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By Gena Ansell-Lande

One of the most significant pre-wedding duties you’ll have as a bride is hunting down a reputable caterer. Reserving your available wedding date with that caterer—before another eager couple beats you to it—is even more important. After all, whether you have 30 guests or 300, finding a caterer who knows how to please a variety of palates is the key to a successful night.

Andy Bott, co-founder of Merri-Makers Caterers in Edison (732-225-0009; merrimakers.com), says the number-one thing to look for when selecting a caterer is experience. “Brides should select someone who is a good match with their personality,” he says. “It’s often a long relationship, so you’ll want it to be like a partnership.” In order to “wow” your guests, you’ll also want to hire someone who is on the cutting edge.

So, what’s hot right now? “Brides today are very savvy,” Bott adds. “They know exactly what they want and are not afraid to break away from tradition. Their wedding is the ideal time to celebrate who they are.” He believes caterers should embrace the challenge of creating exceptional celebrations. “Most brides want their wedding to be a little different. A new trend popping up is serving comfort food with a twist. We do appetizers like grilled cheese made with tomatoes and gorgonzola cheese or an entrée of exotic lobster macaroni and cheese. For dessert, cupcakes and ice-cream cakes are making a big comeback,” he says.

Linda Walton, a caterer located in Sea Bright (732-530-6358), stresses the importance of finding out whether the food is prepared by the caterer or if it is purchased from another source. “Preparing the food on site has become a dying art,” she says, “and the quality of the food sometimes reflects that.”

As for what catering services typically cost, it all comes down to the level of complexity and what your needs are. There’s the cost of food, and then there’s everything else-—the tent, tables, chairs, linens, plates, utensils, glasses, etc. “My procedure is to develop a proposal that is separated into the different areas that will be provided,” says Walton. “There are many ways to cut costs; the important thing is to do it in an area that will not impact the overall success of the event.” Walton’s prices range from $28 to $100 per head for food. And at the Merri-Makers onsite locations, prices start at $90 per head, jumping to $125 for off-site catering.

Bott and Walton both stress the importance of planning early. Besides remembering how beautiful the bride looked, most guests will remember what they ate. If possible, book a caterer at least ten to twelve months before the wedding date.

So, where do you start? Begin by asking friends, family, recent brides, and other wedding vendors for their recommendations. When calling each caterer, be prepared to give them the key details of your wedding. This will also be the best time to request sample menus and pricing information. You will find that rates are typically charged on a per-person basis.

It’s a good idea to interview a couple of different caterers before making a decision. This allows you to compare prices, services, and menu varieties. A reputable caterer should be able to offer you a portfolio of past weddings they have catered. This way you can visually discover the caterer’s style and talents.

After you’ve completed the interview process, sit down and compare notes on each prospective caterer. When you finally make a decision, set up another meeting to discuss all the nuances of your reception. And then relax—and leave all the food details to them.

Finding an Off-Premise Caterer

How should you begin your search for a caterer? First, decide what kind of wedding reception you want. Do you want your setting itself to be distinctive, or will it simply provide a background for memorable food, service, entertainment, or decoration? Do you envision an elegant sit-down dinner, a less formal buffet-style lunch, or something entirely different, such as an outdoor barbecue or a wedding brunch? Certain locations and food purveyors lend themselves to different types of food service.

Once you have decided on the kind of party you prefer, it’s time to start interviewing prospective caterers, and good ones get booked early. After all, the caterer’s food and overall handling of the event are a big part of any party’s success. Your caterer may be able to help you find an event location if you have not already selected one, and if you do have one, it is your caterer who will take the lead in matching food and service to the location. Sandy Spector of Sandy Spector Caterer notes that she uses a dozen different linen providers throughout the country to ensure that she will be able to find the precise color and style to suit each celebration.

Spector also points out that a good caterer, in addition to providing excellent food and meticulous service, can coordinate other aspects of your wedding. These range from making sure all the china for the table settings has arrived safely at the reception site, to sending florists a swatch of the tablecloth material well ahead of time to coordinate flowers with the table linens. Spector even checks the place cards prior to the reception to be sure that the calligrapher has included every guest and spelled each name correctly. At the beginning of your search, decide how much you can afford to spend on food and beverages. Most caterers have a range of prices available.

