Hiring the right catering company for your wedding festivities is about more than the food! Many catering companies offer services above and beyond! So today on Wedding Secrets Unveiled!, we have Lisa Mattiello, the owner and founder of Pranzi Catering, here to share the ins and outs of what a catering company can really do! From florals to rentals to decor, premiere catering companies like Pranzi might be the secret ingredient you need to create the wedding day of your dreams!
Meet Lisa.
I’m full-service wedding vendor – a caterer, event planner, rentals, wedding cake, florals. We’re kind of a one stop service to facilitate for the client’s exact needs for a big day. We do weddings, showers, corporate events and we guide our clients through the whole process.
We all start somewhere – where did you start?
I started in 1997 in a small little deli in Seekonk, Massachusetts, with two employees and a very ugly, banged up van. Then I had a little showroom 12 doors down, and the client would call, and I would run and catch my breath and then take the call down there in a little showroom. And I rented there. Then I bought a building – my husband and my family helped me. It wasn’t very pretty, but we made it lovely. Then we had a deli with a small little consulting room and the offices were in the cellar, ha. We called ourselves “cellar dwellers” because we went way down. I probably had a box truck and van there.
But then we were bursting at the seams. So, I bought the building that we are at now – a main commissary on Rosario in Providence, and I have our main commissary and corporate offices there. In the last 3-4 years, we bought another building for our rentals. Actually, now we have two buildings for them.
So you started off with just yourself – one employee – and how many employees do you have now?
This time of year, maybe 50. We have 28 trucks on the road. My children are actually involved in the business. My son just got his CDL and the other son runs our whole rental system. He’s a rock star doing that. My daughter works in the main building with us and she does all our flower consultations, day of coordination and all that. So, family affair!
I can tell you, having been in the industry for 20 years, I’ve watched you grow. I remember when you were really just specialized in the catering portion. But, now you’ve spread your wings and you really do it all.
And that’s why we’re here today! We want to talk about how to navigate planning a wedding from scratch. I want to really focus on setups and days that are a tented reception or backyard – something that’s super customizable from the beginning. So, I think for today’s focus, I really would like to help our listeners understand what they could do to not be so overwhelmed when they’re trying to plan something from scratch with an empty canvas.
Absolutely. A lot of times, with the venues or home weddings like that, couples get really overwhelmed. So, it starts with a phone call. We plan a consultation and I bring them into our facilities to see the showrooms – the China, the glassware, the tables and chairs. But, we talk about their vision. A lot of times, they’ll have inspiration photos or a Pinterest board to share their style. So, that’s where we start.
What do we need? We need the food. So, we’ll talk about the menu. Then after we get the menu, we do tastings and all that. We talk about what it’s going to look like and lay out tablescapes. Afterwards, I go to the site, and I do an actual measurement of the property. After that, we can talk about logistics and we have software that will send clients 2 and 3D renderings – it’s basically our virtual showroom. It’s neat because they can download an app and really see everything before they even come in. After that, I work with them on timelines and floor plans. We can even build the seating chart in our software – no more old-fashioned post it notes! They have software so that way we know exactly who’s where, what they’re having for dinner, dietary restrictions – we’re big on that.
Oh I love that!
Once we’re closer, we’ll do a PowerPoint on the vision and how things are going to go on the day of. We make sure that we talk with all the vendors, because we’re your liaison between all your vendors. The food kind of sets the tone on how things are going to go – and we want to be sure we present fod that’s cooked properly.
Whatever the client is in need of, we can certainly handle it. We talk about when the tent is going to go up, when it’s going to come down and help them figure out when to have the lawn manicured.
When I got married, things were pretty boring. But now there’s so many styles for menus, especially.
Are they wanting a proper serve dinner? Or, are they wanting more of a family style dinner service? What about stations vs a buffet? I mean, it really is totally endless. I used to be a chef so my background helps create menus and review the logistics. My team’s wonderful, too.
