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Non-Preferred Catering

As you know, we highly suggest working with one of our Preferred Caterers for your wedding. However, we understand that couples will sometimes want to explore other options. We’ve created a guide on ensuring that your day runs smoothly even if you decide to go with a non-preferred caterer.

#1. Make sure that you are only looking into “full service” catering companies.
Caterers must be able to provide service staff for setup and cleanup, table glassware, dinnerware, plating the food, serving the food, etc. (Many companies offer “drop and go” catering. This will not suffice to meet the requirements for catering at The Bridge Lemont.)
#2. Make sure they are able to meet the list of requirements for caterers.
We can send list of responsibilities upon request Keep in mind that a non-preferred caterer failing to fulfill these requirements at your wedding may lead to losing your security deposit due to extra setup, cleanup, or other responsibilities that are required to be fulfilled by the caterer. Your security deposit will NEVER be lost because of someone that we recommend to you.
Responsibilities
#3. Make sure that they are able to provide a Certificate of Insurance listing The Bridge Lemont LLC and 308 Canal LLC as additionally insured up to $1,000,000 per incidence.
This is a requirement for all vendors when working at The Bridge Lemont. Any professional vendor should have no problem providing a COI with other businesses listed as additionally insured on their policy.
#4. Make sure they are able to have service staff through the end of the evening.
Our preferred caterers always have staff that stay through the end of the wedding to ensure that it is cleaned up. Some "caterers" believe that their job is over when dinner is over.
#5. Make sure that their pricing and proposal aligns with OUR requirements before determining whether or not it fits within YOUR budget. (Don't forget to build in the outside catering fee).
Some caterers are not familiar with the intricacies of catering a wedding. Wedding Catering requires much more equipment, staff, and management than your average “event”. This can cause some of the elements required to be missing or non-existent in proposals provided to you. If the proposal looks too good to be true, it probably is!
#6. If you are confident that the criteria we have laid out are easily met, please connect us so that we can initiate the approval process.
We must do our due diligence to ensure that these outside caterers are able to execute your wedding as efficiently as any of our preferred caterers do.
Approval Process - Step #1
We do initial research into the company. This includes reviewing their website, online reviews, and other social media presence.
Approval Process - Step #2
We schedule an official walkthrough of the space with a lead representative of the caterer or owner of the company. This is where we confirm that they are capable of catering your wedding at The Bridge Lemont.
Approval Process - Step #3
We ensure that the company is willing to agree to our terms in writing so that both parties are on the same page when it comes to the expectations that need to be met on the day of the wedding.
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There are far more caterers that are NOT going to be able to meet our criteria than those that are. We have hand picked our caterers because they are some of the best in the industry here in the Chicagoland area. They know what it takes to run an efficient wedding and have done so countless times. Over 80% of our couples choose one of our preferred caterers!

Take a look below at some of the reviews our caterers have!

We used the Wooden Paddle for our wedding and they were the best!! When touring venues, Wooden Paddle popped up as a caterer and we immediately were interested. The pizza is SO good. It's fresh, the combos are incredible and we immediately booked them that evening. Working with the team was a breeze. Joelle and Miriam were easy and fun to work with. They accommodated all dietary preferences and made us feel at ease leading up to our wedding. The day of the wedding, people were RAVING about the food. We had a charcuterie platter, bite size toasts, Caprese pops and steak bites. The pizza was incredible and possibly the highlight of my wedding. The staff was fast and quick. Truly did not need to worry about a single thing with the Wooden Paddle on our team.
Wooden PaddleKeryn C.
I have been meaning to write this review for a long time! We couldn't have found a better caterer for our wedding reception in the fall of 2022! We had very complicated menu needs and True took on our requests with so much enthusiasm and willingness to accommodate us. Every single step of the planning and execution was flawless. All of the staff--from the catering coordinator to the bartender--were super generous and helpful and we were blown away by everyone's professionalism and collaboration, particularly on the day of the event. True made our special day even more special--I give them my highest recommendation! P.S. The pricing was very reasonable!
SBR Events Group/True CuisineLaura S.
Chef by Request was great! We used their catering for a small wedding, and it was a perfect evening. The coordinator Amanda was always helpful and on top of the work, she helped me through all my questions and helped coordinate the wedding cake. She made helpful recommendations as well. The staff were very nice, and they left the kitchen in better condition than they found it. They followed the flow of the evening, and were quiet during the ceremony (which was fantastic!). The food was delicious, literally restaurant quality. The service was great, they brought out what was needed when we needed it (cake, champagne, etc.) I’d recommend it and hire them again! 10/10.
Chef By RequestSamantha R.
We used Uncle Bub's for our wedding and the food was a tremendous success. I had people coming up to me just to tell me how awesome the food was. We had the ribs (A+!), Caprese skewers, and Swedish meatballs (amazing!) for passed appetizers. The pulled pork and macaroni & cheese in our buffet were huge hits. The event team was friendly and fantastic; I felt entirely comfortable with them handling the logistics on the day of the event. I worked with Marie during the planning process - she was so knowledgeable, helpful, friendly, and she really helped me make sure I had all my bases covered. Can't recommend them enough; thank you!
Uncle Bub's BBQLisa B.
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