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12–9 months out
- Confirm the venue and, critically, whether it has kitchen access, power and a service entrance.
- Set an approximate guest number — caterers price bands, not exact heads, this far out.
- Decide the service style, because it changes the room layout the venue will ask you for.
- Book the caterer for the date. Saturdays in summer go first.
6–4 months out
- Attend a tasting and fix the menu shape: mains, vegetarian and vegan cover, breads, dessert.
- Share your dietary and allergen list as it stands; it will change, and that is fine.
- Confirm whether there are multiple events (Mehndi, Nikah, Walima) and whether the menus should differ.
4 weeks out
- Final menu sign-off, including labelling for the buffet line.
- Confirm the run sheet against the ceremony times, not the invitation times.
- Agree the set-up window with the venue, in writing.
7 days out
- Final numbers. This is the figure the kitchen orders against.
- Confirm staffing, arrival time and parking or loading access.
- Send the seating plan if the service is plated or family style.
On the day
Ceremonies run late. A good caterer builds a holding window into the plan and keeps the food safe rather than serving it early into an empty room. Nominate one person — not the couple — as the caterer's point of contact for the whole day.