If the party venue offers this service, it is also possible that you don't need to worry about hiring a third party caterer. Even if catering is not provided by the party location, they may be able to recommend some to you. If your party site manager, recommends a caterer you should still do your homework. Just like any other vendor, a caterer should be able to provide you with several references. You should always contact the references.

You should ask about reliability, trustworthiness, quality, and related issues. Never assume that a caterer recommended by someone if surely the best possible solution for your event. One caterer may work great for one event, but be insufficient for others. A caterer may be experienced in smaller parties, but not experienced with parties with two hundred invited guests.

There are two different styles of catering:

Seated Dinner - Seated dinner setting will normally require more staff than a buffet. Serving the food requires more severs. With a seated dinner, you will need more tables and chairs because most of the guests will eat at the same time. A seated dinner offers less flexibility for your guests, because they usually have a couple of options to choose from. To simplify the process, menu options should be included with the party invitations so your guests can choose which selection they prefer. The pre-selection process enables you to work with your caterer on the final count.

Buffet – You may be able to get away with less chairs and tables with a buffet dinner. Buffet gives your party guests more flexibility, and they don't all have to eat at the same time. A buffet dinner also gives your party guests more options to customize their food selection. The buffet requires fewer servers and less staff. Guests can pick and choose what they like. In addition to the obvious advantage of a more flexible dinner, your guest can go back for seconds. Because buffet dinners require minimal service staff, you may even be able to save money with this option.