Sampling the food is important. Most menus read well, but be sure you like how the food tastes. Also important are staffing and business issues. Ask how waitstaff and bartenders are hired; are they subcontracted or hired in-house? Check the server-to-guest ratio as well. Even a fabulous-tasting meal will come up short if there aren’t enough waiters. Other points to cover: Does the caterer have liability insurance? Can he or she accommodate special requests such as vegetarian, children’s, or kosher plates?

Consider the logistics of the reception, too. Where and how will the food be prepared and served? Is there a functioning kitchen on-site, or will food need to be transported from a distant kitchen and kept at the proper temperature before it is served? Can the caterer set up stoves and chafing dishes on-site? What about bartenders? Has the caterer ever catered a party at the location or type of location you’ve chosen? Be clear about arrangements and costs for feeding musicians, photographer, and videographer. Remember the intangibles, too; you should have confidence in your caterer. After all, as Spector says, “When you’re the bride, you have enough on your mind. Your caterer should be able to provide great food, the epitome of service, and make your wedding-day dream come true.”

Kosher Wedding Catering

By Sharon Naylor

If you are planning to have a kosher wedding—or if simply want to incorporate some kosher elements into your wedding menu for your guests’ needs—you’ll need a top-quality, reputable caterer who specializes in the proper choices and preparations of kosher dishes. The rules can be very confusing to those who have not been raised in a highly observant kosher household, and since we’re in an era where more young couples are returning to their faith roots, with strong desires to adhere to the laws of kosher food preparation, having an informed catering expert to guide you is a must.

The rules vary depending on whether you observe Orthodox, Reform, or Conservative Judaism, with further delineations such as Glatt kosher food rules. For instance, Orthodox Jews subscribe to different kosher food rules than Conservative or Reform Jews. Eddie Levy, owner of Signature Creations in Linden, New Jersey (www.signaturecreationscaterers.com), shows the need for an in-the-know caterer: “We may be in a position where we can’t cook on Saturdays, according to rabbinical law, or we can’t cook before sundown. In December, that would be 5 p.m., and in June, that would be 9 p.m. We don’t mix meat and dairy, there’s no pork…the rules are very involved. We will even go into a kitchen to sterilize the entire facility in case any pork has been prepared there. We have a meat kitchen and a separate dairy kitchen, and we use and prepare only products that have been supervised by a rabbi, under the rules of rabbinical law.”

Your caterer will know and explain to you the ins and outs of every aspect of preparing your menu. For weddings today, this behind-the-scenes rule-honoring leads to a menu that is every bit as upscale and beautiful as any wedding menu served at the top five-star restaurants. “A kosher wedding menu is sophisticated and looks pretty, the epitome of upscale catering,” says Levy, who hires Culinary Institute of America graduates who have been trained in the laws of kosher food preparation. So you’re not limited to traditional dishes such as brisket and chopped liver for your wedding, but rather a vast range of mouth-watering menu options.

Evan Bernstein, owner of Classical Caterers in North Brunswick (www.classicalcaterers.com) says that the modern conservative Jewish couple wants to incorporate traditional kosher foods with more trendy items. “So they may want the more traditional kishka, stuffed cabbage, and kasha served along with more trendy items like ahi tuna over Oriental slaw, salmon, sushi, and iced martini bars,” says Bernstein.

Your guests will appreciate that you provided the kosher menu options, and they’ll marvel at what a phenomenal job your caterer did in preparing them.

Ethnic Weddings

Indian Weddings

By Patricia Simone

There is absolutely nothing like an Indian wedding. It’s usually a multi-day celebration that is a mix of rich cultural traditions, flavorful ethnic foods, spirited music and dancing, and spectacular decorations and clothing.

“Indian weddings are family focused events that are extremely elaborate compared to American weddings,” says Toni DeLisi, owner of Memorable Events in Ramsey (201-934-9979; www.memorableevents.com.) DeLisi has coordinated a number of Indian weddings, including one for 650 guests that took place on a boat launched in Weehawken.

