Vital Wedding Catering Info

Serving Style

Your Wedding Menu includes a selection of fun BBQ Nibbles / Canapés, served by our friendly Nyama team.
Your main meal can be served in one of two ways:

Buffet Style – Guests come up table by table to minimise queues.
Family Sharing / Table-Top Style – Dishes are served directly to each table for guests to help themselves. Relaxed, social and perfect for long-table weddings.

Taster Days
Our individual Taster Days allow you to sample our flavours and meet the team.
Visit our Taster Day page for dates, info and bookings.

Arrival Time
We usually arrive roughly 6 hours before service.
Final timings and logistics will be confirmed 10 days before the big day.

Veggies, Vegan Alternatives & Dietary Requirements
We can cater for most basic dietary requirements (vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, etc.) as long as we’re notified in advance.

Please remember that your guests will be choosing from the dishes available on your selected menu.
So when choosing your menu options, please also consider the dietary needs of your group — we’re always happy to guide you.

For more complex or severe allergies, please speak to us early so we can advise on what is safely possible.

Desserts
We offer a variety of delicious dessert options, including our popular Dessert Sharing Platters.
Just let us know if you’d like to add desserts to your menu.

Evening Food Options
We have a fantastic range of evening food options — from wood-fired pizzas to smashed burgers to braai broodjies and more.
All options are available to add to your celebration.

Coffee & Tea
If you’d like after-dinner tea and coffee, we can provide a full service including all cups, saucers, and equipment.
Just let us know if you'd like this included.

Mobile Bar
If you prefer a one-supplier solution for both food and drinks, our Mobile Bar team can look after everything — wines, beers, soft drinks and more.
You’re welcome to browse our bar options.

Access Requirements
Please inform us if the access route to the set-up area is less than 80cm wide.
We’ll bring suitable equipment to ensure smooth delivery and setup.

Heavy Equipment
Our BBQ rigs, smokers and grills are large and heavy.
If the distance from our parking area to the cooking location is more than 100 metres, please let us know so we can plan accordingly.

Parking
We require free parking for all Nyama vehicles attending your event.
If your venue has parking restrictions or limited access, please let us know in advance.

Water Access
We do require access to running water at the venue for essential handwashing, food safety and equipment rinse-downs.
This does not need to be directly at the cooking station — an accessible tap or sink nearby is perfectly fine.
If the venue does not have running water, please let us know so we can discuss alternatives.

Cover
We provide our own commercial gazebo to cover our outdoor cooking area.

Marquee Catering Tent
A catering tent is not essential for all setups, but it is extremely helpful for keeping equipment, staging and prep work neatly out of sight.

If you opt for our Family Sharing (Table-Top) service, a catering tent becomes essential due to the additional staging, plating and organisation required behind the scenes.

If your venue does not provide this, we can advise on suitable options.

Electricity
Some items require electricity (e.g., Spit Roast, Ice Cream Bar, Mobile Bar, Coffee & Tea service, Pizza Oven).
We bring our own extensions — we just need to be within 10 metres of a standard power point.
Please feel free to check with us about exact requirements.

Spillages
BBQ cooking involves charcoal, open flames and “fatty-meaty goodness”.
If our setup area includes patios or sensitive flooring, please let us know — we can bring protective floor coverings.

Waste Removal
We remove all Nyama-related waste on the day.
If you require general venue waste removed as well, please inform us beforehand.

Lighting
For evening or night-time service, the client must ensure sufficient lighting for our cooking and serving areas.
If this may be an issue, please advise us in advance.

Cake Cutting Service
If you would like help with your cake cutting, we can take care of cutting the cake and placing the portions on buffet platters for guests to help themselves.

Cake cutting normally takes place straight after the main meal unless you are also having evening food (in which case our chefs will already be staying longer).
If your cake cutting is planned much later and no evening food is booked, it may be best handled by the venue or a family member, as our team will begin pack-down.

Service Duration
As a guide, most weddings follow these timings:

Canapés: approx. 1.5 hours
Main Meal: approx. 1.5 hours
Evening Food: served over a 1-hour window
Timings can be adjusted to fit your preferred flow for the day.

Final Guest Numbers & Last-Minute Changes
Final guest numbers are required 10 days before the wedding so we can confirm staffing, logistics and stock.

Reductions after this point cannot be accepted.
Increases may still be possible depending on stock and staffing — just check with us.
The confirmed numbers at this point will be used for your final arrangements.

Payments & Deposits
A 25% deposit is required to secure your booking.
Your final balance is due 24 hours before the big day, once all final numbers and logistics are confirmed.

We accept payment via bank transfer, card, or cash.
Payment details will be included on your quote and invoice.

Your booking is only confirmed once the deposit has been received.

Staff Catering
Please remember to include any suppliers who will need a meal — photographers, videographers, band members, bar staff, coordinators, etc.
They should be added to your final guest numbers. No need to add Nyama staff as we will look after them ourselves.