Journal
How Do You Cater an Engagement Party or Baby Shower?
Cater it as a grazing table rather than a meal. Engagement parties, baby showers, bridal showers and anniversaries are mingling events, so the food needs to sit out for hours, be eaten standing up, and suit a room of very different appetites. A shared Middle Eastern spread of dips, salads, grilled skewers, rice and warm bread does exactly that.
Here is how these four celebrations differ, what to order for each, and the planning details that trip people up in Abbotsford, Langley and across the Fraser Valley.
What kind of party is an engagement party?
It is a wedding guest list at a fraction of the scale, held years before anyone is thinking about seating charts. Planning guides such as With Joy’s engagement party checklist put the ideal size at around 50 to 100 guests and suggest sending invitations four to six weeks before the date.
That combination, a firm-ish list and a month of notice, makes engagement parties one of the easier events to cater well. The guest list is drawn from the wedding list, so it moves less than a birthday list does. Order the food when the invitations go out and the two timelines stay in step.
One thing worth deciding early is whether this party is a preview of the wedding food or something deliberately different. Plenty of couples use the engagement party to try the caterer they are considering for the wedding itself, which is a sensible thing to do. If that is you, our Fraser Valley wedding catering guide covers what changes at wedding scale.
What should be on the table?
A spread, laid out to be grazed. The reason mezze suits these parties so well is that it was built for exactly this behaviour: a table in the middle, many small things, everyone reaching. We explained the logic of it in what mezze is and how to order it.
A shape that works for most engagement parties and showers:
- The dips, as the anchor: hummus, baba ganoush and muhammara, with warm bread kept coming. The differences between the three are covered in hummus, baba ganoush and muhammara compared
- Fresh salads: tabouli and Armenian salad, which hold their texture on a table that stays out for hours
- From the grill: shish tawook and kabab, plus grilled vegetables, cut so people can take one piece rather than commit to a plate
- Rice, for the guests who want an actual meal rather than a graze
- Kibbe, which is reliably the dish somebody asks about
- To pour: ayran, hibiscus tea and lemonada, described in what we pour
Colour matters more at these parties than at most. Pomegranate on the muhammara, herbs through the tabouli and a row of dips make a table that looks like an occasion before a single guest has touched it, which is useful when half the room is taking photographs.
Baby and bridal showers: what is different?
Showers are daytime, smaller and longer than people expect, and the food has to behave accordingly. A shower typically runs two to three hours in the afternoon, often in a living room, with games or gift opening in the middle of it. Guests eat in two or three waves rather than all at once.
Three practical consequences:
- Room temperature is a feature, not a compromise. Dips, salads and bread are meant to be eaten this way, so a table can be set once and left alone.
- Nobody wants a knife and fork balanced on a lap. Food that goes onto a small plate and into a hand is the whole game.
- The dietary mix is wide and the room is small. Showers gather friends, colleagues and family who do not usually eat together. A spread of many separate dishes handles that better than a single main course, and our dietary catering guide maps which of our dishes suit which needs. Mention what you know when you order and we will plan the table around it.
Grazing table, seated meal, or something between?
Most of these events are better as a grazing table, but not all of them. The choice comes down to how long the party runs and whether there is a program in the middle of it.
| Grazing table | Seated meal | Afternoon spread | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Engagement parties, open house style | Anniversaries, milestone dinners | Baby and bridal showers |
| Party length | 3 to 4 hours | 2 hours | 2 to 3 hours |
| Guests eat | Continuously, in waves | Once, together | In two or three waves |
| Service style | Drop off, one long table | Buffet or family style | Drop off, set once |
| Watch out for | The table thinning at hour three | Timing the food to the toasts | Fridge space before guests arrive |
| Who tends it | One person who is not the host | Someone refreshing the buffet | Nobody, by design |
The format changes the timing, not the quantity. Catering portion guides such as Hugh’s Catering put a buffet at half a pound to a pound of total food per person, and note that self serve tables need noticeably more than plated service because guests build generous first plates. A grazing table that runs four hours needs more again.
Whichever you pick, hand the table to somebody other than the host. The person being celebrated and the person hosting should both get to attend. The formats themselves are compared in more detail in drop off catering versus full service.
What about anniversary parties?
Anniversaries are the multi generational one, and the food has a harder job: please a room that spans seventy years of taste. In practice that is the easiest possible brief for this cuisine, because grilled chicken, rice, bread and hummus are what the youngest and the oldest guest both reach for, while the kabab, muhammara and salads give everyone else somewhere to go.
Milestone anniversaries also tend to run larger than the family expects, since the guest list is two lifetimes of friendships. If yours is heading past fifty people, catering for 20, 50 or 100 guests walks through what changes at each size.
Where do people hold these in the Fraser Valley?
Homes first, by a wide margin, then backyards in summer, then a rented room when the list outgrows the living room. Each has its own catch.
- At home. Fridge space is the constraint nobody plans for. Tell us your delivery timing and we will pack accordingly.
- In a backyard. Shade and wind matter more than menu. A spread that is happy at room temperature is happy outdoors.
- In a rented room or hall. Confirm the venue’s catering policy first. Many halls keep an approved caterer list or run their own kitchen, which we cover in bringing an outside caterer into a Fraser Valley hall.
We deliver across the valley, and the details by city, including drive times and delivery notes, are on our catering service area pages and the Langley catering page for the western end of it.
Ordering one
Call with the date, a rough headcount, the time of day and whether you want it dropped off or set up. That is enough for us to shape a table. If the guest list is still moving, say so, because a shared spread stretches gracefully in a way a plated count does not.
An engagement, a first baby, a fiftieth anniversary: in our family these were never small occasions, and the table was never an afterthought. Look at the menu and how we cater parties, then call us at (819) 743-5953.
Frequently asked questions
How many guests come to an engagement party?
Most planning guides put an engagement party in the range of 50 to 100 guests, though plenty are smaller. It is usually close family and the friends who will also be at the wedding. Because the list is drawn from the wedding list, it tends to firm up faster than a birthday guest list does.
What food should you serve at an engagement party?
Shareable food that lets people move around, since an engagement party is a mingling event rather than a seated dinner. Grilled skewers, dips, salads, warm bread and rice let guests build a plate whenever they like. A grazing style table also photographs well, which matters more at this party than most.
What is the best food for a baby shower?
Food that works at room temperature through a long afternoon, and that guests can eat while holding a drink and a conversation. Dips with bread, salads, and grilled items served cool or warm all do this. Ask guests about dietary needs in advance, since showers tend to have a wide mix in a small room.
How far ahead should you book catering for a shower or engagement party?
Two to four weeks is comfortable for a shower, and four to six weeks for an engagement party, longer in summer. Invitations for these events commonly go out four to six weeks ahead, so ordering the food when the invitations go out keeps the two timelines aligned.
Can you cater a shower at a home or a rented room?
Both, and homes are the most common. A drop off spread arrives ready and goes straight onto your table, so the host is not cooking on the day. If you are using a rented room or a hall, confirm with the venue that outside catering is allowed before you book anything else.
How much does engagement party or shower catering cost?
It depends on the guest count and the dishes you choose, so we talk it through by phone rather than posting a number that would fit almost nobody. Tell us how many guests, what time of day, and whether it is seated or grazing, and we will shape a spread with you. Calling costs nothing.
Salma’s Kitchen cooks Armenian and Middle Eastern food in Abbotsford, BC. See the menu, our catering service areas, or how to order. Phone only: (819) 743-5953.