Hamptons Aristocrat co-founders Lexi Ritsch and Louisa Young know the most common mistakes couples make when choosing their wedding menu. Courtesy of Hamptons Aristocrat; grafvision/Shutterstock
Catering is a major expense at weddings, costing an average of $85 to $86 per person.
Common mistakes couples make include spending too much on the cake and using out-of-season produce.
It can also be a mistake to limit yourself to standard “wedding food,” such as chicken, fish, or steak.
When planning a custom wedding menu, some couples make simple mistakes that could leave a bad taste in their guests’ mouths.
Catering can be one of the largest costs associated with weddings, so it’s important for couples to communicate their needs and make sure they work well with their chosen caterer.
According to The Knot’s 2023 Real Weddings Study, the average price of catering was $85 per person for weddings with fewer than 50 guests and $86 per person for weddings with more than 100 guests. However, prices can vary depending on the location and planner you choose.
Business Insider spoke to Lexi Ritsch, co-founder of Hamptons Aristocrat, a catering, events, and design company based in the Hamptons, New York, and Palm Beach, Florida, about her biggest tips for couples planning their wedding menu.
These are the six biggest mistakes she sees couples making.
One of the most common mistakes is choosing dishes that use ingredients that are out of season or not local.
Tomatoes in a wicker basket. Images by PNP/Shutterstock
Ritsch said that of all the mistakes she sees couples make when they begin planning their wedding menu, choosing items that aren’t readily available is one of the most obvious.
“If someone is passionate about something, like Brussels sprouts in June, I would immediately roll my eyes,” she joked, saying she tries to steer couples toward ingredients that are more seasonal and from local farms.
“A tomato that’s been on a plane, and on another plane, and in a box for a week, is not going to taste as good as something that was picked off the plant two hours ago,” he said.
Family-style buffets are another popular option for weddings.
Open plates at a wedding buffet. LElik83/Shutterstock
“I think people are starting to move away from the family buffet style, which is interesting, and going back to a little bit more traditional, but traditional with a high-end twist,” Ritsch said, adding that more customers are coming to her for a restaurant-style menu and service.
“It gives our customers the confidence to do things that are a little bit more sophisticated and more like they would enjoy in a five-star restaurant or a Michelin-starred restaurant,” he continued.
Couples often spend too much on a wedding cake.
A married couple cuts their wedding cake. NazariyKarkhut/Getty Images
Ritsch said one wedding trend she’s “seeing disappear” is the wedding cake.
“In the ’80s, ’90s and early 2000s, cakes were a delicacy. Everyone was buying cakes the size of their body and spending $2,000 on a huge cake,” Ritsch said. “I’m finding that, budget-wise, customers are moving away from that practice.”
Ritsch said traditional giant cakes and cake-cutting ceremonies are things she sees taking a backseat to an ice cream bar or dessert options “that are a little bit more interactive and fun,” like personalized nods to the couple with their favorite dessert, family recipes or seasonally inspired cakes.
It can also be a mistake to limit yourself to standard “wedding food,” such as chicken, fish, or steak.
A person cutting a grilled steak into slices with mashed potatoes. grafvision/Shutterstock
Ritsch told BI that while standard menu options of chicken, fish or steak at weddings are still common, he believes couples (and caterers) can get more creative than “fish on mashed potatoes.”
“At large-scale events, a lot of caterers take shortcuts,” she said. “So they say, ‘Well, do you want the salmon or the steak? But they’re both going to come with mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus.’ What? Why would you do that? Instead of doing that, all of our dishes are completely curated and completely designed.”
Be careful when choosing a caterer that offers few opportunities for customization.
A waiter prepares a table of appetizers for a wedding. Siamionau Pavel/Shutterstock
Ritsch said one of the biggest red flags couples should look out for when choosing a wedding caterer is sample menus with little room for customization.
“I think any caterer that just has a menu that’s like, ‘Pick six appetizers from this menu and then pick two proteins from this menu and pick a side for each, and then pick a dessert,’ every time they’re creating a catering menu from an existing one, it seems to me that maybe that’s all that company can do,” she said.
Instead, she suggests looking for a caterer who can be more creative.
“None of my clients have ever had the same menu because they are all different,” Ritsch said. “They all have different preferences. Even with allergies, even with dietary issues, it’s about what they want to eat.”
