Wedding Catering

Wedding catering in San Jose from our own kitchen

Our kitchen is in San Jose, so a wedding here is close to home for us. Every dish for your wedding catering in San Jose is prepared at 403B Reynolds Circle, then brought to your venue or your backyard by the team that cooked it.

Menus are developed in house under our executive chef, Maria Rita Gun, who has over 20 years in professional catering. Around 80% of the food is made from scratch, which is why the dishes you approve at the tasting are the dishes your guests eat.

If you are looking for a wedding caterer in San Jose who plans and serves with one team, that is how we work. The people you meet at the tasting are the people on site on the day, and they already know your menu, your guest count and your timeline when they arrive.

What our wedding catering services include

Our wedding catering services cover the whole food side of the day. That means the tasting and menu planning, the cooking, delivery and setup, service during the reception, dessert tables, cake service and a staffed bar.

Tables, linens and serveware can be added through our wedding equipment and decor rental, alongside the catering or on its own. If you are weighing a full package against choosing each part separately, our guide to a la carte and all-inclusive wedding catering packages sets out the difference.

Tasting and menu planning with the chef

Every wedding starts with a tasting. You sit down with our chef, taste the dishes, and shape the menu around your taste, your season and your budget before you commit to anything.

Start with our wedding catering menu to see the dishes we cook most often. Couples often choose canapés such as the Burrata & Heirloom Tomato Skewer, Mini Crab Cake or Falafel Bite, then mains such as Roast lamb shoulder, Herb-Roasted Free-Range Chicken or Wild Mushroom Risotto.

The menu is a starting point. If there is a family recipe or a cuisine you want at the reception, tell us at the tasting and we will build it into your menu.

Choosing a wedding service style

Plated, buffet, family-style and stations each work differently with a venue, a timeline and a guest count. We will tell you which suits your day rather than defaulting to the most elaborate option.

Plated service gives every guest a course at the same time and keeps the room calm for speeches. Buffet and stations let guests move and choose, which suits a longer reception or a varied menu. Family-style puts shared platters on each table, which works well for a menu such as Carne Asada with Street Corn Esquites and Charred Broccolini.

Quantities depend on the style you choose. Our guide on how much food a wedding buffet needs per guest explains how we size a menu to your headcount.

South Bay wedding catering and Silicon Valley

South Bay wedding catering is our home ground. We cater weddings across San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Mountain View and Palo Alto, at venues, in family homes and in backyards.

Wedding catering Silicon Valley couples book with us follows the same process as every other wedding: a tasting, a menu built around the guest list, and a day-of team that runs service. Being close to our kitchen makes delivery and setup straightforward across the South Bay.

San Jose wedding catering often means a venue in one city and guests arriving from several others. We plan delivery, setup and service timing around your venue's access rules, so the food is ready when the reception starts. For wedding catering Silicon Valley venues and family homes alike, we confirm the load-in details with you before the day.

For South Bay wedding catering at home, our guide to backyard wedding catering logistics covers power, prep space and how service flows when there is no venue kitchen.

Wedding catering San Francisco couples can rely on

San Francisco weddings get the same service as San Jose: the same tasting, the same menu planning and the same day-of team. Tell us the venue when you enquire and we plan load-in, service and timing around it.

Couples comparing wedding caterers in San Francisco often ask whether a San Jose kitchen changes anything on the day. It does not. The menu is cooked by our team, brought up by our team and served by our team, as it would be in the South Bay.

Our wedding catering San Francisco work runs to the same standard as our work in the South Bay. Our wedding catering Bay Area coverage takes in San Jose, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Palo Alto and Oakland. If your venue is outside these, request a quote and we will confirm coverage. See catering in San Francisco for everything we cover in the city.

Bay Area wedding catering for every size of wedding

Bay Area wedding catering at Caterman runs from intimate ceremonies to full-service receptions, plus rehearsal dinners around the main day. The planning is the same at every size: a tasting, a menu and a team that runs the day.

A small wedding changes the menu and the service more than people expect. Our guide to micro and small wedding catering explains what shifts when the guest list is short.

For larger receptions, staffing matters as much as the food. Our guide to wedding catering staffing for servers and bartenders explains how we plan the team, and we confirm staffing in your proposal once the menu and timeline are set.

Halal wedding catering in the Bay Area

Our kitchen is halal-capable and every dish on our menu can be prepared halal. Halal wedding catering with us uses the full menu, and guests who do not eat halal eat the same food as everyone else.

Dishes such as Roast lamb shoulder, Carne Asada, Chicken Satay Skewer and Chana Masala are already marked halal on our menu. Tell us your requirements at the tasting and we will build the whole menu around them.

Read our guide to halal wedding catering in the Bay Area for how we plan it with couples and families.

Multicultural menus and dietary needs

Many of the Bay Area wedding catering menus we cook bring two food cultures to one reception. A menu can pair Mediterranean Mezze and Falafel Bites with a Build-Your-Own Taco Bar, or Chana Masala with Herb-Roasted Free-Range Chicken, with each tradition given its full place on the table.

Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options run through the menu alongside the main dishes. Every menu dish carries a "Contains:" line for allergens, and we ask you to share dietary restrictions and allergies before you order.

Our notes on multicultural wedding menu planning cover how two cuisines share one reception without either being reduced to a token dish.

Dessert tables, cake service and the bar

We build dessert tables from our own kitchen, with dishes such as Seasonal Fruit Galette, Mini Dessert Trio, Tres Leches Cups and Flourless Chocolate Torte. For the cake, bring one from your own baker and we handle the cutting, plating and serving. We do not bake cakes.

Our bartenders run the full bar setup throughout the day with the drinks you supply. We do not sell alcohol. Soft drinks, Iced Tea & Lemonade, an Infused Water Station and coffee service can come from us.

Late in the evening, food keeps the dance floor going. Our guide to late-night wedding snacks and send-off food covers options such as the Slider Trio, Warm Churros and Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup Shots.

How the day runs with our wedding caterers

Our day-of team runs the food timeline from cocktail hour to the last dessert, so nobody in your family is managing a buffet in formalwear. We arrive, set up, serve each course on time and clear down afterwards.

Food service has to fit around the ceremony, photos, speeches and the first dance. Our wedding catering day-of timeline shows how each course lines up with the rest of the day.

Good wedding caterers work to your coordinator's schedule. We agree the timeline with you and your venue before the day and follow it on site.

How far in advance to book a caterer for a wedding

The short answer to how far in advance to book a caterer for a wedding is nine to twelve months for peak-season Bay Area dates. That leaves time for a tasting, menu changes and a confirmed guest count.

Our wedding catering booking timeline for the Bay Area sets out each step, from the first enquiry to the final numbers.

Once you have a date and a rough guest count, request a wedding catering quote with your date, headcount, location and event type. We reply with a tailored proposal and arrange your tasting.

Why couples choose our wedding catering in the Bay Area

Our wedding catering Bay Area service rests on two things: a menu you have tasted and a team you have already met. Caterman has cooked for weddings, families and companies across the region for over 20 years, and the same team plans and runs every event.

Couples rate us 4.8 out of 5 on WeddingWire, and we have 200+ reviews on Yelp and a 4.4 out of 5 rating from 34 reviews on Google. You can read what they say on our Caterman wedding catering reviews page.

For couples still comparing wedding caterers in San Francisco and the South Bay, a tasting is the clearest way to decide. It shows you the food, the chef and the team before you sign anything.

For wedding catering in San Jose, San Francisco or anywhere in between, the process starts the same way. Send us your date, guest count and venue, and we will take it from there with a tasting and a proposal written for your day.