Wedding Blog
Having first selected our reception venue, we set out to discover our dream caterer. From the beginning, Mr. Bruschetta and I had specific ideas about our wedding cuisine:
When we began our planning in early 2008, six caterers were approved to work in our reception space. After reaching out to each, we were able to (quite easily!) whittle down our list.
Two never returned our calls. Three had trouble matching our budget and understanding our desires. (During a consultation at one of the “custom” caterers, we were handed a menu of options, and told to pick our dinner right off the list of dishes the kitchen had crafted in the past. Excuse me, what?) And one served food at an open house Mr. Bruschetta and I attended that gave us both the worst case of food poisoning we’ve ever had!
Despite these challenges, we’re positively delighted to be working with Laurent Leveque of Fleur De Lys Catering. Laurent truly understands the vision for our wedding, having built his company with the aim of preserving the fine dining experience outside the restaurant setting. His culinary prowess is unquestionable, having worked in restaurants such as Le Cirque and Georges Perrier’s Brasserie Perrier. And his professionalism, attention to detail, and French-accent-laced English (seriously thick — I usually can only pick up 30-40% of what he says, and hope Mr. Bruschetta catches the rest!) complete the package of our ideal chef.
Since the wedding menu will be heavily reliant on local, summer ingredients and produce, we had our tasting this past August. Laurent served up generous portions — the salad we agreed upon, and two types each of fish and pork, so we could decide which to select — in his “test kitchen”. If all this gushing hasn’t whet your appetite, take a look at one of Laurent’s plated creations! Is it any wonder we’re so highly anticipating our first married meal?
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Share this post: All the Right Ingredients: Fleur De Lys Catering
Sure is!! and we can BYOA (bring your own alcohol) too!!
Your plating look amazing though - I’d be super excited!
It really depends on which site we go with. There a 3 top contendors right now. A) Has a exclusive caterer (which I’ve started talking to and so far really like; hey if it’s a exclusive caterer I’m not booking the site if the food’s not good) B)Has a restuarant on site so no caterer needed. C)you bring in your own caterer although they do have a approved caterer list but not exlcusive.
But, yes…food muy importante for us today. 
So glad you found a caterer you are so happy with
Our site has approved caterers and an onsite restaurant that will also cater. From the beginning FH and I planned on using the on-site restaurant, but for some reason the wedding coordinator referred us to one of the approved caterers. We gave the caterer a shot (b/c we didn’t want miss out on something that could be good) and they were a big disappointment. They didn’t listen to anything we wanted and kept trying to talk me into things I didn’t want. In the end we met with the restaurant onsite and could not be happier
That looks so yummy!!! Our reception site charges us $500 fee if we don’t use their caterer.
We are happily paying that fee to be able to work with the caterer of our choice! Food is very important in our household as well. 
OH YES IT IS! We had a list of 15…and like you said, were able to narrow it down to a more reasonable number…though my fiance COMPLETELY wanted to taste with them all!!
We were pleasantly surprised by how reasonable of the more “upscale” caterer’s pricing was…and they even threw in some dessert shots (YUM) when I asked if they could match another vender. We are SOOOO excited to EAT! =)
Our site is also a bring your own alcohol, which should also be very helpful for our wallet!
We chose a venue specifically because it would let us choose any caterer we wanted. Food is the most important element to us (along with photography) and we crafted a menu from scratch based on what we loved. No pre-set menus for us!
Yes, alcohol too! We are on the hunt for a good inexpensive caterer in the Baltimore area if anyone knows of any
Unfortunately ours isn’t. We could have saved tons of moeny if they were, but I hear thjeir food is fabulous, so we are just waiting for a tasting.
Sounds like your tasting went great!
Wow, that looks delicious! Unfortunately our top two choices have their own food arrangements, and we have to use them. I wanted to use my own caterer, but that opened up a whole can of worms involving setting up tables and cleaning up myself.
Ours is! That was one of the (many) reasons we chose our reception site. We’re working with a great catering company that’s snazzing up macaroni and cheese and meatloaf for our special day. We wanted family favorites since all the family will be celebrating together.
Ahh we have the same venue! We decided to go with STARR catering and they have been great to work with and pretty well priced.
I wish mine was BYOC! We’re stuck with the venue’s caterer and their menu options! I have a food tasting coming up in a couple weeks and I’m a little nervous!
@lachute: That caterer wasn’t on the list when we were looking — hope it works out well for you!
LOL I picked my venue based on its catering. I knew that the caterind department of the golf club where we will be married has outstanding and creative food and will customize our menu if needed. Food first. It’s a priority thang.
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Mrs. Bruschetta, Philadelphia
Age and Occupation: 25, Communication Professional
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Physical Therapy Graduate Student
Engagement Date: November 30, 2007
Wedding Date: August 2009
Venue: St. Thomas of Villanova Church & the F.U.E.L. House
About Me: I’m a self-proclaimed grammar geek who loves singing (like, really belting it) in the car. My mister and I are planning a vibrant summer soiree celebrating our passions – including food and Philly – and when we make it official, we’ll have been together for eight years! Being super competitive is in my nature, and talking excessively is in my genes. I’ve got a terrible sense of direction, but can always easily find my way into Mr. Bruschetta’s arms.
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