For a destination wedding, do you hire a caterer located where you live or one located where the wedding is?

I'm having a destination wedding and I'm confused about the catering...

Hiring a caterer that is located where my wedding is would make sense, but it'd cost a lot of money to fly over there multiple times just to consult with the caterer in-person. But if I hire a caterer that's located where I live, would they be able to fly to my wedding destination?

Thanks so much!For a destination wedding, do you hire a caterer located where you live or one located where the wedding is?
You hire a caterer where the wedding is - how do you expect your local caterer to get over there with all the food??



You either go on the advice of others when choosing a destination caterer and hope for the best, or your fly out there ONCE for a tasting. The rest of the consulting can happen via phone and email.



For our destination wedding in France, we hired a caterer there and went there once for a tasting.
You absolutely HAVE to hire a caterer at your chosen destination. Why would you not? They know the local foods, etc. A caterer where you live would (1) have to be flown over early (costly); and (2) not know where to obtain the foods, etc., and (3) not know the location/destination at all.



Many people that have destination weddings do not go to the destination/location until about a week before the wedding. So much can be done via cell phones, email, skype, etc. that there really is no need to meet with your caterer multiple times.For a destination wedding, do you hire a caterer located where you live or one located where the wedding is?
Dear God Almighty. Is this a serious question?



Oh yeah, the local cater would certainly prepare all the food for your wedding guests and then fly it in coolers, along with all of the plates and serving dishes to your destination wedding. Are you for real?? How much, exactly do you think that would cost you??



NO, No, no, a million times NO. You do not hire a local caterer for your destination wedding. That is like having a destination wedding and then flying back to your home town to sleep in a hotel.



You hire someone where the wedding is to prepare and serve the food.



This is a joke question, isn't it?
No dear, you don't hire vendors where you live. You hire vendors in the city where you're getting married. That's also where you get your marriage license, not from city hall at home. You need to search on weddingwire.com for caterers located where you're getting married, same for your photog, DJ, florist etc. I got married 5 hours from where I live last year and spent hours on the phone talking to vendors and interviewing them before I hired anyone. There's no reason you need to consult with a caterer multiple times before the wedding, just plan to make one trip to the area to meet with them and anyone else you want to hire so you can meet them in person before paying a deposit.



You can't bring a caterer with you from home, because once they arrive they won't have a place to cook or know where to buy your food!
You hire a caterer in the location that you are having the wedding. Caterers have to be licensed food handlers in most, if not all states, and few are licensed outside of their state of residence.

That said, if you live in NYC or NJ and are getting married in FL, there are caterers who are licensed for both states as they often fly down to cater parties for the wealthy. They have kitchen facilities already arranged, so not a problem.
We had our wedding in Alabama, from Iowa. We got all of our vendors from Alabama: caterer, florist, photographer, baker etc etc etc.



First, i did research on the local vendors. Decided which fit our general needs. Then i called each with a list of questions and narrowed it down to 2 vendors from each "category". We had to go to look at venues anyway. So we went for a week...made initial appointments with all of the vendors we were seriously thinking about and made our final decision for each at the end of that week. After that, we made one last appointment with each of our "finals" and went over the basics of what we wanted. They were very good at getting where we were coming from. From there, we did all of our interaction by email or phone call. We went down one other time about a month before our wedding so, at that point, we checked in with each to make sure everything was on track. But everything really went off without a hitch regardless of being a destination wedding.
Your caterer should be based where the wedding is taking place. Otherwise, how are they supposed to cater a wedding if they're thousands of miles from their kitchen and suppliers and staff?



When you have a destination wedding, you may not be able to speak to every vendor in person. Fortunately, there are these things called "phones" and "email" that allow you to communicate with people in distant locations. I highly recommend giving those a try.
Uh yeah, if you think it through, there's only one option. But I don't get why you'd have to have face to face consultations with the caterer. I had a fairly large destination wedding in Lake Tahoe, and we did everything over the phone. I knew how to get a top notch recommendation, of course, but after that I didn't meet him until the day of the wedding.
We are having destination wedding. I have spent countless hours online, on the phone talking to caterers, florist, the local chamber of congress etc.

We are planning our wedding 110% using review sites, %26amp; hoping that all my planning pays off. We won't be in the area until 1 day before our wedding! I am not going threw a hotel or wedding planner. The price on that was almost double what we are paying. I have sent 200 emails to the florist making sure everything was perfect %26amp; we aren't done yet. I talk to the man that is going to marry us about once a month. He has also been a big help in finding people in the area to help us.



You can not hire a cater where you. Even if they were able to fly there. You would paying for that! %26amp; where would they make the food? Here then fly it keeping it warm? That would cost way to much money if any one even go for it.

If your this stupid you need to talk to a hotel or a wedding planner about planning your whole wedding. Your not responsible enough to plan a destination wedding on your own!
One of the best ways to go is to hire a wedding planner that specializes in destination weddings. Get one that is familiar with your destination and they will know what caterers to trust and probably be able to save you quite a bit of money too.
HIre a local caterer, they will have everything they need to cook, serve, clean up, etc. Otherwise you're paying for rentals. Go online and find a couple of caterers and try to get some recommendations. If you're having your wedding a hotel beach or something, they will / can provide the catering for you.
I would hire a caterer at the destination and instead of paying to travel, I would pay to make sure they're a trained professional with lots of experience and perfect reviews. Then all consultations can be done through phone and email.
Common sense would dictate hiring a caterer near the vicinity of your destination wedding. That's what my sister did. Got married in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and hired a local caterer.
If you have enough money, yes they can/will fly to your destination (celebrities and millionaires do it all the time). But it will cost you a lot.
I would say hire someone from where the wedding is. Closer to the location is always better
you dont need to talk to ya caterer in person, but if ya feel that ya do. it would cost less to fly ya caterer once. if ya can afford it, get him/her a room, for a day or 2, so it wud be a mini vaca.