Great Wedding Catering Options in Cincinnati

Catering for your wedding is easy to come by when you live in Cincinnati, Ohio. Whether you are having a small reception or a large one, you are sure to find many options. My husband and I got married back in November of 2009, and while we just did a cake reception we put in a lot of time researching options and prices to figure out how we were going to do it.

My husband and I weren't looking to spend a lot, so one of the ways to cut back on price was to find a place that was really close to the church. We decided that it would be more convenient to our guests to keep it close, or have it at the church due to gas prices. One of the ways to do that was to either keep a reception hall within five miles of the church, or just have the catering company come to our dining hall at the church. The first catering company that came to mind was Raffel's Catering in Reading, Ohio.

Raffel's is located on Reading Road in between where Reading and Evendale meet. They have small rooms and larger rooms with a dance floor and give you the option of a buffet or a served dinner. This was great as most of the larger companies typically will try to entice you with a larger menu for a dinner reception. The website, www.raffelscatering.com, is easy to navigate and you can see the packages for different locations, the rules for doing a reception at your wedding site, a list of what they offer for rehearsal dinners, and offsite breakfast, lunc h and dinner menu, a beverage list, list of hors d'oeuvres, and a list of desserts. If you are having a holiday wedding, they even offer holiday specials, so you can add your own touches to your reception. For the quality and the price, we felt Raffel's was the best overall.

Second on our list was Vonderhaars Catering. This was a tough one because they have been around since I was a child, and my mom knows them personally. They too offer great quality and service, but still a little more than what we wanted to spend. The thing we liked? If you just wanted to do some finger foods or appetizers this was a good choice for those on a budget. They don't have a reception facility, but they can make great suggestions. They offer full service catering; a beverage service and they will cut your cake. They have a wonderful menu for everyone from a budget wedding to an elegant dinner reception. They too offer a classic buffet menu, pasta selections, and dessert list. On their website, they include a recommended venue list which is great if you don't know where to start. They are also located in Reading, Ohio. The website is www.vonderhaar's.com.

The third one on our list that we liked, but just didn't consider due to our budget was the Royal Oak Country Club. This is a nice upscale venue for your ceremony and reception. This is a true Country Club setting with rolling greens and everything else that comes to mind. They offer a wedding package, which includes indoor facilities or a quaint lakeside setting. They have a linen service, decorating, cake cutting and dance floors too. What we liked? They had quite a menu with variety from snacks to hors d'oeuvres, and a nice variety for your dinner menu. You can view everything right on their website too. Simply go to www.royaloakcountryclub.com.

Last but not least, every bride needs a great cake! We chose Anita Geraci from Custom Cakes by Anita. Why? She is very personable, has many photos to share of the work she has done, and is happy to give you a tasting of what she can do for you. We opted for every other layer in spice cake since we got married in November, and the other layers were yellow. We chose to keep it simple, but the cake was nothing but pure elegance. She did a four tier cake for us with butter cream frosting, and added fall leaves for that special touch for our fall wedding. It was gorgeous and tasted great. For what we got, we knew we had the best price in town. We felt that our photography should be one of our least expenditures, but with Anita and our budget she gave us more than we anticipated. Each cake is personal for Anita, and she is always happy to help. You can reach her at 513-907-9705. Call her right away, she books quickly!