You said two things that I think are kind of important: creativity and logistics. I think that the wedding industry in general is just super creative, and everybody wants to make their wedding special, creative and different, right? That’s kind of where we’re at. So, you help take those grand ideas and figure out the logistics behind it all.
Can you share something cool you’ve seen in all of your years doing weddings? Or anything that really shows a tip for our listeners?
We do water fires down in Providence, which is lovely and beautiful. They shut off the whole city. There’s water and fire going up and down the river there. We’ll do tents there and people are taking gondola rides, It’s something really special that we’re a part of. It’s a great weekend experience and it’s so fun. Providence has a lot to offer.
We’re having Rhode Island coastal food stations everywhere. It is fast and furious. It’s so fun. It’s between a couple different properties within the city. And people are coming in for this. They they’re staying at hotels. They’re enjoying this what Rhode Island has to offer. We design a special look with our lounge furniture and with really exquisite linens to match the colors around us. We do cookie favors that are logoed. It’s a lot of work on our end, but we have a fantastic team, and it just works. They call us it’s because they know that.
I love it. So Lisa, I have a really random question for you: what are the most common food choices for wedding days and why?
A lot of the brides and the clients that are coming in say that they don’t want a plain salad or plain chicken.
I was going to say, I assume there’s always a chicken option, ha!
Yeah, but you can make it something beautiful – like a potato encrusted chicken. You could make a chicken dish look really spectacular. We’ve had people have hot dogs for dinner. There was a grandfather who wanted two hot dogs – he was older, and it made him happy. What a special memory to have that to eat at his granddaughter’s wedding. But, when choosing food, cost is a factor. For example, if you want a big charcuterie board, online it could be $22 to $35 a person depending on what you do. But you could also do charcuterie boards that get you in a much better price point. They look lovely and beautiful. They’re all on rustic boards. It’s just a different approach, maybe not as much overload. But if you’re having other appetizers, you’re having a raw bar, you’re having charcuterie, we could cut the portion down a little bit and get that price point closer to what you want.
I always say when you’re coming out of the gate: tell me what you think you want, and then give me the opportunity to price it out. Then you can decide what to add or move around. People remember the food from weddings.
Talk to me about rentals and the options that you have. I know there’s endless possibilities but tell me a little bit about your rental department.
Let’s talk about tents first. So, there’s many different tent styles that are out there – from the high peak, century tent with metal poles or wooden poles. Most of our tents called the hybrid century. We put our tents up with wooden poles. The tent type really depends on the space that you have. With a frame structured tent, I can get closer to where it needs to be. So, if someone has a more elongated, smaller area, I can put them in another style tent to best suit their needs. We also have a sail cloth tent. It’s more oval. That’s lovely in a multitude of sizes. So tenting is great.
Then we worry about dance floor. So then: do you want full flooring? Do you want a white dance floor or a mahogany dance floor? A black and white dance floor? Do you want a monogram or logo on it? Again, so many aspects here. We do a lot of multicultural events, which tend to involve more take down and putting up stages or other setups. There’s a lot of logistics as far as what needs to happen there – and they’re often multiple days long.
We also have the tables. What kind of configuration is the couple looking for? A round table? Do you want what we call a double wide or a Tuscan table? Those would have linens on them. Are you wanting wood exposed tables? There’s options for white wood, oak or mahogany. It’s a lot of choices to make.
You talked about that program – as you start putting in options, I assume it helps minimize the overwhelm for many couples.
Yeah. Once start putting stuff into your Pinterest and your inspiration folders, you’ll see pretty quickly that your photos have a common theme or trends. Plus we have to figure out what space is needed for a band or a selfie station or a bar. Whatever it is. People need their own spaces. We also have to plan for backups – including extra tents or generators.
That goes hand in hand with what I was saying earlier – these are logistics that people wouldn’t even think about
Exactly. Sometimes these people that have fountains in their yards and I’ll tell them we have to turn it off during the ceremony. Then we can turn it back on. Or, when we’re putting up tenting, we have to know where the underground sprinklers or septic is because we can’t stake that or hit it! Our team is really knowledgeable and wonderful about those kinds of things.