“There are many different religions in India, and the various states (there are 28 in all) have diverse languages, dress, and cultural heritages, with each family embracing certain elements of the old traditions,” says Rashi Shyam, founder of Haseen Events, an Indian wedding planning firm based in Cherry Hill (201-240-8689). One major Punjabi wedding tradition (that has permeated other regions and sects) is the Baraat—where the groom arrives at the ceremony on horseback, with several people dancing in front of him, along with his family and friends.

According to Shyam, the wedding festivities can begin on a Thursday night with a big party called a garba, where the women get mehndi (henna) applied to their hands and feet. On Friday there is another larger party, the sangeet (which used to be a rather raucous gathering for the more experienced women to sing explicit songs about married life) takes place. Today the sangeet is more akin to an engagement party, complete with invigorating music, food, and lots of dancing for a mixed crowd of men and women. For logistical reasons, the sangeet sometimes takes place the week before the wedding.

By the time Saturday rolls around, the dulhan (bride), the groom, and both sets of parents are ready with multiple changes of clothes for up to two different wedding ceremonies: one in traditional garb (a designer sari for the bride and a sherwani for the groom) and one in a modern wedding gown and a tux.

“The traditional Indian wedding is performed under a mandat, a four-to-six pole structure decorated with fabric and flowers,” says Howard Kramer, owner of Anderson Flowers, a floral design shop in Iselin (908-699-3732; www.andersonflowers.com) that has been creating festive floral decorations for Indian weddings in New Jersey and the metro New York area for more than 25 years. According to Kramer, traditional colors abound in the floral and fabric decorations for the ceremony, typically red and white or burgundy, gold, and ivory. Other traditions for the sangeet or garba parties include a huge floral pattern surrounding a tall statue in the middle of the room. “In” colors are hot pink, orange, and peacock blue, which are reflected in the floral decorations and fabric draped around the head table area. Because Indian weddings are typically for 250 or more people, the table decorations and wedding favors are generally low-key (western-style flower centerpieces and lottery tickets or small vases).

Lata Patel, owner of Mandat, an Indian decorating firm in Fairfield (973-610-5706; www.mandatusa.com) provides many decorative elements that enrich the experience of an Indian wedding, reflecting individual native traditions, from brass, fiberglass, or fabric mandats to elephant guards (“Ganesh”) at the entrance of the reception hall and eight-foot pillars made of crystal, to fabric-draped statues.

And then there’s the food. Indian weddings abound with rich, sweet, fried, and spicy dishes that include chaat (fried chick-pea chips dipped in an intricately spiced yogurt sauce); pakora (different vegetables dipped in chick pea flour and deep-fried); tandoori chicken, marinated in yogurt sauce with hearty spices; warm naan bread (similar to pita); paneer, which is a vegetarian dish on par with ricotta cheese; and galabjamun (a sweet selection that is like a fried donut).

So if you are planning a special Indian wedding, whether it’s a small affair or a multiple-day celebration, you can find all the resources you need in or around New Jersey, along with experts that can help you create your dream wedding—one that is steeped in rich cultural traditions, with a modern flair, along with some pretty serious dancing and great eating.

Popular Reception Halls for Indian Weddings:

Royal Albert Palace
1050 King George Post Road, Fords
732-661-1070

The Palace at Somerset Park
333 Davidson Avenue, Somerset
1-877-PALACE4
www.palacesomersetpark.com

Pleasantdale Chateau
757 Eagle Rock Avenue, West Orange
973-731-5600
www.pleasantdale.com

Puck Building, Pier 61, Manhattan
295 Lafayette Street
212-964-1645

Popular Indian Caterers:

Mohgul Catering, Edison
732-549-8809
www.mohgul.com

Aashirwad Palace
169 South Salem Street, Randolph
973-366-9949
www.ashirwadpalace.com

Italian Weddings

By Linda DiProperzio

Even the most modern couples enjoy incorporating culture into their big day. And when it comes to planning an Italian-inspired wedding, there are plenty of traditions to choose from. Here’s a rundown to get you started on planning your event:

The Date: Choosing the time and date is the first step in planning your big day. In Italy, the festivities usually begin in the morning—preferably on a Sunday, which is considered the luckiest day of the week. The month of May is typically avoided because it’s reserved for the veneration of the Virgin Mary, while August is thought to bring bad luck and sickness.

