Weddings: Saving on Catering Costs - as part of the Wedding series by GeoBeats. In trying to find ways to lower your cost in catering, when looking at a venue, look and see are open to allowing outside caterers into the location. Many locations have a preferred catering list. That may not necessarily work for you because the caterers that they may have, that they are referring to you, may be well out of your budget. You want to find out if they will allow you to bring your own caterer in and someone that you are more familiar with that provides the style of service that you are actually looking for, and they will comfortably fit into your budget. Another factor when trying to lower your cost in catering is sometimes look for the new guy, the new chef that is out there, or a new catering company. But even in that, make sure you do your research to find out the history behind this company, and what their qualifications are. But in many cases, the new guy on the block can offer the exact same menu items that a larger, well-known company will offer, but the are willing to give it to you a little bit less expensive so they can get their name out there and build their market. Another alternative when it comes to keeping your costs low on catering, is keeping it simple. You can have a very simple menu, or a very elaborate menu. And of course, the more elaborate menu is going to cost you more. You can still accomplish a very wonderful event, and even do a mix, with some upscale items, some very simple items. The end result is you want something that is memorable. You do not have to spend a whole lot of money on a lot of high-end items to have a memorable event. Also, the decorations and the decor, and the presentation abilities of the catering company will come into play. And you put all that together, and you can cut costs in a lot of different ways, and still have an ultimate event.