Planning wedding is a wonderful time when you make all your dreams come true and have a special celebration of your love for your partner, but it can also get really stressful.
Don’t want to turn into Bridezilla with all pressure to create the perfect day? Want to choose the path less-travelled by? Plan a more low-key, but still magical day with a food truck wedding. Not only will you be able to enjoy all your favorite food truck eats, your family and friends will be talking about how unique your wedding reception was for months afterward.
While food trucks can give your day a casual, but still super stylish vibe, they are not the right fit for every wedding. Here are some tips to consider before sending out those invitations with the cute food truck on it.
Picking a Venue
Finding a venue that will be accommodating to having food trucks on site can sometimes be tricky. The food trucks are considered outside catering and some venues have a policy where they do not allow anybody come in from the outside or maybe you are expected to choose from their list of preferred caterers. Another tricky issue is that some venues require the outside caterers to provide the alcohol for the event which is not always possible when it comes to food trucks.
If you decide on an outdoor wedding, you still need to do research on the local ordinances to see if you need any permits and where you might be allowed to set up the food trucks and if there will be any restrictions on where the trucks can park. Even if you decide to have your wedding at a private residence like your family home you will still need to double check if food trucks are allowed to park on that street.
As you are figuring all this out, consider the size of the food trucks. You will need to make sure that there is enough room for them when they open their side doors and order window to serve the guests. Another thing to consider is the distance between the food trucks and where the reception will be held. You don’t want your guests especially the grandparents and elderly aunts and uncle to have a long walk to get their food. You also don’t want your guests complaining that the food turned cold during the long walk back to the table.
On the flip side, however, you don’t want the tables too close to the food trucks either because the long lines and the buzzing sound of the generator could be bothersome to your guests.
Planning the Menu
Choosing to go with food trucks gives you a lot more variety when it comes to planning the menu for your wedding reception, but it still requires careful planning. Think about if you want to stick to one type of food truck or a variety of them. Do you want your favorite burger truck for the main meal, but an artisanal ice cream truck for dessert? How about appetizers? Before deciding on any food truck, carefully plan out what you want to offer your guests.
If you are having a large wedding party, you should probably plan on having a food truck for every 75 guests so they are not spending most of the reception in lines. Try to stick to a set menu so that the food trucks can having some food prepared ahead of the big dinner rush.
Factor in Second Helpings
In traditional catering situations, the head count is what is used to figure out how much food to make. In sit-down receptions, guests receive their meal, but there isn’t a chance to get a second helping. With food trucks, however, your guests can always get back in line for more of their favorite dishes so you need to make sure there will be enough food to satisfy everybody’s appetite.
Do You Care about Place Settings?
If you are not okay with different types of plates and food packaging floating around from the different food trucks, you probably want to plan ahead to provide your own plates and utensils and linens to ensure that everything looks unified.
Is Cost A Big Factor?
If you are mainly intrigued by the idea of a food truck wedding because you imagine it to be a less expensive route to your big day, then think again. While initially, it might seem like a catering company will cost more, you need to factor in all the hidden costs of the extra things you will have to provide yourself like alcohol, table clothes, extra staff and plates, cups and cutlery. In the end, you may end up spending about the same amount or maybe even a little bit more.
Weather Can Be a Factor
If you have your heart set on a food truck wedding then make sure you schedule it for a season that is comfortable for outdoor weddings. While you might automatically think the summer months, it can get really hot then and waiting in long lines for food is not ideal. The milder weather of fall and spring might be a better choice.
Don’t Forget About All the Little Details
When you got the route of a reception hall, you know that their catering service will handle all the details, but when you are going the food truck route, there are some extra little details you will need to double check to make sure that they are handled. Things like proper lighting, servers/bartenders, ice, linens, glassware and even who will be responsible for trash removal and setup/breakdown are the little details that can easily be forgotten but can cause big hiccups on your special day. Find out if either your venue or the food truck owners will provide these or if you will need to hire separate staff to cover it.
Don’t let these issues keep you from having your dream wedding though. If a food truck wedding is what you want, just make sure you address all these issues during your planning. That way on your big day, you can just sit back and enjoy.
For information on how Zac’s Burgers Food Trucks can add spice to any of your special events, call them today.
Zac's Burgers is presently not selling franchises and does not have a certified franchise disclosure document. Zac's is offering licensing opportunities, however, potential licensees must meet all federal and state requirements.
Thanks for pointing out that you can provide plates and utensils if you want to have a themed look for the reception. I will keep that in mind since my boyfriend and I have decided to have food trucks as the caterer for our wedding. We actually met at a food truck exhibit 6 years ago which made us go out and become a couple. This is why we wanted to have food trucks.