rules. Some venues have approved supplier lists or charge for outside caterers.
- Leaving diets until the last week. Collect them with your RSVPs so the caterer has time to plan.
- Forgetting evening guests. They need counting, and they have diets and allergies too.
- A timetable with no slack. Ceremonies and photos often run late. Give the food window some breathing room.
- Not knowing what’s included. Plates, napkins, staff and clearing up are easy to assume and awkward to discover missing on the day.
Who does what
Write down who is responsible for each part of the food: who talks to the caterer, who sends the diet list, who confirms numbers and who is the contact on the day. If you have a wedding planner or venue coordinator, agree which of these they’ll handle. It stops messages falling between people in the busy final weeks.
On the day
Hand over. Your contact on the day deals with the caterer and venue, and you enjoy the food. If you’re planning Mexican street food for your wedding, read our Mexican wedding catering guide, then contact us for a quote through our quote form.
Planning an event? Tell us about it and we’ll suggest a menu and send a quote for your event.