Wedding crashers: How caterers are dealing with budget nuptials
When caterer Rosalind Monster had a bride-to-be who wanted to prepare her own sushi bar and tried to get out of paying tax, she walked away from the job. “That was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” said the owner of Allison Cumming Gourmet Catering. “It’s like, why even bother coming to me? Just order Swiss Chalet.”
With the cost of a Canadian wedding averaging $26,000, brides and grooms are cutting the fat from their budgets but expecting the service and food of a million-dollar wedding.
“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.”
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When caterer Rosalind Monster had a bride-to-be who wanted to prepare her own sushi bar and tried to get out of paying tax, she walked away from the job. “That was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” said the owner of Allison Cumming Gourmet Catering. “It’s like, why even bother coming to me? Just order Swiss Chalet.”
With the cost of a Canadian wedding averaging $26,000, brides and grooms are cutting the fat from their budgets but expecting the service and food of a million-dollar wedding.
“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.”){kind=link}
Yikes, this Allison Cumming Catering chick needs a PR person to screen the quotes she gives! So what, the bride wanted to bring her own sushi. Have you heard about the economy lately, lady? Why don’t they just order form Swiss Chalet? Wow. What a bitch. Oh and big surprise, she’s only booked ONE WEDDING!!!
Have to disagree with Bobbi’s comment. We did our wedding with Allison Cumming Catering and she was very nice and accommodating. Sushi can be dangerous period, the do it yourself approach is scary. Good luck to her guests.
I agree with Bobbi’s comment, I would expect much more grace, tact, understanding and flexibility from a caterer or wedding service provider. Allison Cumming just did her fellow competing caterers a favour…and handed them all of her potential clients. Wow, she really needs to get a filter and some understanding for her clients. I am planning a wedding right now, and i am thinking twice about using a caterer or wedding planner just because of her poor attitude…
The above mentioned catering company may seem a bit brash, but I understand her pain.
Without being too specific, I am also in the wedding industry and have experienced alot of unreasonable people. In the last 5 years, probably up to 75% of the people I encounter are unreasonable.
The above issue: Economics. The bride wants to bring her own sushi because she wants to save money. Sushi may possibly be the most expensive appetizer at a function. Therefore, stay away from it. Its your wedding day, do you really want to work on that day? Do you really want to hold someone responsible for delivery? If something is wrong with the sushi, the above mentioned catering company maybe misrepresented as they are providing the food. I would say no too!
In the last several years its amazing how many brides & grooms are trying to trim. Sounds like a great idea but, when it comes to the wedding itself your guests can see the illusion of a nice wedding, but the penny pinching as well.
IE:
1. Your budget for a venue is $20,000. Why invite 200 people and look to pay $100 per guest ending up in a sub standard location when you can invite 100 and go to a nicer venue? Couples don’t know 200 people intimately.
2. You found a photographer that will give you the files so you can print it yourself. Are you kidding? Any true professional photographer wouldn’t do this, the so called “professionals” that do have no responsibility after the wedding day, so when it comes to producing the print, its ENTIRELY up to you. Do you really know what to do with the files? Do the big box retailers really know how to print large professional files?
3. A photographer friend of mine said it perfectly to one couple who asked him without any reason: “Can you give us a better deal”. His response: “So, you are asking me to take a pay cut??? If your boss came up to you and asked you to take a pay cut would you?”
My bottom line. Weddings are expensive, spend wisely. Don’t go to a Rolls Royce dealership asking for Ford pricing.
We’re seeing couples actually trying to cater their own weddings and making their own wedding cakes! If it’s a small affair, I suppose that can work, but for larger weddings it’s a nightmare they don’t anticipate until it’s too late.
I must say – as a “bride to be” shopping for wedding vendors, I’ve found myself disgusted by the sense of entitlement within the industry. I completely understand that oftentimes creative services are undervalued (hell, I’m a graphic designer), but this seems to not be true in the wedding industry.
In response to Micheal: If my boss did ask me to take a pay cut or possibly lose my job? Yeah, I’d probably take the pay cut. Wedding vendors work in a *luxury* industry, they must come to terms with the fact that no one needs to pay them $100/hour, period.
Also, I’m deeply offended by vendors who assume that couples who want to take the DIY route are somehow “cutting in” on their earnings.
Honestly, I prefer to do things myself a lot of the time, both to save money and to get them done right. I DO happen to have access to professional photo processing, and I know photographers overcharge for prints. One of my requirements with my very professional photographer is that I receive ALL raw images. I know how to process them. Hell, I know how to edit them, and probably have the exact same equipment they do! Any photographer who refuses to work with me because of that is an imbecile, and worse, a dinosaur.
And if any photographer were rude to me upon my suggestion of price negotiation? I’d just walk out. After all, I’m their livelihood – not vice versa.
Michael,
In a perfect world you would always have work. In a recession everyone goes into panic mode and cut-back mode. From the sounds of your posts you act as if Wedding Planners and Photographers are coveted assets….WRONG…they are a dime a dozen and more and more people are taking it upon themselves to learn the ‘how to’s’ rather than paying an inflated rate for someone’s services.
These wedding planners sound like TTC workers—false sense of entitlement–but you are not protected by a union…survival of the fittest–maybe next time you will take the lower rate and work with your client rather than being pig-headed and loosing the business
What brides fail to realize that just about every client wants a deal from vendors. If the vendor did that for every client, they’d no longer be in business. They also don’t realize true costs to run a business. Liability insurance, office equipment, overhead just to name a few. Taking a pay cut is one thing, doing it everytime a bride approaches that vendor,is unreasonable and again they just wouldn’t be able to stay in business. There are a lot of hidden costs that have to be paid by vendors that clients know nothing about or fail to realize. Until you are actually in the business harsh criticism in general of wedding vendors is totally unfair. After saying that, yes there are price gougers and disreputable companies, but it is the responsiblilty of the clients to do their homework whether it is get referrals, check out the BBB or check them out however possible.
Ha! Looks like Allison Cumming cheaped out on her website design. Whats good for the goose is good for the gander.