If you're hosting an event and will be providing your guests with food, hiring a catering company is a wise way to shift some responsibility away from yourself. However, you will still need to make sure that you consider certain things before choosing your caterer. When you communicate with the catering company you hire, they will need to know certain information about your event in order for them to do their job effectively.

Type of event

The type of event you're hosting will play a big role in the catering choices you will make. For example, your needs would be much different for a large wedding than they would be for a small backyard birthday party. The sooner the catering company knows what they're preparing for, the sooner they can start planning and coordinating.

Number of guests

Knowing how many guests will be attending your event is an extremely important part of the catering process. Getting this number wrong can result in there not being enough food for all of your guests, or having way more food than is necessary — which is wasteful and costly.

Ages of guests

Knowing whether or not there will be children attending your event, and at what ratio, will be a determining factor in deciding how much food will be needed. The caterers may even have different food options available for kids since they tend to like different foods than adults.

The food

What types of food do you want to be served at your event? Will you only be providing meals, or will you also serve your guests snacks, appetizers, desserts, or beverages? If any of the guests at your event can't eat certain foods due to religious, personal reasons, allergies, etc., you will need to let the catering company know so they can make proper accommodations.

Serving preference

Do you want your guests to be served their food, or would you prefer them to serve themselves? If you want them to serve themselves, many catering companies will set up a buffet area to make it easy and convenient for them. You'll also need to decide how guests will get things like drinks, snacks, and/or desserts.

Pricing

You probably have a set price in mind that you're willing to pay for the catering services for your event. You should be open about this budget with the catering company and be sure to have a full understanding of what will be included in that price.

Reach out to event caterers in your area for more details.