Let’s get into florals for a second. Tell me a little bit about what your company can do with florals, and then I would love to know about some trends that you’re seeing.
With the Pranzi we have five full time designers that are so creative and so wonderful. They will set up florals for the ceremony. I like to dual purpose floral arrangements. So, if we have this beautiful ceremony set up, then I would like to repurpose those items for cocktail tables, in front of the stages, on stationary tables. I never want it to be one and done, even if we’re using them in churches or chapels. If we can take them and use them somewhere else, we will.
I just want to make sure people hear that! While it’s common for us in the industry, I don’t think people always realize that you can do that with florals. You want to start thinking about reusing them in other areas of your wedding – because otherwise it’s such a waste and you have these beautiful arrangements! You might as well move and use them.
Even at your welcome parties or your rehearsal dinners – welcome dinners are a big trend right now –
you might have florals at your welcome party. We can move those over and utilize those the next day. And if you’re doing a brunch the day after, we’ll utilize them again. We re-water them and can reconfigure things so that they’re still beautiful. When you have flowers at home, they last for a week. Why couldn’t we reuse flowers for your wedding?
That’s actually a really great idea for people who are thinking about having multiple events on their weekend. I think that’s a wonderful idea and a great way to stretch the budget.
Yes! You can use florals and you could use candles. There’s pillar candles, there’s tapered candles. Sometimes we have to use LED. We have such beautiful LED candles that look very realistic right now.
So, and your arrangements don’t always have to be the same. You could do a quarter of them high, a quarter of them low in the resting candle. It really gives a more dynamic look to the whole room.
Using the same pieces just makes sense. You’ve already rented some of them and it adds to the cohesiveness of your entire weekend. Does that help you financially on the cost of the rental?
Actually, no. Because the rentals are based on each location – even chairs. If the ceremony is far from where the reception is, you have to rent two sets of chairs. Even if they’re at the same location, our team has to come move them – so that impacts the price too.
Oh, gotcha. Okay, I got us off topic! What were you saying about floral trends right now?
I mean, there’s a lot of greenery that people are using. More simplistic bouquets, but I am still seeing a lot of the cascading bouquet. Some people aren’t doing boutonnieres now, they’re doing pocket squares or doing something with a shell or ferns. That’s a lot of fun. We also see painted vessels – terra cotta that’s gold or silver, glass vessels.
What about florals in the tents? I’ve seen a lot in terms of hanging designs. I’m sure they’re a logistical nightmare, but I also assume they require you to get onsite earlier and that type of thing.
Absolutely, and you need to the full department. The rental department has to know what’s going on because of the rigging. We don’t want something heavy falling down. Our tents do get inspected, so we need to make sure that it’s all looking good. Fire safety is a huge issue. Everything’s rigged correctly. The electrical is done correctly, so it’s not as easy as it looks.
Talk to me a little bit about drinks. You can literally do everything, right? You talked about specialty drinks and mocktails. Where are we seeing this trend going?
Cocktails and mocktails are pretty similar, just minus the alcohol for mocktails. So, we want to make sure that the people that do not drink or that can’t drink still have a wonderful experience of that fun drink. We can do fun things with the ice, florals, a herb in it, lemonade – it’s really endless. We do a lot of signature drinks and specialty glassware with dried fruit. So, you really can get something really pretty and spectacular presented to your guests as the ceremony is over or in between the ceremony and reception so everyone feels fresh. I mean, we’re in New England. It’s hot right now, so we need to make sure that all our guests are very well hydrated. We do a lot of nonalcoholic apothecary jars with like lemonade, sweet tea, infused water, that at any moment during the wedding, they’re on the dance floor and they want ice cold water or an ice cold nonalcoholic drink, they have access to that, too.
Specialty drinks with alcohol are probably more expensive than the mocktails, right?
Not that much, but it does differ depending on what you get. If you’re just doing lemonade or old fashioned iced tea, that’s really great price point. If you’re doing something with a lot of different mixes and juices or you want something organic, that will kick up your price.