The Attire: Thinking about ditching the veil? Ancient Romans thought it protected the bride from evil spirits—and don’t worry if your veil rips on your big day, since that’s considered good luck. And forget the bouquet of roses: Italian brides also carry bunches of herbs down the aisle to symbolize fidelity and fertility.

The Ceremony: Most Italian couples forgo the limo and walk to the ceremony location so that well-wishers can get a sneak peek. But unless you’re both within walking distance, this might not be a possibility (who wants to break a sweat before the I Dos?). Instead, opt for one or both of these traditions: after the ceremony, couples shatter a glass or vase, with each broken piece symbolizing the number of years they’ll be happily married; and some couples release two white doves to represent their love and happiness.

The Music: Ask your band or deejay to play the tarantella, a traditional wedding circle dance. Legend has it that a woman once bitten by a deadly tarantella cured herself by dancing!

The Food: Italians love to mangia, so food is always the center of any Italian gathering. Mary Chris Rospond, owner of Exquisite Entertaining in Millburn, loves to create an authentic Italian menu for weddings. Upon arrival, guests are served Bellinis, a special wedding cocktail made of champagne and Italian white peaches. “We also like to set up a wine bar with the finest Italian whites and reds,” says Rospond. Appetizers range from Tuscan focaccia crab cakes, zucchini, spinach, and ricotta rollatini, and a seafood antipasto station. The main course always starts off with a pasta dish (Exquisite serves wild mushroom heart-shaped ravioli with a light vodka sauce), followed by a choice of entrée. Many traditional Italian weddings feature roasted pig or lamb with wanda, bow ties of fried dough dipped in powdered sugar. To give your reception a more modern menu, Rospond suggests Florentine veal chops, osso bucco with polenta, grilled filet mignon with porcini mushrooms, or seared salmon or sea bass with Italian truffle oil.

Of course, no wedding would be complete without the traditional tiered cake, accompanied by a selection of Italian pastries, espresso, and cappuccino. Exquisite also sets up a gelato and sorbetto bar for guests.

The Departure: Before leaving, brides and grooms pass out five Jordan almonds wrapped in tulle called bomboniere to each of their guests. The five almonds represent five wishes for the couple: health, wealth, happiness, fertility, and longevity. And forget about tying tin cans to the back of the getaway car. Instead, the front grill is decorated with flowers, paving the way for a road to a happy marriage.

Mexican Weddings

By Patricia Koch

A Mexican wedding is a colorful, exuberant celebration that can last until the wee hours of the morning and, after a brief siesta, start up again with a tornaboda, or party after the party. The church ceremony is rooted in Spanish Catholic tradition. A bride wears flowers in her hair and two matching bouquets: one to hold and another to give the Virgin Mary. The ceremony is rich with symbols: rings signifying love, a lasso binding the couple, a rosary showing their faith, and 13 gold coins symbolizing wealth.

Guests are welcomed to the reception with shots of tequila, as a mariachi band gaily plays. Adults sip sangria and tequila, while children drink fruit beverages called aquas frescas.

But the real excitement comes from the hearty, flavorful food. An authentic south-of-the-border wedding menu includes a classic mole dish like Turkey with Poblano Mole Sauce, served with rice, tortillas, and hot sauces. The original seventeenth-century mole, or chile sauce, included chocolate and 100 other ingredients. Chiles Rellenos, or Chiles Stuffed with Seasoned Meat,is another festive main dish. Dinner is served—never an American-style buffet—then people dance all night long.

The following day’s party typically features the national dish pozole, or Corn and Pork Soup, served with lime wedges. Pozole was invented in the 1700s in Guerrero. Instead of grinding maize for tortillas, a cook simmered the maize with chicken and herbs and olé! A delicious soup.

North-of-the-border brides searching for a caterer who offers authentic, festive Mexican fare can start with Rosa Mexicano, an award-winning New York restaurant and caterer. (1063 First Avenue at 58th Street, 212-753-7407, and 61 Columbus Avenue at 62nd Street, 212-977-7700; www.rosamexicano.com.)