Wedding crashers: How caterers are dealing with budget nuptials

“It’s been the worst year for as long as I’ve been in the business. It’s been really bad,” said Monster, who has booked only one wedding this year. She believes that couples are renting equipment and hiring serving staff themselves. Christine Bib Catering is experiencing a similar decline; general manager Richard Peters said they’re doing half the number of weddings of last year.

Veteran Toronto caterer Daniel et Daniel (whose clients include the ROM and Jennifer Lopez) hasn’t had a drop in weddings, but vice-president Russell Day says that budgets have decreased. “We’re finding people are cutting back on the bells and whistles, like decorations. Or they may still spend a good chunk of change, but it’s for a more intimate group. Instead of 300 people, they have 100 people.” Rising food prices have also driven chefs to get creative with their menus: foie gras and beef tenderloin are being replaced by stuffed chickens.

And while clients aren’t going full-force with entertaining, Day has found that people aren’t letting a recession get in their way. “In times of economic hardship, people are looking for security and do not want to put their lives on hold,” he says. “They may do it in a smaller way, but I guess when times were booming, people were too busy to get married.”