I do have to say, though, as a photographer, photographing specialty drinks and mocktails is really pretty. It’s just aesthetically pretty, and it just – whether you drink or not – it’s so pretty and it just puts a smile on your face.
Yeah, a lot of brides will match their stirrers with a monogram or picture of their dog, or children. Or they have specialty napkins. It’s a whole experience matching it all together.
Talk to me a little bit about that. What are you seeing right now as a trend of colors in some of the staples of a wedding day?
A staple is your basic cotton linen – very simple, but you could do a basic cotton linen with a colored pretty napkin, with a colored glassware or a different textured bread and butter plate. Or you could really be out of the box and do a whole printed linen for your tablescapes, or even just on a few high tops to bring another dimension in. We could do this so many different napkins now that are out. We even do monogramming on napkins. So, if you wanted to have the initials on there, or your bride and groom’s name, or your seating chart with the person’s name monogrammed on the napkin. We certainly could do that.
What do people do with those napkins after that?!
If it’s a pretty monogram, like a leaf or something, that could go out as a rental. But if it’s a specific name, then people keep it and use it like china – when they have family over for the holidays or something.
Interesting! Tell me about pricing. I know it can be all over the board, but what is the pricepoint like per head for a backyard wedding?
So backyard wedding, let’s talk about 150 guests. You’re looking at maybe $10,000 for rentals but once you add in food and beverages, it could be $30,000 to $40,000. Average around $180 to like $250 a person, but you could be you might like some beautiful wines and different Proseccos or champagne. So, depending on your bar package, it could be another $45 to $90 a person. I always say shoot for the stars. Tell me everything that you’d like and then I can price it all out and we can go from there. There’s ways to make pieces of it happen – maybe a passed cocktail shrimp instead of a raw bar. You get a better price point.
So, what I’m hearing is that the average size wedding of 150 people is probably $180-$250 per person for a backyard wedding – before you get to the floor, tent, or things like that. But, if you’re doing at home, you’re not paying the $10,000 to $30,000 for a venue rental. So bust the myth: is it more or less expensive to have a backyard wedding?
It’s probably more expensive to have a backyard wedding, but it’s exactly what you would you want. But it also depends on where else you were considering. One of the mansions would probably be more expensive, and you’ll get more time at home to celebrate. It really just depends on what your vision is.
Coming from someone who did a backyard wedding, yeah – it might be more than a venue, might be less. It really depends but you’re putting your money exactly where it’s most important to you. You’re customizing your day. I could see how it could be stressful to some people and more relief to others, too.
Well, it’s not easy, because they’re worrying about the Porta Johns. They’re worrying about when the tents going up and coming down, is the grass cut, is the electrical good? Knock yourself out, if that’s what you want to do.
Exactly. It goes back to what we discussed earlier – the logistics and so many pieces that most people wouldn’t think about. That reminds me, if you want photos of your reception setup – you need to plan that out with your catering and rentals teams. Make sure there’s time for those photos or for you to see it all.
Wrap-Up Question
What are some key points that couples should be researching when booking their caterer to make sure that they are hiring a professional company to ensure that their wedding day is perfect?
There’s a bunch of things I would look into. Check out their social media and look for things like their plate presentation, how their staff is dressed, what the menus look like. Check out the tastings. Realistically, if the tasting isn’t good for 2 or 4 people, how would they ever do a 150-person event?
Look at how they’re executing the meal, too. Are you using plate covers? Are you heating the plates? What’s your garnish looking like? Just that whole feeling of meeting them in their establishment and the vibe you get.
Don’t sweat the small stuff, just worry about enjoying the whole experience with family and friends. That’s what it’s about.
What We Discussed
Meet Lisa (2:24)
Wedding menus & creativity (5:22)
Popular food choices (13:59)
Tents & logistics (19:24)
Reusing florals (24:55)
Cocktails and mocktails (34:59)
Wrap up question (51:48)
Links Mentioned in the Episode
Find Pranzi Catering at Website | Instagram | Facebook | Pinterest
See one of our weddings with Pranzi Catering & Events!
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