Wedding Caterer Transport Tips

“The single most important thing for my kitchen is knowing exactly when guests will arrive at the reception venue. When the shuttle is on time, I can guarantee every hors d'oeuvre is hot, every cocktail is ready, and the seated dinner fires on schedule. When transportation runs late, we're all improvising — and nobody wants to improvise on a wedding day. I always ask couples about their transportation plan during our initial consultation because it directly affects the menu timing I build.”

“We cater at some of Phoenix's most beautiful wedding venues — Royal Palms, El Chorro, the Desert Botanical Garden — and every one of them has different arrival logistics. I always coordinate with the couple's transportation company so I know exactly when the guest shuttle will arrive and when the bridal party bus will pull up. This lets me time the cocktail hour opening, the first course plating, and the cake service down to the minute. A professional transportation partner is as important to my kitchen as my sous chef.”

“We've started offering party bus charcuterie boards — beautiful small bites packaged specifically for the bridal party ride between ceremony and reception. It keeps everyone's energy up, soaks up the champagne they're toasting with, and it photographs beautifully when the photographer is riding along. Coordinate with your bus company to make sure there's cooler space and a flat surface area. We deliver the boards directly to the bus before the bridal party boards.”

“For Scottsdale weddings, timing is everything. The drive from ceremony venues in Paradise Valley to reception locations in North Scottsdale can vary wildly depending on traffic and time of day. I always tell couples to share their transportation schedule with me at least three weeks before the wedding so I can plan my kitchen timeline accordingly. When the bus arrives on schedule, my team and I can deliver a flawless dining experience. When it doesn't, even the best-prepared meal can suffer.”