How to Plan Your Wedding Food Trucks in 5 Steps

iuliawagner
Oct 24, 2019
3 min read

If you have less than a year until your wedding then you should have decided on the venue by now. This is essential when selecting and booking your food truck [we've added as bonus a list of top outdoor venues to inspire you]. So here's a beginner's guide to choosing and planning food vans for your wedding.

Step 1. Know your venue

Most food trucks are self-sufficient when it comes to electricity and water supply. However, be sure to check that the venue can provide these as a backup. Similarly, while we hope the weather on the day is on your side, plan for your guests to access the food truck without ruining their wedding attire in case of rain by adding a covered path from the truck to the tent.

Step 2. Prospect

Once you know that the venue can accommodate food trucks, you should start shortlisting your caterers taking into account your guests dietary requirements. Most food trucks focus on one type of food, so as a rule of thumb you should contact 3 vendors per type of food (savoury, sweet, drinks). We can also facilitate the introduction if you let us know what you're after. We'll check availability and that they can cater to your dietary needs, so you can narrow down your list.

Tip: If you decide to call or meet your prospects, make sure you prepare a list of questions about the ingredients, price per person, party size they can cater for, turnaround time per person.

Step 3. Logistics

It's never too early to reserve the food truck(s). At this stage you're not committing to anything, you're just putting your name down to lock in the date with the food trucks you've shortlisted. This helps them plan around your date and it helps you get some peace of mind. Now is also a good time to go through some of the logistics, such as truck parking, electricity and water supply, access in case of bad weather, so you can be sure the venue is ready to accommodate these.

Tip : The last thing you want is starving guests waiting in long queues to get their food. Check with the food crew if they can set up a table in front of the truck and turn things into faux-buffet-style.

Step 4. The fun bit. Go tasting!

Food can make or break an event, so you have to love what you're tasting! Ideally you should try the food before you even start prospecting so there's no surprise when sampling the menu. It's also easier if the food truck crew knows you're coming so they can prepare a sample menu and talk you through any additional requirements you may have. If offering vegetarian, vegan or gluten free options are a requirement for your event, be sure to include those in your tasting. Similarly, you may even consider sampling the children's menu if that's also included as part of the menu.

Tip: Take notes so when you follow up with the food crew you can include what was agreed on.

Steps 5: Confirm your booking

This may sound obvious but if booking confirmation is delayed it can set you way back. We recommend you confirm your booking as soon as you've tasted the sample menu and agreed on how it should all go on the day. To simplify the logistics you may want to connect the food crew with the venue crew.