How to plan a multi-day wedding menu without losing track

A wedding is rarely one meal. It is a welcome lunch, a sangeet dinner, a wedding feast and a farewell breakfast, each with its own menu, its own timing and sometimes its own guest count. Most mistakes happen not in the kitchen but in the handover: a change agreed on a call that never reached the cook.

Here is a simple way to plan so that nothing slips.

Start from the days, not the dishes

Write down every day of the event and every meal on it before you talk about food. For each meal note the time, the place and the expected number of guests. When the structure is clear, the menu conversation becomes much shorter, because you are filling in boxes instead of inventing a plan on the spot.

Count adults and children separately

Children eat less and are often priced differently. Keep two numbers for every meal, and let the price and the quantities follow from them. It avoids both over-cooking and the awkward conversation about the bill.

Agree the menu in one place

Whatever your customer chooses, keep the final version where the whole team can see it. Every change should create a new version rather than overwrite the old one. That way you can always answer "what exactly did we agree?", and the kitchen cooks from the latest version, not from a message thread.

Let the customer approve what you sent

A short, clear approval step protects both sides. Send the customer the exact menu and price, let them confirm it, and only then pass it to the kitchen. If they want a change after approval, make a new version and approve that one.

Give the kitchen one clear board

The kitchen needs to know three things for each meal: what to prepare, for how many people and by when. A board that moves each order from pending, to in preparation, to ready is usually enough. People can see at a glance what is next.

A short checklist

• Every day and every meal is listed with a time, place and guest count.
• Adults and children are counted separately.
• The menu is saved as a version, and changes create a new version.
• The customer has approved the version that goes to the kitchen.
• The kitchen can see what to prepare and by when.

Caterly by Platterly is built around exactly this flow, from the first enquiry to the final delivery. You can try it free for seven days.