Questions to ask before booking a venue in Atlanta
Atlanta's multicultural food scene shapes how wedding menus get built. Here's what makes wedding catering here different and what to look for in a caterer.
Atlanta is not a city with one food identity. It's a city with dozens, layered on top of each other, constantly borrowing and blending. That matters when you're planning a wedding reception. The couple who grew up on their grandmother's collard greens sits at the same venue as the couple who wants a five-course French tasting menu. And increasingly, they want both at the same table.
This is what shapes wedding catering in Atlanta. Not trends. Not Pinterest boards. The food culture itself.
Southern food runs deep here. But Atlanta's wedding menus have moved past the "fried chicken and mac and cheese at every reception" phase. The city's dining scene pulls from West African, Caribbean, Latin American, Korean, and European traditions. Couples want menus that reflect their own story, their families, and the city they live in.
That's the environment Exquisite Delites operates in. Chef Eric Centeno's Global Southern Cuisine was built for exactly this kind of range. Trained under Master Chef Tom Chin, Gunter Seeger, Joel Antunes, and Wolfgang Puck, his approach takes classical technique and runs it through Atlanta's multicultural lens. A jerk-spiced lamb chop next to a buttermilk biscuit station. Coconut rice alongside smoked short ribs. These aren't random combinations. They're intentional flavor profiles that make sense when you know the city.
For couples planning menus in Decatur, Brookhaven, or Alpharetta, this kind of culinary flexibility is what separates a forgettable wedding dinner from the one guests bring up at brunch three weeks later.
Plenty of Atlanta caterers list "weddings" on their website. That doesn't mean they're wedding caterers. There's a meaningful gap between a company that occasionally handles a reception and one that runs weddings as a core part of their operation.
Wedding-focused caterers understand:
A caterer who does weddings occasionally will figure these things out on the fly. A caterer built for weddings has systems for every single one of them.
The phrase "Global Southern" isn't marketing language. It's a cooking philosophy. It starts with Southern hospitality and the region's staple ingredients, then applies techniques and flavor profiles from around the world.
For a Midtown wedding, that might mean a passed appetizer of collard green spring rolls with peanut dipping sauce. For a Sandy Springs reception, it could be a carving station with coffee-rubbed brisket and house-made chimichurri. The Southern backbone stays constant. The global layer changes based on the couple's taste and heritage.
This approach solves a problem many Atlanta couples face: they want food that feels personal and culturally relevant, but they also want it to work for a guest list that spans three generations and four dietary preferences. Global Southern does that naturally because the foundation is familiar while the execution is refined.
Georgia's long growing season gives caterers access to fresh, local produce for most of the year. Spring weddings get strawberries, asparagus, and fresh herbs. Summer receptions lean into stone fruits, corn, and tomatoes at their peak. Fall brings squash, sweet potatoes, and figs. Even winter weddings have access to hearty root vegetables and citrus from the region.
This matters for menu quality. Seasonal ingredients taste better. They cost less than out-of-season imports. And they connect the meal to the time of year in a way guests can actually feel, even if they can't articulate why the salad tastes so good in October.
Atlanta's mild fall and spring weather also means outdoor receptions are viable for about 7 months of the year. That opens up venue options and changes what caterers can do with live cooking stations, grilling setups, and open-air bars. Couples booking receptions in Marietta, Roswell, or East Atlanta during those shoulder seasons get the best of both worlds: comfortable weather and peak-season ingredients.
It's not the price point. It's not the number of courses. The weddings where guests remember the food share a few common traits:
For couples weighing service style, the wedding catering cost breakdown shows how buffet, plated, and family-style options each affect both budget and guest experience. And for late-reception planning, late-night snack and dessert bar ideas cover what keeps guests energized through the last dance.
"Not only did the food surpass my expectations, but so did the presentation. It was fabulous, awesome, outstanding, excellent and of course exquisite. I talked to several caterers before deciding on Exquisite Delites and I am telling everyone, they are definitely one of the best caterers in the Atlanta area." - Jennifer R.
Most couples book 8 to 12 months before the wedding date, especially for peak season (April through October). Popular caterers fill up fast during those months. If you're planning a Saturday wedding in spring or fall, start reaching out early.
Absolutely. This is one of the most common requests in Atlanta, and a caterer experienced with multicultural menus will know how to balance flavors and presentation so both traditions feel honored. Bring reference dishes or family recipes to your tasting so the chef can work from something specific.
Choosing based on price alone without evaluating logistics, communication, and wedding-specific experience. The cheapest quote often comes from a caterer who hasn't fully accounted for staffing, equipment, or coordination needs. That gap shows up on the wedding day.
Exquisite Delites is a family-owned catering company built on 25 years of partnership between Chef Eric and Sandra, a former CNN and WSB-TV producer who brings the same production-level planning to every wedding. Get in touch to talk through what you're envisioning.
The word exquisite means extremely beautiful, rare and appealing to excellence. What an appropriate company name! Chef Eric and associates are just as exquisite to work with as their food taste. Superb customer service. They catered my daughter's wedding two weeks ago and I am still hearing about it from our guests. Not only did the food surpass my expectations, but so did the presentation. It was fabulous, awesome, outstanding, excellent and of course exquisite. I talked to several caterers before deciding on Exquisite Delites and I am telling everyone, they are definitely one of the best caterers in the Atlanta area. You will NOT be disappointed if you choose them. We had special requirements for our guests such as vegan options and they filled all our needs. Everyone raved that the food was not the typical reception food. I could write a book about how wonderful they are. I will end with this, just use them for your catering needs.
We used them for my sister's wedding last month and I'm so happy we did. The Chef and his wife (Sandy) are the utmost professional and kind. At our tasting they thoughtfully listened to our feedback and answered our questions in order to make our event unique, special and a success. They also curated the menu based off our likes/dislikes and then made adjustments as needed to ensure we had the perfect meal! Often times I've found that catering companies do not always deliver the same caliber of food when making food for larger groups and or weddings; However That's Definitely Not the case with Exquisite Delites, the nailed it from start to finish!!! The setup on the day of the wedding was beautiful and the food was even better than it was at our tasting 10/10! We got so many compliments on the food! I highly recommend Exquisite Delites for any special event in Atlanta (or wherever they serve). We will definitely be using them in the future. Also I want to point out - Sadia was an excellent server, and I love how this is a family owned business yet they nail it when it comes to customer service!
Chef Eric is the absolute best! His mastery over so many different types of food is unmatched and every time I have the privilege of working with them, I'm excited to taste everything. They're able to meet any and every dietary requirement. Sandra goes above and beyond to make sure your event has exactly what you need, and their staff is always so professional. We always recommend Exquisite Delites to our clients!
